World in Prayer

Sharing in God’s loving compassion for all

Prayers for Yemen

Yemen is prayed for here mainly through war, hunger and a health system stretched past its limits, with cholera, water shortages and cuts to aid named plainly. Refugees living within its borders are remembered as well. These prayers return often to the concern that Yemen is slipping from the world's attention.

Stick with Love: Prayers for Myanmar, US Prisons, and the Philippines (February 18, 2021)

I have decided to stick with love… Hate is too great a burden to bear.  Martin Luther King Oh Lord, your house is built with understanding and compassion – it is our quiet center.  If only we could grasp its power. In small agitations and overwhelming calamities, during times of lament and great injustices help […]

Lord, Rend the Heavens and Answer: Prayers for Gaza, Indonesia’s Disasters, and Syria’s Camps (January 21, 2021)

This opening Litany of Praise is from the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity 2021 taken from the ecumenical service published by CTBI prepared by the The Monastic Community of Grandchamp. Switzerland.  Congregation: You who call us to be praise in the midst of the earth: glory to you! Reader 1: We sing your praise in the midst […]

Though I May Speak: Prayers for a Walled World, Famine, and the Storming of the US Capitol (January 7, 2021)

Editor’s note:  World In Prayer needs a few more writers and editors!  Our team consists of 12-15 volunteers, from several different countries and continents. Each week, one person writes the prayers in response to international news. A second person then edits and posts the prayers online.  Because we rotate who writes and edits, you would end up serving […]

I Am For You: A Year’s End Prayer After a Maelstrom of a Year (December 31, 2020)

As I come to write this I am frazzled, angry and baffled at the illogical, selfish behavior of some close to me who with their medical expertise and knowledge should know better and take precautions in the face of the surging pandemic. They are not alone – sadly. Lockdowns, illness, suffering, death, separation, and lack […]

Teach Me Your Way: A World Teachers Day Prayer for Kyrgyzstan, Storm Alex, and Yemen (October 8, 2020)

Editor’s note:  World Teachers’ Day has been celebrated internationally on 5 October each year since 1994, commemorating the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers, which establishes standards for teacher rights and responsibilities, as well as teacher preparation and support.  This year’s theme, “Teachers:  Leading in Crisis, Reimaging […]

No Hands but Yours: Prayers for the West Coast Wildfires, Hurricane Season, and Yemen’s Hunger (September 17, 2020)

“No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you […]

Help Us to Hear These Voices: Prayers for Housekeepers, Child Soldiers, and Beirut (August 6, 2020)

Dear Lord, help us to hear these voices. I pray today that my knees and back hold up.  I pray that my mom and children are ok in our two-bedroom apartment while I work at a hotel and clean 15 rooms each day. I pray that my paycheck will be enough, that my car holds […]

Your Glory Fills the Skies: Prayers for Yemen, Locust Swarms, and Monsoon Floods (July 23, 2020)

Ever-creating God, Your glory fills the skies, from the transient sparkle of the fleeting meteor to the unexpected spectacle of Comet Neowise; your glory fills the earth from mountain height to ocean depth.  We praise you. As difficult as it is to find words to express how much your glory thrills and excites us it […]

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 […]