Prayer Requests
If you have any prayer requests, for any concerns lying on your heart or to give thanks, please email the office on office@downsbenefice.org.uk
All prayer requests will be made anonymous before being passed on to our Prayer Team.
Prayer for Thursday 3rd April
Prayer for the Week
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Pray with us for Myanmar and Thailand
Heavenly Father, we lift up all those grieving in the aftermath of the earthquake in Myanmar, as well as those in Thailand who have felt its impact. For those who have lost family and friends, and for those still waiting anxiously for news, we ask for your comfort and strength. In their pain and uncertainty, be their refuge. Surround them with love and support, and may they know the peace that only you can give.
Lord, we pray for the many people whose homes have been destroyed or who have been forced to flee to safety. We pray especially for children who are scared and vulnerable – may they find warmth, safety, and reassurance in the midst of chaos.
Lord God, we thank you for the brave rescue workers and medical teams already responding. Strengthen them as they search for survivors and treat the injured. We pray for aid workers and local communities offering help – may they have the resources and resilience they need. Remove any barriers that would slow down relief efforts, and guide their hands to those who need them most.
Lord, we pray for world leaders as they decide how to respond. We pray that you stir each of our hearts in generosity towards the people of Myanmar, Thailand, and surrounding countries. Amen.
Prayers for the Middle East
O God of all justice and peace, we cry out to you in the midst of the pain and trauma of violence and fear which prevails in the Holy Land. Be with those who need you in these days of suffering; we pray for people of all faiths – Jews, Muslims and Christians and for all people of the land.
Father God, We cry out to you on behalf of the people seriously affected by the conflict in the Middle East. Our hearts break at the devastation and suffering that we see, and we know it breaks yours, too. We ask that you would stretch out your mighty hand to bring an end to this war. We cry out for people who have been injured or traumatised, who have lost loved ones or their homes. Please provide everything they need and be their comfort, their hope, their healer, and their safe refuge. We pray for your peace to reign. We look to you as our Saviour and the hope of the world. Amen
A Prayer for Ukraine.
Loving God, we pray for the people of Ukraine, for all those suffering or afraid, that you will be close to them and protect them. We pray for world leaders, for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices. We pray for the world, that in this moment of crisis, we may reach out in solidarity to our brothers and sisters in need. May we walk in your ways so that peace and justice become a reality for the people of Ukraine and for all the world. Amen.
A Prayer for Refugees
O God, please hear our prayer for all refugees everywhere, that we amidst plenty, in comfortable homes, where it is safe to go out, may open our borders, open our hearts, and open our homes to all those, everywhere, fleeing violence, persecution, terror, and loss. Amen
A Prayer for Our Planet
O God, please hear our prayer that we may avert climate change. Send down your Holy Spirit into the hearts and minds of our engineers, our scientists, our politicians, those who guid public opinion, and those who bank and invest money on our behalf that, together, we may step back from the brink and stop spoiling this beautiful world over which you have made us stewards. Amen
Prayers for the World
God, our refuge and strength, bring near the day when wars shall cease and poverty and pain shall end, that earth may know the peace of heaven through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy. Sustain and support the anxious, be with those who care for the sick, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may find comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord.