World Prayers for Jan. 31 – Feb. 6: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden

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Hallgrímskirkja [Lutheran] Cathedral in Reykjavík, Iceland. The statue is of Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson. Stephen Padre/Bread for the World.

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 Jan. 31 – Feb. 6: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden

God of all seasons, in this wintertime, we lift up in prayer this week some of the most wintery countries we know: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. We thank you for the wintery and rugged beauty of these places—fjords and islands, seas and hot springs, Northern lights and midnight sun.

We also thank you for the peoples of these countries. Thank you for Christians there who, for decades, have given through their financial gifts and service for the relief of disaster and poverty for people in far-away places, from Africa to southeast Asia. We thank you for the leaders these countries have produced—world leaders in diplomacy, church unity, and the arts. Strengthen the work of the churches and current leaders and institutions as they seek peace, justice, and relief from the scourge of poverty for people around the world.

Also, we know that even among the wealthy places of the world there can be hunger and poverty. We pray for refugees and immigrants in these countries, that they may find acceptance and a home where they can thrive. And we pray for a just use of the wealth that many of these countries enjoy, so that all may have enough to eat and live an abundant life. In the name of your son. Amen.

Percentage of the gross national income of these countries that goes toward poverty-focused development:

Denmark: 0.85
Finland: 0.60
Iceland: 0.21
Norway: 0.99
Sweden: 1.10
United States: 0.19 (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.

Photo: Hallgrímskirkja [Lutheran] Cathedral in Reykjavík, Iceland. The statue is of Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson. Stephen Padre/Bread for the World.

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