Intercessory Prayer June 22, 2008

We lift up to you today, Lord, our brothers and sisters in southern China, the Philippines and the United States who have recently been affected by the serious floods that have inundated their areas, and we continue to pray for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan and other parts of the mainland. We ask for your comforting love to touch those who have lost family members and to heal those who have been injured and traumatized. We pray that their immediate needs will be taken care of promptly and that they can begin to rebuild their lives soon.

We lift up to you today, Lord, our brothers and sisters in southern China, the Philippines and the United States who have recently been affected by the serious floods that have inundated their areas, and we continue to pray for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan and other parts of the mainland. We ask for your comforting love to touch those who have lost family members and to heal those who have been injured and traumatized. We pray that their immediate needs will be taken care of promptly and that they can begin to rebuild their lives soon.

We lift up to you today, Lord, our brothers and sisters in Burma who have suffered from the cyclone and the fatally flawed response of their government that has created more deaths and hardship. Like our brothers and sisters in China, the Philippines and the United States, we pray for those grieving for the loss of their loved ones and for those hurt physically, emotionally and psychologically by their tragic experience.

We lift up to you today, Lord, our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe who are suffering, not from a natural disaster, but from a manmade calamity—a repressive and corrupt political system whose leader has not yet satisfied his appetite for power. We pray for an end to the crackdown on members of the opposition, for their rights to be respected and for a democratic and just political system to emerge from the present political chaos.

We lift up to you today, Lord, our brothers and sisters in Iraq, Afghanistan and Darfur who have endured years of war and have lived in fear. We pray that your peace will descend on these lands, that your wisdom will guide the decisions that need to be made to end the violence.

We lift up to you today, Lord, our brothers and sisters throughout the world who cannot afford to eat because of ever increasing food and oil prices. We pray that the world’s leaders will hear your compassionate voice and take steps to ensure that no one is malnourished, that no one dies of hunger.

We lift up to you today, Lord, our brothers and sisters in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay who others around the world are praying for this day as well. We pray that they will know your love and kindness; that their leaders will hear the cries of those who live in poverty, of those who wrestle with the uncertainties of youth, of those who struggle with the burdens of old age, of those who dwell in the silence of loneliness.

Lastly, we lift up to you today, Lord, our brothers and sisters here in our Christian community at Kowloon Union Church. We especially give thanks for our African brothers who regularly share their spirits and gifts with us through music. As the international community has just observed the annual commemoration of World Refugee Day on June 20, we ask for your love and wisdom to direct our small efforts to meet the needs of the asylum-seekers and refugees in our midst while they are with us. We pray though that they will soon receive the good news they have been waiting for so long, the good news that they can soon begin a new and secure life in another land.

We now pause in silence to share with you the joys and anxieties in our hearts (silence). Amen.

Bruce Van Voorhis
Bruce Van Voorhis serves as missionary with the Asian Human Rights Commission located in Hong Kong.  He serves as a writer and editor with the Commission.