PRAYERS FOR MEDITATION

This WEBSITE has been CONSOLIDATED into the InterFaith Creation Care South Metro (ICCSM) website as of 2/2022 found at http://iccsmtc.blogspot.com/ .  Please check it out for updated information on our group.

Our efforts to restore and protect this Earth, God's gift to us, takes us down

many different paths.  The actions we take whether big or small are all very important.  God wants to hear from us as we strive to do his will. While during a worship service, before an important event, at meal time or quietly on our own when changing a light bulb to an energy efficient one, prayer is important to us.  It can give us hope, motivation and meaning to our green efforts. 

Prayers for our environment can be found through out history and through all faiths.  

This page will try to highlight, through rotation, prayers that stand out.  Following the highlighted prayer will be resources that you may search to gain your special inspirational prayer.

God of the Universe

God of the Universe,
We thank You for Your many good gifts
For the beauty of Creation and its rich and varied fruits,
For clean water and fresh air, for food and shelter, animals and plants.

Forgive us for the times we have taken the earth's resources for granted
And wasted what You have given us.
Transform our hearts and minds
So that we would learn to care and share,
To touch the earth with gentleness and with love,
Respecting all living things.

We pray for all those who suffer as a result of our waste, greed and indifference,
And we pray that the day would come when everyone has enough food and clean water.
Help us to respect the rights of all people and all species
And help us to willingly share your gifts
Today and always.  Amen.

- Fiona Murdoch, Eco-Congregation Ireland

Prayer for our Earth

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures.

you embrace with your tenderness all that exists.

Pour out upon us the power of your love,

that we may protect life and beauty.

 

Fill us with peace, that we may live

as brothers and sisters, harming no one.

 

O God of the poor,

help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.

Bring healing to our lives,

that we may protect the world and not prey on it,

that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.  Touch the hearts

of those who look only for gain

at the expense of the poor and the earth.

Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,

to be filled with awe and contemplation,

to recognize that we are profoundly united

with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light.

 

We thank you for being with us each day.

Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle

for justice, love and peace.

 

Pope Francis Encyclical

Prayer to Change Your Heart

Dear Heavenly Father: Thank you for the bounty of your gifts, for the beauty of your created world, and for the sustenance you provide me every day, both physical and spiritual.  Thank you for giving me everything I need in such glorious abundance -- from the air I breathe to the water I drink to the food I put upon the table.  Please forgive me for taking your creation for granted, and give me the strength and will to become a better steward of your blessings.  Teach me to appreciate all you have given me, and help me to restore the forests, mountains, rivers and oceans so that they can glorify you, the creator of heaven and earth.  Amen                                

Collected from Serve God Save the Planet a book by J. Matthew Sleeth, MD.

Prayer for Compassion and Action for Climate Change 

(with hands stretched open and/or passing inflatable earth to one another during the prayer) 

We hold the Earth. We hold brothers and sisters who suffer from storms and droughts intensified by climate change. We hold all species who suffer. We hold world leaders delegated to make decisions for life. (Pause for quiet heart prayers.) We pray that the web of life may be mended through courageous actions to limit carbon emissions world wide. We pray for right actions for adaptation and mitigation to help our already suffering earth community. We pray that love and wisdom might inspire my actions and our actions as communities So that we may, with integrity, look into the eyes of brothers and sisters and all beings and truthfully say We are doing our part to care for them and the future of the children. May Love transform us and our world with new steps toward life. Amen

Collected from Sr. Joan Brown, Executive Director of New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light (IPL)

Keep This Treasure, Your Earth, Safe from Harm 

"Good and gracious God, we stand in awe of your power to create a magnificent world for us to enjoy during our lifetime. Help us to see it anew as the wonder that it is. Open our eyes and enlighten our minds to understand the power we hold and responsibility we have to keep it as a gift that we only borrow for our lifetime, to return to you and the generations to follow. Send your Holy Spirit to be here as we reflect in our hearts and minds on your call to us as human beings and Christians to keep this treasure, your earth, safe from harm. Amen."  

(from the Catholic Wisdom Leaders Guide)

RESOURCES

Green Faith - Interfaith Partners for the Environment website
        "Inspiring educating and mobilizing people of diverse religious background for environmental leadership.

http://www.greenfaith.org/resource-center/spirit/eco-themed-worship-services/prayers


General Prayers on Earth Care and Climate Change from Faith Climate Action Week brought to you by Interfaith Power and Light website.
http://www.faithclimateactionweek.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-Prayers-for-All-Traditions.pdf