“I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 Dear God, Our world is changing in ways that we never imagined. We are in need of your unwavering love. We live in a world which holds so […]
Let Me Hear of Your Steadfast Love: Prayers for Iowa’s Tornadoes and the Mauritius Oil Spill (August 20, 2020)
“Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8 Dearest creator of us all, It is to you that we lift our souls and our very beings. As we draw […]
Praying With Psalm 116: A Pandemic of Grief, Lost Work, and Famine of Biblical Proportions (April 23, 2020)
Praying with Psalm 116 in this time of pandemic* We love you, O God, because you have heard the voice of our supplications, because you have inclined your ear to us whenever we called upon you. (Psalm 116, v. 1, adapted) Because you have been faithful to us, O God, from time immemorial, bringing us […]
Hope Will Not Be Canceled: How Are We to Pray in a Time of Pandemic (March 25, 2020)
Conversations will not be cancelled. Relationships will not be cancelled. Love will not be cancelled. Songs will not be cancelled. Reading will not be cancelled. Self-care will not be cancelled. Hope will not be cancelled. * Beloved, how are we to pray in these times of pandemic, when country after country imposes stringent stay-at-home orders? […]
From a Distance: A Prayer for a Connected World in Lockdown (March 19, 2020)
From a distance the world looks blue and green And the snow capped mountains white From a distance the ocean meets the stream And the eagle takes to flight* Holy One, during this time of social distancing and lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, remind us that we are still connected to one another. We […]
A Rock in a Weary Land: A Lenten Prayer for Hope, Faith, and Love (February 27, 2020)
Jesus is a rock in a weary land, A weary land, a weary land; My Jesus is a rock in a weary land, A shelter in the time of storm. African American spiritual God of forgiveness and mercy, God of grace and truth, we enter this season of Lent with both gratitude and trepidation. Evidence […]
For Those Who Fail to Make Headlines: Prayers for Ebola, British Steel, and Cyclone Recovery (May 23, 2019)
Creator of the universe, the same yesterday, today and forever and yet new every morning: You made the world in beauty. Open our hearts to your power that moves around us and between us and within us, until your glory is revealed in our love of all communities. Transform us and all communities by your justice […]
You Are My Beloved: Prayers During the US Government Shutdown and After the Nairobi Siege (January 17, 2019)
As the words of the Spirit echo in our ears, “You are my child, my beloved.” “You bring me delight and joy.” The news of the week shakes us back to reality, the world is not as it could be, the heavenly kingdom struggles to break forth. Grant us courage in the face of our […]
What Are We That You Are Mindful of Us: Prayers for Yemen, Idlib and a Neglected Earth (September 27, 2018)
What are we that you are mindful of us? You made us a little lower than the heavenly beings, and crowned us with glory and honor. You made us ruler over the works of your hands; You put everything under our feet O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is our name in all the Earth.” […]
Do Not Fear: Prayers for Refugees on Lesbos, a Typhoon in Japan and Brazil’s Museum Fire (September 6, 2018)
Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I […]