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.

Lord in Your Mercy: Prayers for Yemen, the Uighurs, and Migrant Graves in Texas (July 11, 2019)

Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer Lord, there is so much happening in our world we hardly know where to direct our attention and can only be grateful that you see all and answer the prayers of all your people. So we place in your hands our concerns for our environment from the high […]

A Song of Peace for Their Land and for Mine: A Fourth of July Prayer for All Nations (July 4, 2019)

“My Country ‘Tis of Thee Sweet Land of Liberty of Thee I Sing” (Hymn, Samuel Francis Smith) Holy God, I write from my little corner of the world, my little neighborhood of my native land, the United States, celebrating its birth. You have heard the fun, fireworks explosions from sea to shining sea. You […]

I Lift Up My Eyes to the Hills: Prayers for Floods, Fires, Europe’s Heat Wave, and Rescued Turtles (June 27, 2019)

I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2 (NRSV) Rescuing and Redeeming God, we lift our eyes up to you. We lift our eyes out of the chaos of our lives seeking […]

Nurture Them, Shelter Them, Love Them: Prayers for 70 Million Displaced People and Juneteenth (June 20, 2019)

Holy One, Our hands reach out, our voices call forth, our hearts lift up, and in the act of praying, once again, we discover you. Our words are but a small measure of the world’s great need, yet as we draw close to you, you draw close to us. We pray to you, O Lord. […]

Made in Your Image: Prayers for Hong Kong, India’s Drought, and Children Who Died in Custody (June 13, 2019)

Wherever you are right now, take a moment to feel God’s presence and center yourself in that presence. Holy One, our faith journeys reveal new things to us each and every day. Each journey is different, and each journey brings forth feelings of both faith and doubt, of both righteous anger and of peace. Help […]

Reveal Your Spirit: Prayers for the Chibok Girls, a Death in a US Jail, and Rwanda’s Healing Walk (May 30, 2019)

(6/1/19 Apologies to our readers. Due to my own sheer stupidity – aka, forgetting to restart the emails after changing a setting – the prayers didn’t email on schedule this week. Mea culpa! -Andee, World in Prayer founder) Holy One,In our prayers, we seek you and in our praying, we feel the air stirred by […]

Awaken in Us Compassion: Prayers for Midwest Floods, Cyclone Fani, and Ebola Health Workers (May 9, 2019)

Oh God, you who are always listening to us; you who hear the bird singing in the topmost branch against the blue, blue sky; you who know of the sobbing deep in the rubble after a bombing or the utterings of the newly-born. You, who are the heart of compassion, who gave your son Jesus […]

Every Stranger a Bearer of Gifts: Prayers for Migrants, Cyclone Fani, and Attacked Houses of Worship (May 2, 2019)

This week’s prayers begin with music. Music composed in the late 18th century by an Austrian composer, using an ancient Latin text. Music sung, this past Sunday, by a touring Russian ensemble, at the beginning of worship in an Episcopal church in California, U.S. But perhaps a bit of background is in order. The members […]

Call to Us Now: Prayers After the Sri Lanka Easter Bombings and the Philippines Earthquake (April 25, 2019)

Holy One, Your Name is above all names, it is so high that we cannot attain it, yet still we seek it. And when we cannot find you, when we do not understand what is happening, when our hearts quake with fear and our spirits tremble with unknowing, when we stumble and search and seek […]

After Notre Dame Burned: A Holy Week Prayer for Sacred Places Under Threat (April 18, 2019)

Holy One, As Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France burned this week, so many millions of us were bound together in heartbreak. As Notre Dame emerged damaged but not fully destroyed, so many millions were bound together in hope. As we consider Paris and Notre Dame, we pray for fulfilling and fruitful work of healing and […]