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 August 9 – 15: New Zealand and Australia
Oh God, we thank you for the beautiful island-nations of New Zealand and Australia. We acknowledge all the great things you’ve done there, and we continue to pray for your kingdom to come and your will to be done. First of all, we thank you for the history of Christianity in New Zealand and Australia and for the light of the Gospel that has shone from their shores. These nations have experienced great revivals in the past, and we pray that the Gospel will continue to go forth to the next generation in the midst of rising secularism. As the Gospel is shared, we pray for a revelation of Jesus’ reality and for open hearts to receive the truth. Additionally, we pray for the Church in New Zealand and Australia to fearlessly shine your love and stand for truth in the various spheres of society.
Also, we pray for continual securing of rights of the Maori and Aboriginal people. We thank you for the tremendous progress in Australia the past several decades to address the injustices toward the Aborigines, and we ask for greater protection of social, economic, and political rights of the Maori people in New Zealand. Furthermore, we ask for protection of rights of those from single-parent homes and low-income neighborhoods to have equal access to healthcare, food, education, and jobs.
Lastly, we pray for wisdom and discernment for the political leaders in Australia and New Zealand. We know that the “c” (Proverbs 21:1), and we pray for your Hand to guide the leaders as they make decisions. We also pray for election of offices of those who would fulfill your agenda and enact just and righteous policies to benefit all.
We humbly ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Percentage of the population of these countries living below the national poverty rate (below 50 percent of median income):
New Zealand: 10
Australia: 14.4
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development
