But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? […]
Christ Be Our Light: Prayers After the Methodist Vote and the Hanoi Summit (February 28, 2019)
Longing for light, we wait in darkness. Longing for truth, we turn to you. Make us your own, your holy people, Light for the world to see. Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts. Shine through the darkness. Christ, be our light! Shine in your church gathered today. Words and music by Bernadette Farrell […]
Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying: For Volcanoes, Separated Families and Contested Elections (June 7, 2018)
(The hymn used in these prayers is “Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying” by Ken Medema) Lord, listen to your children praying, Lord, send your Spirit in this place; Lord, listen to your children praying, Send us love, send us pow’r, send us grace. Lord God, open our eyes to the power and promise of […]
Teach Us to Touch the Earth Lightly: Sectarian Violence, Deforestation and Zimbabwe’s Rangers (May 10, 2018)
Lord, we come before you Prayer is communication that invites at-one-ness with You, the source of our being. We call you God, and as revealed in the flesh, Jesus. We ask for empowerment. Transform us with the life-giving force of the Holy Spirit. Make us channels of the your Eternal Love, Light, and Grace. Help us to […]
There Is a Balm in Gilead: Prayers After the Kabul Bombings and the Nigeria Mosque Attack (May 3, 2018)
There is a balm in Gilead To make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead To heal the sin-sick soul. (African American spiritual) O God, when our hearts are breaking, when our souls are wounded, to whom else shall we turn? Where else shall we bring our prayers, our concerns, our woundedness, our confusion, […]
Comfort, O Comfort My People: An Advent Prayer After the Travel Ban and Delhi’s Toxic Air (December 7, 2017)
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1-2, NRSV) God of comfort, we live in a world that increasingly reveals its disconnection from […]
Who Is My Neighbor: A Sabbath Prayer for Kurdistan, Catalonia, Bali, and Vanuatu (September 28, 2017)
Ex 31:16 “The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant.”(NIV) Creator God, you give us every good and perfect gift. We celebrate the equinox so easily, the turning of the world and change of seasons, the seedtime and the harvest; our unique place in the […]
Lead Us From Darkness to Light: A Prayer for Peace 72 Years After Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 10, 2017)
Dear God Today we pray for peace. We remember those who perished with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan 72 years ago this week. The monuments and memorials and parks in these cities and other cities and lands having suffered holocausts remind us that our prayers are mighty and necessary. Help us to […]
A Glimpse of All Your Works: Prayers After North Korea’s Nuclear Test and Typhoon Meranti (September 15, 2016)
O how wondrous is the foreknowledge of the divine heart that knew every creature in advance. For when God looked upon the human face that he had formed, he glimpsed all his works, in that same human form, all summed up. O how wondrous is the inspiration that has thus animated the human being. […]
Hold It in Trust: A Prayer for the Care of Creation, Climate Change, and Nuclear Peace (August 20, 2015)
God, of whose creative force it is said: “Before the world was created, the Holy One kept creating worlds and destroying them. Finally He created this one, and was satisfied. He said to Adam: ‘This is the last world I shall make. I place it in your hands: hold it in trust.’ “ [Gates of […]