05/15/2026
World in Prayer This Week
When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” – Acts 1:9-11
Holy and Living God,
Like the disciples in Acts, we confess that we are often tempted to stand still, looking toward heaven.
When the world feels too heavy,
when the news comes too quickly,
when war and rumors of war pile on top of political conflict, climate crisis, and human suffering,
it is tempting to look away.
It is tempting to lift our eyes upward and hope that somehow faith will give us permission to escape the pain of the world.
But just as the angels spoke to the disciples, we hear the holy question again:
“Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?”
So, God, turn our eyes back toward the earth you love.
Turn our eyes toward leaders in the United Kingdom wrestling with division, distrust, and the hard work of public responsibility. Where leadership is fragile and trust is strained, cultivate humility, wisdom, and a deeper commitment to the common good.
Turn our eyes toward Iran, the United States, China, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Ukraine, Russia, and all places caught in the shadow of war. We pray for those making decisions that affect millions of lives. We pray for civilians who do not choose war, but bear its cost. We pray for children, families, soldiers, sailors, and all whose futures are being shaped by violence, fear, and uncertainty. Interrupt the logic that says power must always be proven through destruction.
Turn our eyes toward the Strait of Hormuz, where ships, oil, fertilizer, economies, and fragile peace all move through a narrow passage. Remind us that the world is more connected than we often admit. What happens in one sea, one border, one parliament, one battlefield, ripples outward into homes, grocery bills, hospital rooms, and dinner tables across the world.
Turn our eyes toward Mali, where foreign power, local conflict, and the wounds of instability continue to shape daily life. We pray for communities living amid competing armed groups and fragile promises of security. May the people of Mali know peace that is not imposed from the outside, but built with justice, dignity, and local hope.
Turn our eyes toward Venezuela, where questions of sovereignty and dignity are not abstract political debates, but matters of identity, history, and the future of a people. Guard every nation from the arrogance that treats other people as objects to possess, rather than neighbors to honor.
Turn our eyes toward the Philippines, where gunshots in the Senate remind us how quickly institutions can become places of fear. We pray for accountability without revenge, courage without chaos, justice without violence, and truth without political manipulation.
Turn our eyes toward India, where dangerous heat is already pressing upon bodies, farms, hospitals, neighborhoods, and those least able to escape it. We pray for those who labor outdoors, for the elderly, for children, for the poor, and for all who live where climate change is not a future possibility but a present danger.
And, O God, even as we turn toward suffering, keep us from despair.
Turn our eyes toward scientists and researchers developing paint that can cool homes and harvest water from the air. Let every act of holy imagination remind us that creation is not only groaning; it is also inviting us to partner in healing.
Turn our eyes toward educators, children, and communities who believe that the care of the youngest among us shapes the future of us all. Bless every classroom, every caregiver, every child-centered place where curiosity, tenderness, and belonging are being nurtured.
Turn our eyes toward forests where macaws return, toward conservationists who refuse to give up, toward every small sign that what has been damaged may yet be restored.
God, we do not want to stare into heaven to avoid the earth.
We want to look toward heaven just long enough to remember who you are,
and then look back around us to see where your Spirit is already at work.
Give us eyes that notice suffering without becoming numb.
Give us hearts that hold grief without surrendering hope.
Give us hands ready for the work of peace.
Give us the courage to speak truth, practice mercy, protect the vulnerable, and join your movement of wholeness in a fragmented world.
Christ has ascended, but Christ has not abandoned us.
The Spirit is still moving.
The work is still before us.
The world is still beloved.
So send us from this prayer not simply comforted, but redirected.
Not staring upward in fear or nostalgia,
but looking around with faith,
ready to love the world you so deeply love.
Amen.
