For the children of Syria,
for the women of Afghanistan,
for the men of Iraq,
for the elderly of Egypt:
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For those hungry in the midst of plenty,
the sick far from medical care,
the homeless after natural disaster,
those grieving for those lost in conflict:
Lord in your mercy …
We pray for those at this time
whose nation and place and culture
can no longer sustain them:
when war destroys all that's familiar;
when hatred between clans and races
cause people to leave home and district;
when the greed of others
despoils the fields and the forests
and removes their livelihood.
So many, O Lord, roam the world,
seeking a place to rest.
We pray that frontiers will be opened,
and welcome may be offered
and that the generosity of nations will continue
in spite of the scale of the need
Hidden God,
you meet us in those we encounter,
you wrestle with us in the choices we make,
you affirm us when we lay upon you our burdens -
our God, abroad in our world today.
Help us to follow where you lead,
to trace your hand at work in the movement of things,
and to labour with you, to pray with you
for the coming of your Kingdom on earth.
God of Abraham and Sarah,
Jacob, Moses, and Aaron,
who through your prophets
raised the eyes of your people
to seek a better country
where justice prevailed
and peace reclaimed the streets;
we pray for the peoples of our time
that their lives be not shaped
by the stories only of their past,
but that they may discover,
in the traditions of their faith
and in the encounter with those
who are different from themselves,
a future in which there is room
for the gifts of all.