Prayer cycle (30 March - 5 April): Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore

Intercessions

Give thanks for:

• The amazing diversity of life. There are many species of plants and animals which are found in these countries and nowhere else.
• Better economies and opportunities for employment.
• The religious and cultural diversity of Singapore, and for the many traditions in Singapore which make up the body of Christ.

Pray for:

• Religious groups who are oppressed despite official freedom of religion.
• Chinese inhabitants of Brunei who have been denied citizenship and face discrimination.
• The poor of Brunei, that they gain access to the means necessary to sustain and nourish themselves.
• Peace among the many ethnic groups within these countries.
• The protection and encouragement of religious freedom.
• Political reforms and democratization in Malaysia.
• The respectful use of natural resources and sustainable practices.
• Women, who in some of these countries are treated as second-class citizens.

 

Prayer

We praise you for the beauty we see around us, 
for the infinite variety of your creation – 
the skies, the mountains, the valleys, 
the plains, the rivers and the seas. 
The bounty of your creation adds richness and providence 
to our daily life.

We thank you for the gift of life, 
and for the opportunities we have to share in your purposes 
as stewards of creation. 
Give us grace through your life-giving spirit 
never to turn back on our responsibility 
for the preservation of your creation.

Your Son, our Lord, came to our world in the form of Jesus, 
that we might more clearly see your love in action 
and your power over evil, sin and death. 
Teach and inspire us Lord, 
never to be afraid of the power of those 
who are greedy and abusive of the resources 
of your world and of others. 
With the love of Jesus in our hearts, 
we can transform every human situation 
into what is good and acceptable in your sight.

Loving God, as we look to the future, 
increase our faith and confidence 
in your work in history. 
You will take care of the poor and the powerless; 
your prophets will speak against injustices; 
and your people will embrace each other in love 
because of Jesus Christ.

We pray only 
that the church will be more courageous than cautious; 
that the church will not remain silent 
when people are suffering; 
that the church will not “pass by on the other side” 
when the wounded earth is waiting to be healed.

We praise you, Creator God, that you still make all 
things new through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

(Prayer of an indigenous church community in Malaysia)

 

Where families are fractured by domestic upheavals,

and children forced onto the streets to fight for survival,

where more resources are spent on arms and destruction

and less attention paid to sickness and starvation:

Come, Holy Spirit
heal our wounds
renew the whole creation!

Where the acquisition of things has become an obsession

and the worth of human beings is measured by their possessions,

where our air, trees and seas are besieged by pollution

and purblind mercenary greed threatens our environment:

Come, Holy Spirit
heal our wounds
renew the whole creation!

Where countries are split apart by communalism and racism

and innocent blood is spilt by wanton acts of terrorism,

where internecine warfare sets nation against nation

and a nuclear holocaust looms ominous on our horizon:

Come, Holy Spirit
heal our wounds
Renew the whole creation!

Source: oikoumene.org