World Day of Prayer

Today is the International World Day of Prayer. It is celebrated on the first Friday in March by Christians around the world in more than 170 countries. Through this celebration, those who participate affirm their faith in Christ and they share their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows, their concerns and opportunities. They also pray for each other, especially those most in need around the world.

What a beautiful concept! What a positive witness to the unity we share in Christ!

Friends of Dial Hope, I invite all of you to join me in this day of prayer. Let us remember that we share a faith with as many as two billion other people on this planet, and our mutual well-being is deeply linked.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus prayed for his disciples, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one.”

Let us pray: Awesome God, we pray the words of Psalm 24, that “the earth is yours and all that is in it, the world and all those who live in it.” We praise you and give you thanks for the unity we see in those who have given this day to you as a day of celebration and prayer. We join our hearts and prayer to theirs.

We especially lift up our sisters and brothers who are suffering, those who live in war-torn or oppressive environments, others who are hungry or cold, others who are struggling to find meaning and hope. Loving God we long for the day when your peace will reign. Until that day, teach us to live as your children, one in Christ. For it is in his name we pray. Amen.