Bread for the World believes prayer is central to the work of ending hunger by 2030. Hunger happens in every corner of the world. In this blog series, we will provide a prayer for a different group of countries each week and their efforts to end hunger.
This prayer series will follow the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle, a list compiled by the World Council of Churches that enables Christians around the world to journey in prayer through every region of the world, affirming our solidarity with Christians all over the world, brothers and sisters living in diverse situations, experiencing their challenges and sharing their gifts.
We will especially be lifting up in prayer the challenges related to hunger and poverty that the people of each week’s countries face. In prayer, God’s story and our own story connect—and we and the world are transformed. In a prayer common to all of us—the Lord’s Prayer/the Our Father—we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” This line from this prayer can also be a prayer for the end of hunger.
We invite you to join Bread in our prayers for the world’s countries to end hunger. And we encourage you to share with us your prayers for the featured countries of the week or for the end of hunger in general.
For the week of September 4 -10: Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia
God, you are our Father and Mother,
you have given us the earth,
which is the theatre of your glory,
the space of our life.
Hear the groaning of your creation.
Look at the wounds which are bleeding.
We ask you: Make us sensitive and attentive
also for the still voice of suffering.
Give us courage and strengthen our hands
to do confidently what serves your creation.
O Christ, you promised to be with us to the end of the age.
We ask you: Be close to us
and liberate us for life.
Holy Spirit, eternal Divine Wisdom,
you are our comforter and our help.
We ask you: Strengthen our faith,
multiply our love,
hold us in hope.
We expect the arrival of your Kingdom,
in which all darkness will be overcome
and the face of the earth will be restored.
We adore you, eternal God, and we praise you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
now and evermore.
(© Rev. Milan Opocensky, Czech Republic)
Percentage of the gross national income of these countries that goes toward poverty-focused development:
Czech Republic: 0.12
Poland: 0.10
Slovakia: 0.10
United States: 0.17 (for comparison)
Source: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Prayer is a central part of Bread for the World’s work. Learn more about how you can get involved with prayer at Bread.
