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.

God Hears Amen Wherever We Are: A Prayer for Places of Hope, War and Unrest (May 24, 2018)

“God hears ‘amen’ wherever we are.” –Radney M. Foster We come to you, O Lord, from many places, joining our voices to praise you and to ask for your intercession. We know You hear us regardless of where we are physically. • In places where we hope peace is possible: between North and South Korea, […]

We Are Your Body, Broken: Prayers After the Gaza Border Killings and the Jerusalem Embassy Move (May 17, 2018)

“Let us hear of joy and gladness, that the body you have broken may rejoice” -Psalm 51:8, adapted We are your body, O God. Wonderfully made, and full of promise. We are your body, O God, broken, yet full of promise. We are too often broken in our relationships with one another. Quick to […]

Teach Us to Touch the Earth Lightly: Sectarian Violence, Deforestation and Zimbabwe’s Rangers (May 10, 2018)

Lord, we come before you Prayer is communication that invites at-one-ness with You, the source of our being. We call you God, and as revealed in the flesh, Jesus. We ask for empowerment. Transform us with the life-giving force of the Holy Spirit. Make us channels of the your Eternal Love, Light, and Grace. Help us to […]

There Is a Balm in Gilead: Prayers After the Kabul Bombings and the Nigeria Mosque Attack (May 3, 2018)

There is a balm in Gilead To make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead To heal the sin-sick soul. (African American spiritual) O God, when our hearts are breaking, when our souls are wounded, to whom else shall we turn? Where else shall we bring our prayers, our concerns, our woundedness, our confusion, […]

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear: A Toronto Officer, a Hyderabad Priest and a Montgomery Memorial (April 26, 2018)

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” ~ 1 John 4:7 “Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love […]

Entertain Angels Unaware: Remembering Barbara Bush and Winnie Mandela, and Praying for Our Leaders (April 19, 2018)

We call ourselves to remember, dear God, that you are one. We call you to hear our prayer as we struggle for focus. Our world, your world, changes so drastically. We pray for the immediate survivors of the deaths of the famous, like Barbara Bush in the United States and Winnie Mandela in the Republic […]

Shalom Be With You: Prayers for Douma, Parkland and the Muenster Attack (April 12, 2018)

[Jesus] stood among them and said to them, ‘Shalom be with you.’ ~ Luke 24:36 God of creation and creativity, you’ve given us the gift of language and communication so that we might speak of and learn about you, however feeble our understanding might be. We often take the gift of words for granted, forgetting […]

An Aftermath Prayer: Remembering Hurricanes, Refugees and a Martyr Fifty Years On (April 5, 2018)

An Aftermath Prayer (Luke 24:32-33) Holy God, You defeated doubt and death on Easter morning. You turned the world of what is possible and impossible upside down. You gave us Resurrection. Now comes the aftermath. In the aftermath of many things in life we often fail to follow through with our joy, our intentions, our […]

Be Thou My Vision: Prayers for the Nepal Plane Crash, the Skripal Poisoning, and Parkland Walkouts (March 15, 2018)

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that thou art: Thou my best thought both by day and by night, Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. (Irish Traditional, Tune SLANE) O Light of the World, we stumble around in the darkness of this world which […]

Show Us the Next Right Step: Prayers for Sri Lanka, Syria, Yemen, and School Shooting Survivors (March 8, 2018)

Holy One, When we want to linger in shadows, you expose us to light. When we want to slump into a corner, you lift us up in your presence. When we think our words, our actions, our lives have no effect, you remind us that we are leading people in surprising and unexpected ways. So […]