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.

When the News Is Also Olds: Prayers for Johannesburg’s Fire, Mosul, and Charlie Gard (July 6, 2017)

Lord, time after time the news reflects what has happened; this week’s events reflecting what has already happened. So we pray for those for whom the news is also “olds” – for they remember the pain, the trauma, the fear, the deep changes in their lives. We pray for those caught in the fire in […]

Your Kingdom Come: Prayers After the Travel Ban, for Niger’s Abandoned Migrants and Gaza’s Newborns (June 29, 2017)

Your glorious cause, O God Engages our hearts May Jesus Christ be known Wherever we are We ask not for ourselves, but for Your renown The cross has saved us so we pray Your kingdom come. – Let Your Kingdom Come, by Bob Kauflin Holy and almighty God, in the face of suffering and trials, […]

Worth More Than Sparrows: Prayers for Portugal’s Wildfires, Storm Cindy, and Yemen’s Cholera (June 22, 2017)

Lord, I can see the cherries ripening on the tree outside. The raspberries redden almost quicker than I can pick, but there are those for whom there will be no harvest. As sparrows happily investigate the fruit, they remind me, everyone is of more value than sparrows. Deep down we really know this, however […]

The Harvest of Grace: Prayers After the Grenfell Tower Fire and Mogadishu Bombing (June 15, 2017)

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the overseer of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest. —Matthew 9.37-38 Harvest by Pastor Steve Garnaas-Holmes Maybe the harvest is not bringing people to Christ but gathering the fruits of the Spirit God has sown in you for the sake of […]

Come, Holy Spirit: Prayers for Cyclone Mora, the Kabul Bombing, and Cholera in Yemen (June 1, 2017)

God, our creator, we thank you for you spoke the world into being for good and send your empowering Spirit on all. Forgive us when it is easy to look at all the events which the news media highlights and think nothing ever changes. Yet as the world turns and we move into astronomical […]

Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled: Prayers for Iran’s Mine Disaster and Shipwrecks off Libya (May 11, 2017)

[Jesus said to the disciples,] “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I […]

I Came That They May Have Life: Prayers for Iran’s Miners, Amazon Tribes, and Midwest Floods (May 4, 2017)

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. – John 10:10b Never-ending God, we long for abundant life. All too often we settle for what our minds believe we deserve. But that isn’t abundance. Or, as we strive to live abundantly, we do so at the expense of others, or the environment, […]

Amen, May It Be So: Prayers for Venezuela’s Protests and Arkansas Executions (April 27, 2017)

Amen. Yes. So be it. It will certainly be like this. May it be so. This is the truth. On this we can depend. Amen! Compassionate and loving God, as we watch events unfold across our world, our emotions often cannot be translated into words. So we call out to You with a word You […]

Roll Away the Stones: Prayers After the Aleppo Bus Bombing and for Refugees at Sea (April 20, 2017)

“According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1.3 Lord, giver of life, let us live our lives to the full, with humility, care and compassion and in your Son’s image. Let us forgive where […]

This Is the Day the Lord Has Made: Prayers After the Egypt Church Bombings and Stockholm Attack (April 13, 2017)

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 We are stumbling on our way toward the day of Resurrection, gracious God. Stumbling and falling, sometimes crawling on our knees toward the cross, hoping that when we lift our tear-filled eyes, it will be empty, […]