“For What Shall We Pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here.
Prayer prompts:
For victims of the mall shooting in Bangkok, Thailand…
For all in the path of Tropical Storm Philippe…
For Armenian refugees fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh…
For recovery and relief efforts following the earthquake and landslides in Nepal…
For safety amidst earthquakes in Naples, Italy…
For renewed respect and collaboration among political parties and leaders…
For all victims of human trafficking, and especially in Ohio…
For Canadian wildfires and those experiencing diminished air quality due to traveling smoke, especially areas along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States…
For all victims of gun violence, especially in East Louisville, KY; Philadelphia, PA; and Apopka, FL…
In thanksgiving for Nobel Prize winners and their contributions to the good of the world…
For areas around the world experiencing violence and unrest, including Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey, and Niger…
Events and observances:
Monthly Observances in October: Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15-Oct 15), Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Clergy Appreciation Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, LGBTQ History Month
Francis of Assisi, renewer of the church, died 1226 (Oct 4)
Theodor Fliedner, renewer of society, died 1864 (Oct 4)
William Tyndale, translator, martyr, died 1536 (Oct 6)
Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, pastor in North America, died 1787 (Oct 7)
Day of Thanksgiving-Canada (Oct 9)
Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Oct 9)
Prayers from ELCA resources:
A prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi (ELW p. 87)
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where this is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
A prayer for faith and science (ACS p. 48)
God of mystery, you made the universe with its marvelous order and chaos, its atoms, worlds, and galaxies, and the infinite complexity of living creatures. We give you thanks for all who study the mysteries of creation and ask that their work may increase our curiosity, wonder, and joy, that we may come to know you more truly and serve you more humbly; in the name of Jesus Christ, your Wisdom and your Word. Amen.
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ELW = Evangelical Lutheran Worship
ACS = All Creation Sings: Evangelical Lutheran Worship Supplement
Additional topical prayers are found in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (pp. 72–87) and All Creation Sings (pp. 46–55), as well as in other resources provided in print and online at sundaysandseasons.com.
Crafted intercessions for every Sunday and festival are provided in the Sundays and Seasons worship planning guide published in-print and online by Augsburg Fortress. Further assistance for composing prayers of intercession can be found here: Resources for Crafting Prayers of Intercession
Prayer Ventures, a daily prayer resource, is a guide to prayer for the global, social and outreach ministries of the ELCA, as well as for the needs and circumstances of our neighbors, communities and world.
