Is anything too hard for the Lord? Genesis 18:14 Healing of the nations. I watched a documentary on BBC TV called “The Children of Syria,” which followed children for several months from all sides in the war. Watching them parrot the hate for their former friends as taught them by their adult family and community […]
The Middle East Is Not a Playing Field: A Prayer After the Murder of Four Teenagers (July 10, 2014)
Lord, we love our sports, games, competition. Winners and losers, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, we love it all. But Lord, we mix our metaphors, we mistake life for games, we use the language of war for the playing fields. Remind us, God, that the Middle East is not a playing field. […]
A Game That Transcends Language: A Prayer at the Opening of the World Cup in Brazil (June 12, 2014)
Creator God, in the midst of economic, political, and social turmoils, we thank you for the opportunity to gather for another World Cup. We thank you for open fields that ignite children’s imaginations, for communities and governments that promote healthy activities, for the opportunity to teach teamwork and sportsmanship. We praise you for giving us […]
Searching for Olympic Goodness: A Prayer for Sochi, the Mogadishu Bombing, and UK Floods (February 28, 2014)
Creativity God, we search for wholeness because your energy within us desires such. With this in mind, we see the incessant news from our world that seems to portray more brokenness than ever before. A week ago, those in the United States were reminded by one Olympic national news correspondent that “…no amount of Olympic glory […]
Calm Me, Lord: A Prayer for Storm-Battered Britain, the Homs Ceasefire, and the Sochi Olympics (February 13, 2014)
Calm me, Lord Calm me, Lord, as you calmed the storm; Still me, Lord, keep me from harm, Let all the tumult within me cease, enfold me, Lord, in your peace. Text: David Adam What a maelstrom of events is present in the news this week. Torrential unseasonal rain in Indonesia has affected the Pacific […]
Salt of the Earth: Prayers for the Sochi Olympics, the Dan River Coal Ash Spill, and Homs (February 6, 2014)
Jesus, you call us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. May we shine the light of your peace and love to its farthest corners as we remember your world in our prayers. We pray for Russia as it hosts the Winter Olympics in Sochi, for the athletes who […]
Sometimes I Don’t Know What to Say: A New Year Prayer Amid Despair and Silliness (January 16, 2014)
God, sometimes I don’t know what to say. I write my prayer the same week that I offer prayers for three mothers who died too young. I write my prayer with the sounds of despair all around me. A Middle East that never seems to see what the Wise Men saw, a star in the […]