1 “I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! 3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. 5 The Lord […]
Holy Child, Bless Us All: A Christmas Prayer for Every Nation on Earth (December 28, 2017)
Holy child God from God, Light from Light Wisdom from before all worlds began Pain bearer Soul healer Life giver Challenger and Comforter Love beyond Love, beyond Love: Bless us all. As is our custom, in this Christmas-tide, we pause from praying about international events, to pray for everyone, in every nation in this world: […]
Astonished Praise: A Prayer of Gratitude for Scientists, Writers, and Artists (October 12, 2017)
Beloved God, here in the United States, home of many and mingled people, all of whom we honor, we bring our astonished praise for all the gifts that surround us. Having just learned the names of MacArthur Foundation Fellows of 2017, we have been at least introduced to marvelous ways our universe and our lives […]
There Is a Balm in Gilead: Prayers for Those Jailed for Speaking Out, Firefighters, and Elephants (August 3, 2017)
The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down. Psalm 145:14 There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul. God of grace and glory, God who knows our hearts and minds, you can see, you […]
Sighs Too Deep for Words: Prayers for a World of Fires, Floods, Famine, and War (July 27, 2017)
The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple…. My eyes shed streams of tears because your law is not kept. Ps 119: 130, 136 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs […]
Steal Into Our Hearts, O Holy Child: A Christmas Prayer for Every Nation on Earth (December 28, 2016)
Steal into our hearts, O Holy Child. Steal into the aching places, the lonely places, the lost places; Steal into the joy-filled places, the delight-filled places. Steal into our hearts, and fill them with tenderness and love. Steal into our nations, O Holy Child. Steal into the power-hungry and the powerless; Steal into the peace-makers and the […]
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 […]
This: A Lenten Prayer in Photographs of Refugee Children in Croatia, Serbia, and Uganda (March 4, 2016)
This. World in Prayer doesn’t post photographs. Ever. We don’t include photographs with our prayers, because: We don’t have the resources or expertise to verify that photos are authentic – unaltered, not staged, genuinely of the place/event they purport to show, really taken by the named photographer. News photos are copyrighted. They cannot be reproduced […]
For God So Loved the World: A Christmas Prayer Naming Every Nation in Its Own Language (December 23, 2015)
Christmas 2015 For God so loved the world (such a beloved world, to warrant such a gift) That he gave his only Son (such love, to be born amongst us) To live and die as one of us (so strong with tenderness, such joy in sorrow) To imbue us with a spirit of adoption […]
So Yes, Bring Us the Refugees: A Thanksgiving Prayer for Welcome and Everyday Courage (November 26, 2015)
17 Pray constantly, and 18 give thanks to God no matter what circumstances you find yourself in. (This is God’s will for all of you in Jesus the Anointed.) 19 Don’t suppress the Spirit. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5: 17 – 19 The Voice Compassionate and merciful God it is good to give you thanks and praise this […]