We open our hearts to you, God of compassion, God of power, Because we know we need your creative power and precision of language when we speak, we need to learn the voice of clarity, to see with vision, to hear with discretion and act with generosity. In this season of hyper-charged commercialism, ever attempting […]
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 […]
A World of Contrasts: Prayers for Record Cold, Australia’s Heat, and California’s Mudslides (January 11, 2018)
“The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” – Heb. 4:12 Lord you provide for our needs and equip us to help, provide for the needs of others […]
Amazing Grace: Prayers After Hurricane Irma, Deadly School Fires, and Western Wildfires (September 14, 2017)
[Italicized portions below from John Newton’s hymn Amazing Grace] Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see. God of grace and sound, we need finding. The world around us is broken by climatic and political chaos, and […]
Let Us Go Over to the Other Side: A Prayer for the Uncertain, from Graduates to the Grieving (May 18, 2017)
One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. ~ Luke 8:22 Loving God: we come to you today with great uncertainty of our governments, in our neighbors, and within ourselves. Help us to cross over to […]
Love One Another: Prayers for Fort McMurray’s Wildfire Evacuees and Refugees Held on Nauru (May 5, 2016)
“You move us to delight in praising You; for You have formed us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in You.” -St Augustine of Hippo in ‘Confessions’ “(Humans) are the ultimate paradox: the finite made for the infinite.” -Archbishop Desmond Tutu in ‘God has a Dream – a vision of […]
Darkness in Our World and Hope for Your Light: An All Saints Prayer for South Sudan (October 29, 2015)
Gracious and Good God, we come towards All Saints’ Day with darkness in our world and with hope for your light. We pray for the saints who have entered your kingdom who healed individuals and neighborhoods. We pray for those angels among us: those who feed the hungry, comfort the aggrieved, and love their neighbors. […]
You Understand: Prayers for Korean Family Reunions, a School Attack in Sweden, and Typhoon Koppu (October 22, 2015)
‘God is not aloof; God is not a spectator.’ Eugene Victor “Gene” Debs, American union leader. Creator God, we would pray for the whole world, but it’s too big and we are overwhelmed. We understand that you can see all and know all that is before we even think to talk to you about it. […]
Let Us Go Across to the Other Side: A Prayer for Those Fleeing Syria and for Our Own Storms (September 3, 2015)
When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that […]
Light in the Darkness: A Prayer After the Charlie Hebdo Attack (January 8, 2015)
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord. Proverbs 21:30 The rich and the poor have this in common, the Lord is the Maker of them all. Proverbs 22:2 Lord, when will You tear the heavens apart to make Your will known and show Your might? Yes, I […]