Racial Justice Prayers of Hope
Prayers Based on Job 14:7-9
For there is hope for a tree,
if it is cut down, that it will sprout again
and that its shoots will not cease.
Though its root grows old in the earth
and its stump dies in the ground,
yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth branches like a young plant.
Hopelessness seems to be on the horizon of our world today. God, it feels like our hearts are clouded by racial tension, hatred, frustration, disappointments, and many other life-challenging issues. In this season, help us Lord to search our hearts and repent of that which is not pleasing in your sight.
Our lives may seem like an old stump decaying. In Job 14:7-9 you remind us of the living hope that can be experienced even in those situations that may feel like a decayed stump.
In this racially divided world, I pray Lord that you:
sprout in us buds of love,
sprout in us buds of unity,
sprout in us buds of care for one another,
sprout in us buds of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Oh Lord, I pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts as we journey together in this work of racial justice. My prayer of hope is that we will all be “our brothers and sisters’ keepers.” Renew our hearts so that we can grow new branches of LOVE. Help us Lord, to be people who infuse hope in others. Let our hope be in our Lord Jesus Christ, who came that we may be reconciled to you Lord. Give us faith and hope to believe that in you and through you, racial justice will be possible. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Adlene Kufarimai
Director of Connectional Ministries North Alabama Conference
Birmingham, AL
Gracious and Loving God,
So often our minds ruminate about the past
or we try to predict the future.
We want to know that everything will be OK.
We want to be certain that our loved ones will be all right,
that our place in this world is secure.
Help us to fix our trust upon you, O Lord.
Give us the knowledge that it is through You, and only You, where our hope lives.
Grant us that we will continue to grow in knowledge of You,
so that our hearts will be calm about the future.
During these uncertain times, help us place our hope and faith in You and only in You.
We pray all of this in the name of the Holy One.
Amen.
Rev. John Oda
Program Manager, Asian American Language Ministry Plan
Pinole, CA
Lord, give us hope for those in poverty.
Lord, give us hope for the community in racial conflict.
Lord, give us hope for those that face racism in different places in society.
Lord, give us hope for the hopeless.
Lord, give us hope for those who are in wartime.
Lord, give us hope for the challenges that parenting represents.
Lord, give us hope for the children of the world.
Lord, give us hope for all the churches around the world that are helping their community to be bolder through racial dissimilarity.
Lord, give us hope for the government leaders as they face racial injustice.
Lord, give us hope!
We pray all this in your Holy Name. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Carlos A. Ramos Graulau
GCORR Board Member
Maj Deputy Wing Chaplain USAF
& Dr. Waleska Serrano
Columbus, MS
This series of prayers was originally part of our Racial Justice Prayer & Action Challenge which took place in summer 2022.
To learn more about the Racial Justice Prayer & Action Challenge and read the other prayers, click here.
O Great Creator, you are the God who gives colors to our lives. In times of our sadness and weakness both of body and soul, you are reminding us that we are not alone. That we can carry each other’s burdens. So that heavy loads will be lighter. If problems and difficulties will put us down, we will kneel and gather our strength and we will rise up. In ripen age, we will always remember that as long as there is hope, there is life. You are our hope and strength in these trying times. We put our trust in Jesus, our living hope. Amen.
Benjie B. Benitez, OSL
Pastor at First UMC - Dagupon Temple
Dagupan City, Philippines
God of righteousness and Love
Shake our hard hearts and move us
into doing justice.
Empower us to help those
that are devastated by the effects of war, displacement, poverty, fear, anxiety, oppression, and racial discrimination.
Give us a heart that move hearts
and a hand that lifts up your weary people.
A heart that shouts justice
and crushes evil.
We reach your heavenly throne
to rule us and come within us.
Unite us through the power of your Holy Spirit
and surround us with your unifying love
and restorative justice.
Amen.
Kenneth Dulanas Base
Local Youth Pastor at UMC - Mortola St.
Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
God of hope and of all people, in a world that makes it so easy to so do, we choose not to disbelieve. We choose not to distrust. We choose not to doubt nor be clothed voluntarily in fear. We choose not to be discouraged. We choose not to live, rest, nor harbor in the shores of despair. Our history with You, God of all possibilities, is one full of example after example of Your unmatched ability, moment after moment of Your endless power, and encounter after encounter with Your boundless grace.
Even in the deserts we know to be everyday life, our hope is in You, Water of Life, and we know that there is hope for us. There is hope for the weary and for the misunderstood. There is hope for the marginalized and for the victimized.
Certainly, You have no desire to leave us here. You are our light at the end of the tunnel, and yet our consistent Companion along the way. We trust that where You are leading us will make us look, act, and smell more like You. As a tree is reliant upon even the smell of water to activate its growth, we are reliant upon You, Holy God, for what will activate in us that makes us more like You.
In the name of the One who is our hope, we pray. Amen.
Reverend Michael Anthony Parker II, M.Div.
Lead Pastor at Journey United Methodist Church
Temple Hills, MD
Let us pray — ketau lotu.
Our God of creation, you created the heavens and earth, even though the earth was without shape or form but you said “let there be light.” And there was life for hopeless world.
Thank you, God, there is hope for our world.
You filled the earth with every kind of living thing and you saw how good it was.
Thank you, God, there is hope for our world.
You created us in your own image, in your divine image as male and female and we are equally important to you. You gave us the responsibility to take care your creation. You blessed your creation and made it holy.
Thank you, God, there is hope for our world
We are sorry God, we messed up your creation, we turned away from you, but you are our God of love. You gave us your only son Jesus Christ to redeem your world and save us from our sin
Thank you, God, you gave us hope for our today and our tomorrow in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior. Amen.
Sifa Hingano
Pastor at Cal-Nev Conference UMC
Oakland, CA
