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 Oct. 11-17: Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal
O compassionate Lord,
I would prefer power over the storm,
a secure home,
a life protected from the winds.
But help me to live with storms,
shelter with friends,
see my plans broken
but not my life:
rebuilt again and again from the earth.
(Bangladesh. Dear Life, J. Morley, J. Ward and H. Wild, eds © Christian Aid 1998. Used with permission)
O Saviour Christ,
in whose way of life lies the secret of all life,
and the hopes of all the people,
we pray for quiet courage to meet this hour.
We did not choose to be born or to live in such an age.
But let its problems challenge us,
its discoveries exhilarate us,
its injustice anger us,
its possibilities inspire us,
and its vigour renew us,
for your Kingdom’s sake.
(Bangladesh. A Procession of Prayers: Meditations and Prayers from around the World, comp. John Carden, WCC, and Cassell, London, UK, 1998, p.179)
Percentage of the population of these countries living below the national poverty line (2014 figures):
Bangladesh: 31.5
Bhutan: 12.0
Nepal: 25.2
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators as found in the new 2015 Hunger Report.
Prayer is a central part of Bread for the World’s work. To learn more about how you can get involved with prayer at Bread, please go here.
Photo: Bangladesh Farmer. Todd Post/Bread for the World.
