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.

Beyond All Boundaries: Prayers for a Locust Plague in East Africa, Justice for Ahmaud Arbery, and Mothers (May 7, 2020)

Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, we come to you in prayer today, longing to see and sense your presence in these uncertain times. We pray for your world, as we seek to understand and find a way to stop the spread of COVID-19. Bring comfort to those who grieve, remembering especially those in India who died or are suffering […]

Teach Our Eyes to Smile: Prayers for Chernobyl’s Wildfires, Front Line Workers, and Nations in Crisis (April 30, 2020)

Dear Lord, Sometimes we feel so alone and unprepared and exhausted. Sometimes we feel forgotten and stepped upon. Lord, remind us to breathe, to look outward and to look inward. Lord, remind us that in praying we are doing your will. Help us to examine ourselves and to prepare for each day, knowing you are […]

Praying With Psalm 116: A Pandemic of Grief, Lost Work, and Famine of Biblical Proportions (April 23, 2020)

Praying with Psalm 116 in this time of pandemic* We love you, O God, because you have heard the voice of our supplications, because you have inclined your ear to us whenever we called upon you. (Psalm 116, v. 1, adapted) Because you have been faithful to us, O God, from time immemorial, bringing us […]

Peace Be With You: A Prayer for a World Behind Locked Doors During the COVID-19 Pandemic (April 16, 2020)

A reading from the Gospel of John, chapter 20, verses 19 through 29, in the New Revised Standard Version: When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the authorities, Jesus came and stood among […]

A Life in Service to Others: Prayers for Yemen, India’s Migrant Workers, and Tripoli (April 2, 2020)

Nobel Peace Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018, including during the Ebola crisis) writes: Dear fellow citizens of the world, … It does not mean that we are on our own, every country for themselves. On the contrary, it is the sign of a communal response, that border closures make […]

Hope Will Not Be Canceled: How Are We to Pray in a Time of Pandemic (March 25, 2020)

Conversations will not be cancelled. Relationships will not be cancelled. Love will not be cancelled. Songs will not be cancelled. Reading will not be cancelled. Self-care will not be cancelled. Hope will not be cancelled. * Beloved, how are we to pray in these times of pandemic, when country after country imposes stringent stay-at-home orders? […]

From a Distance: A Prayer for a Connected World in Lockdown (March 19, 2020)

From a distance the world looks blue and green And the snow capped mountains white From a distance the ocean meets the stream And the eagle takes to flight* Holy One, during this time of social distancing and lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, remind us that we are still connected to one another. We […]

Like Grasses Showing Tender Faces: A Prayer as the Pandemic Circles the Globe (March 12, 2020)

Every little thing is sent for something, and in that thing there should be happiness and the power to make happy. Like the grasses showing tender faces to each other, thus we should do, for this was the wish of the Grandfathers of the World. Black Elk, (1863-1950) Oh God, we read these words […]

Come, Lord, Take Our Fear Away: Tennessee Tornadoes, Floods, and Children at the Borders (March 5, 2020)

Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. … (God said) I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon […]

A Rock in a Weary Land: A Lenten Prayer for Hope, Faith, and Love (February 27, 2020)

Jesus is a rock in a weary land, A weary land, a weary land; My Jesus is a rock in a weary land, A shelter in the time of storm. African American spiritual God of forgiveness and mercy, God of grace and truth, we enter this season of Lent with both gratitude and trepidation. Evidence […]