World In Prayer prayers

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It was my week to write the prayers and I simply didn't have the time I would have liked to give to them. The salt of the earth, light of the world reading from the lectionary this morning was a natural jumping off point, but my reading of the news was more of a skim of the headlines. I found myself thinking, "Blah blah blah, Syria, Russia, drought. Isn't there anything new and interesting going on?" I feel like I didn't do justice to any of the things in the news, and so I am grateful to other people for holding the prayers for me this week.

The other piece I added was about how we can be salt and light in our local situations. With all my blah-de-blah attitude, one thing I pondered was how we need to be salt and light right where we are, and that there is so much that needs salt and light that will never make it in the papers. So I wanted to bring that out. 

But as I said, these prayers were quite rushed and I feel I didn't hit the mark I would have liked. Still...here they are.


World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 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 have come to compete, and for those displaced from their homes to make way for the sporting venues.

We pray for North Carolina (USA) where tons of coal ash spilled into the Dan River have affected the area’s drinking water.

We pray for Pakistan and the Taliban as they enter into peace talks.

We pray for Syria where the government has reached a deal allowing civilians to leave the besieged city of Homs.

We pray for the more than 1,100 African migrants rescued by the Italian navy, and for all those fleeing their home due to conflict or lack of resources.

We pray for California (USA) as it suffers from severe drought and for other parts of the US experiencing extreme cold, and for those affected by these conditions.

We pray for women throughout the world, especially for the women of Iraq, thousands of whom are detained illegally and subject to abuse.

And we pray for those needs close to home and close to our hearts.

We pray for those areas of pain and conflict that never reach the headlines and yet are still of immense importance to us and to you, O Lord.

We pray for strength and courage to be salt, to be light, to be peace, to be love to our neighbors here at home and to our neighbors throughout the world. Amen.