Prayer cycle (19-25 October 2014): India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

Intercessions

Give thanks for:

• A rich history and culture that spans several millennia.
• Ethnic and religious diversity throughout this region.
• The devotion and faith of those who work with the poor, refugees, orphans, the dying, and the hungry.
• The apostle St Thomas who founded a church in India.
• Those who cross boundaries of clan and religion in order to make peace.
• Educational institutions and hospitals founded by Christian missionaries, which continue to serve all people irrespective of their religion,  caste or creed.
• Traditional musical instruments such as tablas, mridungum, sitars, and the innumerable ragas.

Pray for:

• Government stability, rule of law, the strengthening of human rights and the ability of different groups to work with one another.
• Afghan refugees who live in Pakistan, internally displaced people, war victims and war widows in Sri Lanka.
• Reconciliation and peace between Pakistan and India, denuclearization and a reduction of the arms race between in India and Pakistan, and an end to the threat of nuclear war.
• Peace and harmony among different ethnic and religious communities in these countries.
• Those who struggle to overcome grinding poverty.
• All those  who continue to be socially, politically,  economically and culturally marginalized and discriminated, especially the Dalits, tribals and other Indigenous Peoples in these countries.
• Those affected by flooding, drought, environmental pollution, cyclones, and earthquakes.
• Sustained peace, harmony and reconciliation in Sri Lanka and the restoration of trust among  the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils.

 

PRAYER

O Creator and Mighty God,
you have promised
strength for the weak
rest for the labourers
light for the way
grace for the trials
help from above
unfailing sympathy
undying love.
O Creator and Mighty God
Help us to continue in your promise.

(Pakistan: With All God’s People, comp. John Carden, WCC, 1989, p.327)

 

Prayer from India:

When everything around seems to be collapsing into injustice and chaos
Creator God, teach us to love you
and to recognize that you hold the earth gently in your hands.
When we do not know just what to do and where to turn,
teach us to trust your wisdom,
so that we can discern your presence in events around us.
When we become unforgiving and vindictive,
teach us to grasp your tenderness,
and forgive us for all we do wrong.
When violence, fear and hatred seem to overtake us,
teach us to receive your compassion,
and steer our lives in the ways of justice and peace.
When we think we can go it alone,
teach us to depend on your grace,
so that with patience and persistence we can transform the world.
But most of all,
teach us to appreciate your goodness,
for in you we have new life!

(Aruna Gnanadason, India, WCC coordinator for Justice, Peace and Creation)

Source: oikoumene.org