A Prayer for New Zealand

God of great waters and green islands, we ask your blessing upon New Zealand. Guide and sustain leaders at every level from the Prime Minister, to the Councils of every region, to those leading in their local communities whether civically, culturally, or within your Church. Strengthen bonds between immigrants, native New Zealanders descended from immigrants, as well as indigenous peoples. Guide those preserving New Zealand’s great natural beauty entrusted to it by creation. Bless every citizen and those eagerly working toward citizenship. Let the world learn more about this great nation and let those who make the journey there and back again be blessed and share their happy stories of this epic land in many languages across many nations. We pray this through the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

A Prayer for Australia

God of vast spaces and many peoples, we ask your blessing upon Australia. Guide and sustain leaders at every level from the Prime Minister, to Premiers of each state, to those leading in their local communities whether civically, culturally, or within your Church. Strengthen bonds between immigrants, native Australians descended from immigrants, as well as indigenous peoples. Guide those preserving Australia’s great natural bounty entrusted to it by creation. Bless every citizen and those eagerly working toward citizenship. Let the world learn more about this great nation and let those who visit it be blessed and share their happy stories of this epic land in many languages across many nations. We pray this through the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Christian Unity

Almighty God, you prayed that we might be one as you and the Father are one. While united by your Holy Spirit, we often divide ourselves by our own unwilling spirits. We say that we are Roman Catholic or Baptist or whatever the case may be, may we always proclaim that we are Christian first and our denominational tribe second. May we not neglect important matters of disagreement, but even more may we unite together in common witness to our communities and countries.

You are our Lord, instead of bickering with each other or letting areas of disagreement divide us, let us join hands in every way we can. The world needs concrete expressions of your gracious love more than it needs church versions of petty politics and power plays. We are called to witness to a different way of living, a different way of disagreeing and a different way of being human. Let it begin with me, let it begin with my local church, let it begin now, in Jesus’ name. Amen.