World in Prayer

Sharing in God’s loving compassion for all

A Prayer Is Not a News Bulletin: Praying for Peace in Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, and Yemen (November 16, 2023)

Dear God, A prayer is not a news bulletin, a donation request, telegram, text message, or a voice message. One could suppose that each could contain elements of a prayer, but they seem quite secular and every day. How do we ask you to bring your peace that passes all understanding among us in these […]

God of Our Longings: Prayers for Gaza, Ukraine, Migrant Caravans, and Nepal’s Earthquakes (November 9, 2023)

God of our Longings, The German root of longing, langen, is ‘reach, extend.’ We reach and extend our hands and hearts to You. We reach and extend our hands and hearts to each other as we see so much that is broken and longing to be made whole again. We long for deep and lasting […]

It Could Have Been Me: A Personal Prayer on Israel, Hamas, and Inherited Grief (October 26, 2023)

My maternal grandparents wanted to emigrate to Israel. Growing up as extremely poor Jews in Poland,  in 1920 they were barely out of their teens when they caught the dream of a safe homeland for Jews, governed not by hereditary leaders, but by the people. With no ships willing to transport Jews to what the […]

Let Us Be Free From War: A Prayer for Countries Facing Terrorist Insurgency (October 19, 2023)

Words Found in the Rubble after the Final War Yes, we lived in a time of darkness and did nothing. Yes, we looked up and we saw the sky on fire and we knew that we had made the flames with our own hands. Yes, we wasted every breath on rage. Children, if any of […]

A World Free From Nuclear Weapons: Prayers 78 Years After Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 3, 2023)

As the world marks the 78th anniversary of the bombing of Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki August 6-8, we acknowledge the religious, political, diplomatic, economic, and cultural state of the nuclear weapon era in our world community and pray for the end of this scourge: This week features a religious dialogue between Japanese bishops and United States pilgrims (including Archbishop […]

Prince of Peace: An Advent Prayer for Journalists Killed and Oregon’s Death Row (December 15, 2022)

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 God of Advent, The words of Isaiah come to us spoken over 2,300 years ago. They arrive in Christmas cards […]

A Prayer for Disarmament Week: Nuclear Threats, North Korean Missiles, and the West Bank (October 27, 2022)

God of peace, we gather as a community of seekers from every corner of the world during this annual United Nations Disarmament Week.  Our world is threatened by nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and small arms. For the Ukrainians threatened by the nuclear saber rattling of Russian leadership; For the conversion of the minds and […]

Teach Us to Recognise Your Accent: A Prayer for Ukraine and the Conflicts the World Forgot (March 10, 2022)

My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” Ps 27:8 (New Living Translation) In stillness let us hear your voice, God. Easy to say, but hard to do. The endless whirl and explosion of thoughts in our heads force their way to grab our […]

Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Prayers for Mozambique, Ethiopia, and the Armenia Ceasefire (November 12, 2020)

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive […]