World in Prayer

Sharing in God’s loving compassion for all

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.

It Takes a Village: Prayers for Hunger in Yemen, Afghan Girls Denied School, and a Burning World (July 27, 2023)

The phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” originates from an African proverb and conveys the message that it takes many people (“the village”) to provide a safe, healthy environment for children, where children are given the security they need to develop and flourish, and to be able to realize their hopes and […]

Thanksgivings, Concerns, and Celebrations: Prayers for Ukraine, Kenya, and a World in Heat (July 20, 2023)

Mother God, we come to you with thanksgivings. We are grateful to be loved by You. We are grateful for hands to hold, for kindness, and for grace. We are grateful for sunshine, rain, and rainbows. We are grateful for the farmers and laborers who give us our daily bread. We are grateful for forgiveness. […]

Help Us Trust Your Unchanging Love: A Prayer for Refugees, Human Rights, and a Changing Climate (July 13, 2023)

We love you, Lord, and we’ve heard your voice… calling us to make you real and known in the world to all whom you place in our path, undergirded by prayer. How do we pray and for what? Do you hear us? Or are we asking for the wrong things? Are we too impatient or […]

Under the Same Moon: Prayers for Israel and Palestine, US Mass Shootings, and the Unrest in France (July 6, 2023)

“It shall be established forever like the moon, the witness in the sky is faithful.” – Psalm 89:37 God of moon and sun, God of rhythm and constant presence – This week around the world, we gazed upon the fullness of the same moon. Just as we gaze upon the same You – when in […]

Peace on Earth at 60: Prayers for Sudan, Uyghur Families, Nicaragua, and the Congo (June 29, 2023)

As the world marks the 60th anniversary of Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) by Pope John XXIII, the first papal encyclical intended for a universal, interfaith, and nonbelieving audience, we pause to pray for the intentions of this letter and world causes that still demand our attention: Every human being has the right to […]

Your Creation Is Groaning: Prayers After the Uganda School Attack and Record Heat (June 22, 2023)

Your creation is groaning, Living and Loving God. Your creation is groaning as your created ones continue to live in ways that damage the natural world and one another. Your creation is groaning, and so we turn to you with our cries of pain, certain we will be heard. We cry out today for the […]

A Prayer in Many Colors: Mount Mayon, Pakistan, and Children Found in the Amazon (June 15, 2023)

God of bright yellow and green, the sun smiles on the earth, friendly and hopeful. You invite us to breathe in a new day. We hear the birds greeting one another, the squirrel’s playful chatter and in the distance there’s the sound of bullfrogs and spring peepers vying for airtime. Welcome to this fresh new […]

The Story of Interconnection: Prayers for Typhoon Mawar and Uganda’s Anti-Gay Law (June 1, 2023)

Creating, Sustaining, Redeeming One – Through the dance of your interwoven union, we are continually directed towards the heart of the cosmos which is the beating pulse of Love. We look through global headlines, in our communities, our homes, and our very bodies and at times find it impossible to sense the unitive thread of […]

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: A Mother’s Day Prayer for Women and Children (May 18, 2023)

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.  Psalm 139:13-14 God, you cherish our mothers and children.  Mother’s Day is celebrated in over fifty countries, some as the US […]