The anticipation is growing, O God. As Christmas draws near, the longing for redemption, for salvation, for the coming of Christ swells within us. Yet, even as the hope, peace, joy, and love grow in anticipation of the birth of Christ, we are reminded of the rugged realities of life. In the midst of our […]
Teach Me Your Way: A World Teachers Day Prayer for Kyrgyzstan, Storm Alex, and Yemen (October 8, 2020)
Editor’s note: World Teachers’ Day has been celebrated internationally on 5 October each year since 1994, commemorating the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers, which establishes standards for teacher rights and responsibilities, as well as teacher preparation and support. This year’s theme, “Teachers: Leading in Crisis, Reimaging […]
Let Me Hear of Your Steadfast Love: Prayers for Iowa’s Tornadoes and the Mauritius Oil Spill (August 20, 2020)
“Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8 Dearest creator of us all, It is to you that we lift our souls and our very beings. As we draw […]
Come, Lord, Take Our Fear Away: Tennessee Tornadoes, Floods, and Children at the Borders (March 5, 2020)
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. … (God said) I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon […]
Awaken in Us Compassion: Prayers for Midwest Floods, Cyclone Fani, and Ebola Health Workers (May 9, 2019)
Oh God, you who are always listening to us; you who hear the bird singing in the topmost branch against the blue, blue sky; you who know of the sobbing deep in the rubble after a bombing or the utterings of the newly-born. You, who are the heart of compassion, who gave your son Jesus […]
Who Is My Neighbor: Prayers for Standing Rock, the Kabul Bombing, and Louisiana Tornadoes (February 9, 2017)
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. -Luke 10:27 “it is written in the law.” heart & soul. love. neighbor. even if they aren’t nice. another chance to hear that answer. […]
Love One Another: Prayers After the Pakistan Helicopter Crash and Oklahoma Tornadoes (May 8, 2015)
Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” God of Love and Light and Life, God of All Time and No Time, sometimes the demands of everyday life just overtake us and we forget, we lose track, we neglect those things to which we have committed ourselves- […]
Expanding God’s Being: An Advent Prayer for Typhoon Haiyan, UK Storms, and Nelson Mandela (December 5, 2013)
In intercession we, the intercessors, need to know something of the circumstances to kindle our concern. God already knows it all, but it seems in the mystery of humanity where God has given us free will, he will not bypass this and treat us like robots. Our love and concern seem to open the way […]
May Your Kingdom Come: A Prayer After Typhoon Haiyan and US Tornadoes (December 3, 2013)
For in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16 (NRSV) Creating God, you spoke and the world came to be. Through your Word, life began. Your living word continues […]
May Your Footsteps Show: A Prayer for Migrants Lost in the Niger Desert (October 31, 2013)
Creator God, by your word and in your power, you have created us and our world. As we learn more of you, so we come to realize how powerful is your word. In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show. Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me. (John L. Bell […]