Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding.
-Psalm 148:7-8
As fears intensify that Russia’s war against Ukraine may see atomic weapons used, Pope Francis and other religious leaders gathered on October 25 at the Coliseum in Rome to urge peace. In a ceremony of prayer and lament that a nuclear option is even an option in Europe, Pope Francis remarked, ““the plea for peace cannot be suppressed. It rises from the hearts of mothers; it is deeply etched on the faces of refugees, displaced families, the wounded and the dying.’’
We join in praying for peace in escalating times.
Prince of Peace, we cannot escape from the grip of violence and the threat of violence to maintain peace. Move in the hearts of men to make choices away from threat, domination and war. We know we ask for what seems impossible. But we know that annihilation is not your way of restoration. Wake the people with access nuclear weapons up and move them to put away their choice of destruction.
The weather in British Colombia has given residents the warmest autumn in recent memory with temperatures in the high 20’s until October but the ensuing drought also has grave consequences, transforming watersheds and ecosystems. One consequence is the high number of salmon dying in in rivers that are drying up, or not able to move upstream to spawn due to inconsistent water levels.
Creator of the salmon run,
We pray for our grief at the drying rivers and dying cedars to match yours. May this instance of ecosystem disruption move us to act now for the sake of your creation. Convict us for our neglect and call us into a prophetic way of living that matches our habits to your will for the cosmos.
Food insecurity and inflation are top of mind for many heading into the winter season. We name our need here:
To the God who knows what we need,
We pray for those most affected by inflation and spikes in grocery prices. Provide for those on fixed incomes, for growing families, for those who have lost work recently. We pray for relief from the crushing anxiety of not having enough to pay for food. Help your people be their neighbors’ answer to prayer – from in-person acts of generosity to appropriate policy advocacy that looks to provide for the least resourced among us.
We pray for mercy, wisdom and insight to flood this economic system that binds us all together.
On October 5th the Fifth Circuit Court ruled against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Current recipients are able to maintain their status for now, but no new applications will be processed. As it has for the past two years, the future of DACA is uncertain for both current recipients and pending applicants.
A permanent legislative solution is needed to protect the lives, dreams, families, and futures of Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants, who are often exposed to vulnerable and dehumanizing conditions because of their status.
The resources for International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, (November 13, 2022) will focus on the persecution of the church in Afghanistan. Join us in praying for the Afghan church using various phrases from our confessions.
The Reformed family is a diverse family with a diverse range of opinions. Not all perspectives expressed on the blog represent the official positions of the Christian Reformed Church. Learn more about this blog, Reformed doctrines, and our diversity policy on our About page.
In order to steward ministry shares well, commenting isn’t available on Do Justice itself because we engage with comments and dialogue in other spaces. To comment on this post, please visit the Christian Reformed Centre for Public Dialogue’s Facebook page (for Canada-specific articles) or the Office of Social Justice’s Facebook page. Alternatively, please email us. We want to hear from you!
Read more about our comment policy.