Prayers for the United States

Prayers naming the United States have followed storms, tornadoes, wildfires and floods across many states, along with elections and political tension, gun violence, and questions of migration and race. Health, mental health and the well-being of ordinary households appear often, as do thanksgivings for its landscapes and wild places.

Blessing the Animals: A Prayer of Thanks for Spiders, Bats, Bonobos, and Beloved Pets (February 22, 2024)

You who created them and called them good: Bless again these creatures who come to us as a blessing fashioned of fur or feather or fin, formed of flesh that breathes with your own breath, that you have made from sheer delight, that you have given in dazzling variety. Bless them who curl themselves around […]

The Fasting That I Wish: A Lenten Prayer for Trafficking Victims and the Hungry of Gaza (February 15, 2024)

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. The United States […]

Love Come Down: Prayers for Gaza, Ukraine, Pakistan, and a Groaning Earth (February 8, 2024)

God of Love, As we turn from the light of Epiphany towards the shadowland of Lent, may we, your beloved, take comfort in the profound story of Love Come Down. Comfort in a Jesus who left the mountaintop of Transfiguration and came down into the low places of suffering and pain, power and violence, came […]

Those Who Tell Our Stories: A Prayer for Journalists Killed in Gaza and the Starving Behind the Headlines (February 1, 2024)

Dear Lord, This prayer arises during a foggy day from a home on a quiet residential street. Somewhere else it is dark at night and people pray. and the smoke and bombs seem to crush any ability to even think and survival is everything. It feels like both forgiveness and mercy are needed in the […]

Under Every Frozen Ground: Prayers for Ukraine, Gaza, Somalia, Nigeria, and Ethiopia (January 25, 2024)

Under every floor is soil, within all soil are roots—taking in nourishment in the unseen dark. Frozen though it may be, each seed holds possibility of transformation. God of transformation, we cry with the Psalmist “how long” when we look upon the suffering of your beloved people and the ways we pit ourselves against one […]

Lovely People Doing God’s Work: A Prayer of Thanks for Peacemakers Around the World (January 18, 2024)

God of Peace, Lover of Justice, We come before you with hearts filled with gratitude and thanksgiving for the countless women and men, past and present, who have worked tirelessly advocating for equality and promoting peace. May we be inspired by their bravery and wisdom. May we get to know one another, fostering trust and […]

Speak, For Your Servant Is Listening: Prayers for Gaza, Ecuador, Taiwan, and US Storms (January 11, 2024)

Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” – 1 Samuel 3:10 Listening God, In the beginning, you created the whole world – the stars, planets, mountains, animals, the tiniest living creatures, snow and rain, sweet-smelling flowers, beautiful rocks, and yet you […]

We Have Met the Magi and They Are Us: An Epiphany Prayer for Light Bearers (January 4, 2024)

We hope that full shalom will come when the four billion of us who believe in a Transcendent Other are converted more deeply to the enlightenment that calls us all not to kill, not to lie, not to steal, not to lust, to respect parents, and to help the needy and weak. The teaching of […]

Comfort, Comfort My People: Prayers for Gaza, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Indonesia (December 7, 2023)

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” –Isaiah 40:1 Comforting God of us all, Oh, how we need your abiding peace. A peace that only you can give as we navigate this season in our homes, our relationships, our jobs, our neighborhoods, and our world. God, you say “comfort, comfort,” and yet we feel the […]

In the Midst of Chaos, I Will Be Peace: A Prayer as the Gaza Ceasefire Breaks Down (November 30, 2023)

Editor: Shortly after the prayers were posted, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas broke down. In light of this, as duty editor, I have amended and re-posted our prayers.In the midst of chaos, I will be peace. In the heart of anger, I will be love. In the presence of despair, I will be hope. […]