Many American Christians today have inherited a faith in which the United States is central. We grew up pledging allegiance to “one nation, under God” and boasting about our “Christian nation.” Since many areas of the world do not have the same religious freedom we do, it is right for us to give thanks for our blessings. However, we must be careful not to trade in humble faith for national pride.
As a kid growing up in the Evangelical church in the early 2000s, I was surrounded by messages about our Christian nation but knew very little about the Christian church around the world. Then, at the end of high school, I traveled out of the country for the first time, an experience that opened my eyes to a whole new dimension of faith. I mistakenly thought that America was better than other countries, and my world perception was stereotypically ethnocentric. Americans sent missionaries to other nations. So I thought of other countries as needy, impoverished, less advanced, or less knowledgeable. I was so wrong!
Christians in the USA have benefitted from freedom for many years, but we must be careful that our privilege doesn’t cause us to become like spoiled children. Our desire to share the gospel with every nation often turns into a one-sided savior complex. We forget we can be formed, shaped, challenged, and grown through the valuable discipleship of the global church.
Christians from less wealthy countries have much to teach us about our greed and materialism. Christians from less free countries have much to teach us about the cost of the gospel and the joy of suffering within persecution. Christians from other cultures have much to teach us about how we can interact with God and express our worship to Him. So, this week, let us unite with Christians worldwide and lift them up through written liturgical prayers from every corner of the world.
General Prayers for the Global Church
PRAYER FOR THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH
Almighty Father, whose blessed Son before His passion prayed for His disciples that they might be one, as you and He are one: Grant that your Church, being bound together in love and obedience to you may be united in one body by the one Spirit, that the world may believe in Him whom you have sent, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. [Source, pg 254]
PRAYER FOR MARGINALIZED PEOPLE
For those deprived of their human needs,
and their human rights:
that they may be given the dignity
which God confers on all his people;
We pray to the Lord:
For all who are forgotten or thrown away,
And especially for the poor, the sick, and the aged:
That God might change our hearts
And move us to love them as the image of Christ;
We pray to the Lord:
For all who are lonely or afraid,
For teenagers on the street,
Old people in nursing homes,
Prisoners with no one to visit them,
And all whom the world has forgotten:
That Christ might lead us to them;
We pray to the Lord:
For all who are forgotten or cast off:
that we might value each human life,
as a priceless gift from God;
We pray to the Lord:
For those who are mentally disabled:
that we might cherish the gifts God has given them,
and in their lives hear the voice of our loving God;
We pray to the Lord. [Source]
PRAYER FOR INTERNATIONAL UNREST
Almighty Father,
Whose will is to restore all things
In your beloved Son, the King of all:
Govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,
And bring the families of the nations,
Divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
To be subject to his just and gentle rule;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. [Source]
PRAYER FOR THE UNREACHED
O God of all the nations of the earth: Remember the multitudes who have been created in your image but have not known the redeeming work of our Savior Jesus Christ, and grant that, by the prayers and labors of your holy Church, they may be brought to know and worship you as you have been revealed in your Son; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. [Source]
PRAYER FOR GOD’S CHURCH THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. [Source]
Praying for Each Continent
North America & Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire: Sint Eustatius and Saba, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin (French Part), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States of America, and the United States Virgin Islands.
PRAYER FOR THE U.S.
Almighty God: We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
[Source, written by George Washington]
PRAYER FROM JAMAICA
Father,
Keep your church free,
That it may be the channel through which
Justice and peace,
Integrity and wholeness,
Harmony and goodwill
May flow to the dispossessed and the desperate,
That your Kingdom may come in all its fulfillment
Of life and health and peace,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
[Source, Rev. John Carden]
AFRICA
Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, and Zimbabwe,
PRAYER FOR THE AFRICAN CHURCH
Lord, rightful advocate of peace.
God of power and mercy, please destroy war, which results in a spiral of human suffering and the destruction of your bountiful creation.
Eliminate violence from our midst and wipe away the tears.
Hear the cries of many African people afflicted through the death of their loved ones.
Hear the sighs of those who live in constant fear.
Hear the cries of many African mothers who suffer with hunger pains but still break their backs to feed their families.
Hear the cries of those who have been displaced and are facing hunger and scarcity.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, we pray. Amen
[Source, Aneth Lwakatare]
South America
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH IN LATIN AMERICA
Lord God, we come before you with petitions in our hearts. We seek the balm that only you can give. We pray that all children may attain the fullness of life and grow in accord with your will. We pray especially for children who are ill, injured, hungry, or who live in problem households, for those who have to work, for those who suffer any sort of exploitation or sexual abuse, that they may know your love and healing.
We pray for families, especially those who know the pain of abuse, divorce, drugs, disease, rebelliousness, violence, and lack of resources, that they may find healing. We pray for communities divided by racism, violence, selfishness, or ideology that they may find a way to work together to improve the lives of children, families, and all their inhabitants.
We pray for national and civic leaders, leaders of businesses, congregations, schools, hospitals, and hostels for the homeless, leaders of local and international child protection organizations that all such leaders may respect diversity while at the same time promoting the best interests and welfare of children, families, and communities.
We pray for the victims of war, racial conflict, and poverty. We beseech you to hear our cry for justice, hope, and freedom for all who are oppressed, exploited, persecuted, rejected, and discriminated against. We pray for ourselves with our unfulfilled dreams, downcast spirits, wounded hearts, and dashed hopes.
Lord, touch our congregations and our lives with the tenderness that only you can give, that we may be healed and renewed to do the work to which we have been called. Silently, in hope, we lay our burdens before you, our God.
(Translated from Spanish) [Source]
Asia & the Middle East
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China, China (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), China (Macao Special Administrative Region), Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, Southern Asia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, State of Palestine, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH IN CHINA
God of many names
Shangdi (Lord on High)
Tianzhu (Lord of Heaven)
God of all peoples
God of China
No great wall
Can keep you out
No great dam
Can stop your love flowing.
From mountain to sea
In paddy fields and city
You walk with your people,
You see, smile, suffer, weep.
In you strangers become friends
So we weep for China’s pain
Sing of China’s faith
Pray with China’s people
Hope for China’s future.
Lord God of all people.
Tianzhu.
Shangdi.
Amen.
[Source]
PRAYER FOR THE MIDDLE EAST
We pray to you for the peoples of the Middle East, especially for those who suffer from the violence in that part of the world.
For the migrants, refugees, and people who have been exiled who have had to leave their countries.
For the Christian Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches and for all those who work for unity.
[Source]
Europe
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Vatican City.
PRAYER FOR EUROPE
Dear Father God, Father of all of us and Father of Europe,
We thank you for your faithfulness, not only to us but to this continent.
You could easily have said, after centuries of wars and the last two world wars with its holocaust: enough is enough.
We suffer from stagnation spiritually and great tensions politically.
We are willing to bear these consequences.
Forgive us. Don’t let us go our own ways.
We see glimpses of light, lights of hope, as we go on to see the future.
There are initiatives that ignite us.
Wake us up to be alert! Let this continent be saved!
We hold on to your faithfulness, as you were faithful to your people Israel.
As you have restored, restore Europe to the best of its Judeo-Christian roots and heritage.
We thank you for the power of Reformation but forgive us all the divisions that we must harvest from these centuries of striving for the faith.
Let the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe always relate well to each other as friends.
Spirit of community, let us stay connected in good ways.
We pray with the words from a Hillsong: Break our hearts for what breaks yours.
Keep us vulnerable towards the needy, strangers and refugees, towards all mankind.
Fill us with new strength for this new year in all its challenges.
Act in power in ways that will surprise both us and the world.
Amen.
[Source]
Oceania
American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia (Maohi Nui), Kanaky, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
PRAYER FROM THE ISLANDS
O God, save our shores from the weapons of death,
Our lands from the things that deny our young ones love and freedom.
Let the seas of the Pacific Ocean carry messages of peace and goodwill.
Turn away from our midst any unkind and brutal practices.
Let each child swim and breathe the fresh air
That is filled by the Holy Spirit.
O Lord Jesus, bless all who are makers of that inner peace
That breaks down the barriers of hatred,
And unite us with the open arms of your cross,
That all the peoples of the world may live happily together.
[Source]
Becoming Global Christians
These are only a slim selection of the many prayers people have written to intercede for their brothers and sisters across the globe. So let these be a catalyst for your prayer life. If you often only pray for family members or friends, this is a great way to expand your intercession meaningfully. The world is so big, and our God is even bigger. He is doing so much more than you realize in every corner of the Earth. When you feel discouraged in your faith, you can find encouragement in the stories of God’s faithfulness to every tribe and nation. When you feel empowered in your faith, use that momentum to join the global church in prayer. If you’d like more resources to read stories of God’s faithfulness around the world and keep up with ways you can pray, visit one of these links:
