Lord, have mercy, Christ, have mercy, Here and there and everywhere in between, On you and me and everyone in between, Now and later and upon everything in between. Lord Christ, we need your mercy. The suffering in South Sudan echoes the horrors of civil war, genocide and ethnic cleansing that mock the hope of […]
Go From Your Country: Prayers for Famine in South Sudan, Cyclone Enawo, and the Kabul Attack (March 9, 2017)
Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who […]
Teach Us to Pray Thoughtfully: The South Sudan Famine, the Armyworm, and Cyclone Alfred (February 23, 2017)
This week, Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from 146 countries celebrated World Thinking Day. Lord, we pray that all members of the various uniformed organisations will remember these years as time of enjoyment, friendship and enlightenment. We pray that their leaders will not abuse in any way the power and trust placed in them, but […]
Write What You See: Prayers After the US Election, for Nigeria’s Survivors and Yemen’s Hunger (December 28, 2016)
What’s God going to say to my questions? I’m braced for the worst. I’ll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon. I’ll wait to see what God says, how he’ll answer my complaint. And then God answered: “Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it […]
The Lord Looks at the Heart: A Prayer for Yazidi Women, Hungry North Koreans, and Our Blindness (August 4, 2016)
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7, NIV Loving God, we pray today for the same instruction that you gave to Samuel: […]
Teach Us to Listen: A Prayer After the Attack in Nice and a Week of Violence (July 14, 2016)
There is a terrifying passage in ‘I and Thou’ by the Jewish mystic Martin Buber in which God says ‘I have sunk my hearing in the deafness of mortals’. If this should be even partly true what a tremendous responsibility it places upon us to listen, to listen to each other with our whole attention, […]
All Good Gifts: A Summer Prayer After the Istanbul Airport Attack and for South Sudan’s Hunger (June 30, 2016)
God of the seasons, we thank you for summer. You surround us with evidence of revival, eternal life, abundance, resurrection in every field, every garden, every flower bed, every forest, every vacation spot and swimming hole. The discovery in Nepal of a tiny but flourishing colony of birds – red-faced liocichla – thought to have been […]
Lord, Hear Our Prayer: For EgyptAir Flight MS804, Sri Lanka’s Landslides, and Venezuela’s Hunger (May 19, 2016)
Heavenly Father, we come to you with open but hurt hearts with this week’s news. May the Holy Spirit fill us with strength and compassion towards our neighbors, near and far. We pray for the millions of students who celebrate their graduations. May their learning enrich our world. Lord, hear our prayer. We pray for […]
Lord, Speak to Me That I May Speak: Prayers for Somalia’s Hungry and for Those Who Answer the Call (May 12, 2016)
Loving God, we pray for your guidance, yea even for your insistence, that we learn from the distillation of meaningful description of the lives of those whose example we would follow. When we feel weak, remind us we are no weaker than Moses who as an infant was condemned to death by Pharaoh with all […]
Into Your Hands: Prayers Against Modern Slavery, Hunger, and Closing Borders (February 18, 2016)
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 approximately once […]