Lord please teach us how to pray. Please hear our prayers and respond in ways we can’t ignore. We ask you to change us.
We pray for the people of Zimbabwe. We ask that the cholera epidemic would be brought under control, and that you would guide and protect the people working to fight it. We pray for good government: we ask you to put trustworthy and wise leaders in place and guide them. We take this moment to pray for hope in Zimbabwe. Lord, please let us know if you want us to act to help this situation.
We pray for the people of Nigeria. We ask that the fighting between Christians and Muslims in Jos would end, and we pray that those who are harmed would show restraint and forgiveness in their response. We pray that the Christians involved in the situation would bring glory to you by the way they act. We ask that Christians and Muslims in the whole of the country would find a way to live together peacefully. We take this moment to pray for hope in Nigeria. Lord, please let us know if you want us to act to help this situation.
We pray for the people of the USA. We ask that your name would be glorified there. We pray for Barak Obama as he prepares to run the country. Please give him true wisdom, and guide and direct him. We pray that he would lead the world on a path of peace and reconciliation. We pray especially for the relationship between the West and the Muslim world, and ask that it would improve, and people would know that reconciliation comes from you. We take this moment to pray for hope in the USA. Please speak to us if you want us to take action.
Lord, it is hard to listen when we hear news from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It seems hopeless – how can people ever live peacefully after suffering the unspeakable violations that have happened and are still happening? Lord, we pray that you would put an end to it. We pray for safety for the people of Goma, and all the people escaping the fighting into Uganda and other places. We long for the day when the government is on your shoulders. We take this moment to pray for hope in Congo. Prince of Peace, let your will be done there. Please let us know if you want us to act to help this situation.
We pray for ourselves. Some of us may lose our jobs or income in the recession that is coming, and many of us are worried about what will happen to us. We take this opportunity to say that we trust you, and we will follow wherever you take us. We pray that you would provide for our needs, and we offer our lives as sacrifices to you. Please use us to tell people about the amazing hope there is when we follow you. Let’s take this moment to offer ourselves to God. Lord, show us what you want us to do.
[Prayed at my church on 2008-12-04.]