Reading from Psalm 69: 30 – 32…
“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving. This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs. The poor will see and be glad – you who seek God, may your hearts live!”
Let us set aside all distractions, and let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we praise You and worship You, for You are the only one true God. Thank You for Jesus, our gracious and merciful High Priest. LORD Jesus, because You suffered when tempted in every way, we know that You are more than able to help us in our times of trial, testing and desperation. We praise and thank You.
We pray for the world.
Abba Father, we pray for Equatorial Guinea on the west coast of Central Africa, with a population of just over a million people. LORD, we bring before You this oil-rich Roman Catholic nation, which unfortunately faces high levels of economic inequality and corruption. LORD, corruption and mismanagement are so pervasive that both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have withdrawn all relief funds. So we ask for economic justice and wise stewardship, LORD. We give thanks that the Church has a respected reputation in the country and that there is an increase of missionaries in the region, specifically from West and Central Africa. O LORD, may Your hand guide the faithful proclamation of the gospel, and be with Christians in their faith journey, ensuring watchfulness to the dangers of syncretism caused by pagan practices, such as animism. We pray that our brothers and sisters in Christ in Equatorial Guinea, including Christian immigrant oil workers, would engage in the spiritual and physical needs of this nation. As they sow and water, LORD, may You cause faith to grow.
Lord Jesus, we pray for Sri Lanka, an island nation of 22 million people. In the wake of massive protests, and the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the re-appointment of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, we pray for peace and restraint in the quelling of unrest and violence over the worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948, caused by decades of fiscal mismanagement. Inflation has soared to almost 40%, with an increase of Value Added Tax (VAT) to 12% from 8%, and a planned corporate income tax increase to 30% from 24% in October. O LORD, in Your mercy, may You raise up honest, credible and trustworthy leaders, who will rule the nation with justice, wisdom and righteousness. May You comfort, guide and provide for families struggling to secure daily necessities, food and medication, due to a severe shortage of foreign currency that is stalling the import of essentials. In all this, LORD, we pray for many more to turn to You in their helplessness and despair. We pray for Your peace. By Your grace, LORD, may our Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in Christ stand firm in the faith, and serve as salt and light in the midst of the current turmoil.
LORD God, we pray for world leaders. Help them work with wisdom and unity as they focus on serious and urgent issues such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, the current COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing violence and suffering in hard places such as Myanmar, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and North Korea, as well as the global food crisis, the energy crisis, and the climate crisis, which has resulted in unprecedented weather conditions such as the heat wave in India and Pakistan. Then there is also the recent mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, on 14 May 2022, with ten black people killed and three other people injured, as well as the equally tragic Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on 24 May 2022, which killed nineteen children and two teachers, and wounded seventeen others. Abba Father, we live in a very troubled and broken world – it is a world in crisis. Help us, O LORD. We need You, LORD. We pray for Your comfort, but we also pray for repentance. May You convict and change our hearts. Help us recognise our human arrogance and humble ourselves, that we may turn to You without reservation. In all the chaos, may Your divine purposes be accomplished. In Your mercy and grace, may You open spiritually blind eyes and soften hearts, so that many more of the lost may come to know You, and Your peace and salvation.
LORD God, we pray for those who are unwell in body, mind and spirit, including those who are suffering from depression and anxiety, or feeling helpless, hopeless and overwhelmed. In silence, we bring before You those we know. Jehovah Rapha, You are the God who heals. We pray for Your presence, comfort, peace and healing to be upon each of these precious ones.
Last but not least, we pray for Your continued mercy and grace as You mold, shape and prune all of us who pray and intercede for the world. May we truly love You, and love the people You have placed in our lives. With Your help, LORD, may each of us continue to grow in Christian love and maturity, that we may truly glorify You in all that we say and do, always pointing others to Jesus.
All this, we pray in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.
Global Intercession & Prayer for the Persecuted Church (GIPPC) 