Friday, November 4, 2011

World In Prayer, November 4

It was my week to write the World in Prayer prayers, and they didn't turn out as I hoped. I had been pondering them early in the week, but ended up writing them in a rush yesterday in order to make our deadline (which I still missed). I had wanted something to tie in neatly with the gospel reading for All Saints...but I'm not sure they tied in as well as I would have liked. Nevertheless, here they are.


As we remember this week all your saints, O Lord, and all who have died in Your loving embrace, we give you thanks and offer our prayers for all the blessed, known and unknown, whom you love and call your own.

We pray for the poor in spirit.

·        We pray for the dozens of Chinese miners trapped in a pit in Henan province after a "rock burst."
·        We pray for all who were born this week, as the UN estimated that the world's population reached seven billion people on Monday.

We pray for those who mourn.

·        We pray for those whose families have been killed in conflicts throughout the world.
·        We pray for those who have lost loved ones to hunger or deprivation, to disease and injury.
·        We pray for those who mourn the loss of their livelihood or their home.
·        We pray for those who mourn any loss.

We pray for the meek.

·        We pray for the people of Oakland, CA (USA) as they try to address issues of income inequality through the Occupy protests in the face of retaliation and violence.
·        We pray for those whose lives are affected by decisions they cannot control. We pray for wisdom for the European Union as they make financial decisions whose impact reaches millions of people.

We pray for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

·        We pray for those who participated in the second Africa Human Rights Defenders Training in West Africa last week, as they return to their homes to carry on this work.
·        We pray for the work of the Ecumenical Water Network Forum, who address the literal issue of thirst throughout the world.

We pray for the merciful.

·        We pray for Venezuela, where officials are trying to negotiate the release of two police officers taken hostage during a prison riot in the western state of Tachira.
·        We pray for Serbia, where 27 Roma families in Belgrade face imminent forced eviction from their homes to make way for new commercial housing to be built by a government-owned company.
·        We pray for Housing Justice in the UK, which welcomed the news that Westminster Council is dropping its proposal to introduce a new by-law making it a criminal offence to feed homeless people on the streets.

We pray for the pure in heart.

·        We pray for Honduras, where 176 police were arrested in a purge against corruption and organized crime.
·        We pray for those Muslims who are taking part in the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

We pray for the peacemakers.

·        We pray for Syria, where Syrian forces killed at least 12 people just one day after the Arab League brokered a plan to halt violence and convene talks between the government and the opposition.
·        We pray for relations between Pakistan and India, after the Pakistani government's recent decision to award "most favored nation" trading status to India.
·        We pray for peace in Gaza, where Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday shortly after two snipers on motorcycles fired at Israeli troops patrolling the border fence; and where Israel has announced that its navy will attempt to stop two boats carrying pro-Palestinian activists bound for the Gaza Strip.

We pray for those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.

·        We pray for Qiu Xiang, a Buddhist nun in China’s southwest Sichuan Province, who died Thursday after setting herself on fire.
·        We pray for those who are mocked or despised for their desire for justice or peace; for those who seek justice and do mercy and walk humbly with their God. 

And we pray that we may be counted among the multitude of saints who are your witness and workers in this world. Give us courage and wisdom to do your will and persevere through all things, that we may end our days in your peace and rest with you eternally, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think these are wonderful prayers. Thank you for posting them.
--Sharon