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.

Give Us Wisdom to Discern: Prayers After the China Warehouse Blast and a Baghdad Truck Bomb (August 13, 2015)

God, in the trouble of this world, in the confusion of rumor and news, in the anxiety of daily life, we pray that you will give us wisdom, that we may discern between good and evil. Give us wisdom in selecting our leaders. We pray for Sri Lanka as they prepare for their Parliamentary […]

Today the World Is Full of Glory: A Prayer on the 70th Anniversary of Hiroshima (August 6, 2015)

Today is the 70th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropping on Hiroshima, and three days later over Nagasaki. At a ceremony to mark the anniversary, which included Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador, Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, said “Seventy years on I want to re-emphasize the necessity of world peace.” The Church of England […]

Souls Stitched With Love: Prayers for Sandra Bland, the Lafayette Theater Shooting, and Syria (July 30, 2015)

Heavenly Father and Mother, be with us today and in all times. We call upon you in our most vulnerable moments. We call for you to bear witness to our lives, to help us take the steps needed to serve you with love, compassion, faith, and understanding. Continue to remind us that it is our […]

Be Still and Know That I Am God: A Prayer for Peace Talks in Afghanistan and the Iran Agreement (July 16, 2015)

“Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” -Psalm 46:10 (NRSV) In the midst of the tasks of life, the busy-ness, the rush, the never-ending to-do lists, it is easy to lose sight of you, O God. Still us now, so that […]

How Long, O Lord: Prayers After the Kuwait Mosque and Tunisia Beach Attacks (July 2, 2015)

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light […]

Give Us the Patience to Listen: Prayers for Greece, Charleston, and Pakistan’s Heatwave (June 25, 2015)

Lord of the past, present and future, sometimes I have this view of you pushing your hair back, in exasperation, and wondering when will we return to you and listen. Just once in our lives – really listen, then do something. It must be so vexing to you when we do something then complain – […]

Well May the World Go: A Prayer of Anguish After the Charleston Church Shooting (June 18, 2015)

Well may the world go, The world go, the world go, Well may the world go, When I’m far away. — Pete Seeger (c. 1973) For months now, this has been my wake-up song, a conscious choice to spend my first moments of each day letting go of all I can’t control, of all I cannot […]

Your Kingdom Grows in Day and Night: Prayers for China’s Children and Canada’s Schools (June 11, 2015)

Gracious Lord, we seek your Kingdom, which grows during both day and night. Help us, even when we do not know how, to remember that when things seem dark you are still at work in the world. We pray for China where the mass migration of parents looking for work have left millions […]

Sustained by God’s Love: Prayers for the Yangtze River Ship Disaster and the Accra Fire (June 4, 2015)

Assured of God’s grace and sustained by God’s love, let us open our hearts and minds as we pray together. Ever present God, with thanksgiving and praise we honor you for the gift of life. Your love strengthens us in times of despair, your wisdom speaks to us in times of uncertainty, and your Spirit […]

In That Promise We Rest: Prayers for US Flooding, India’s Heat Wave, and a Japanese Volcano (May 28, 2015)

When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming. – Matthew […]