Here’s a prayer of intercession for December 4, 2011, written by World News This Week In Prayer.
Advent Intercessions: December 4, 2011
Hush, listen.
For these few moments,
hold back your words of prayer.
For these few Advent moments,
the only way to pray is listen.
Hush, listen.
In the quiet of Advent waiting,
in the barren fields of winter,
in the silence of unvoiced longing,
Do you hear God, loving?
Hush, listen.
In the anguish of an Afghan rape victim named Gulnaz, who was jailed for
adultery, then pardoned by Afghan President Hamid Karzai after she
apparently agreed to marry her attacker,
In the stunned horror of an engaged interracial couple who sang for a
small Kentucky, US, church, only to be told that the church thereafter voted
to ban interracial couples from membership and from participating in certain
worship activities,
Do you hear God, crying?
Hush, listen.
In the witness of the US Occupy protestors,
in the cities trying to figure out how to deal with them,
in the police closing down the camps, and the churches opening space for
them to go on meeting,
in the jobless and the homeless,
in the wealthy and the poor,
Do you hear God's justice calling?
Hush, listen.
In this week's UN report that said civilians in Syria –
including children –
have been murdered, tortured and sexually assaulted as Syrian security
forces try to stem anti-government protests,
Do you hear God's peace stirring?
Hush, listen.
The climate is changing.
In the concerns of the 48-country Least Developed Countries bloc, which
includes drought-prone states such as Ethiopia and Mali, those with long
flat coastal zones such as Bangladesh and Tanzania, and Himalayan mountain
states including Bhutan and Nepal for whom melting glaciers pose serious
dangers,
in the fears of the 39-member small island bloc, which includes many
Pacific and Caribbean islands, some of which are very low-lying and vulnerable
to sea level rise,
in the bravery with which both these groups faced the opposition of many
rich nations and such developing world partners as China, India and Brazil
at the recent UN climate summit, saying that they cannot take the risk of
waiting years for a new climate control agreement,
Do you hear God's prophets speaking?
Hush, listen.
In the rapidly growing numbers of people with AIDs who are successfully
receiving treatment in South Africa,
Do you hear God's healing, spreading?
Hush, listen.
In the singing, dancing flash mobs,
in the holiday celebrations,
in the friends and family you see, and the ones that you are missing
Do you hear God's joy abounding?
Hush, listen.
In the places where our world is breaking,
in the quiet of Advent waiting,
Do you hear Light, dawning?
forces try to stem anti-government protests,
Do you hear God's peace stirring?
Hush, listen.
The climate is changing.
In the concerns of the 48-country Least Developed Countries bloc, which
includes drought-prone states such as Ethiopia and Mali, those with long
flat coastal zones such as Bangladesh and Tanzania, and Himalayan mountain
states including Bhutan and Nepal for whom melting glaciers pose serious
dangers,
in the fears of the 39-member small island bloc, which includes many
Pacific and Caribbean islands, some of which are very low-lying and vulnerable
to sea level rise,
in the bravery with which both these groups faced the opposition of many
rich nations and such developing world partners as China, India and Brazil
at the recent UN climate summit, saying that they cannot take the risk of
waiting years for a new climate control agreement,
Do you hear God's prophets speaking?
Hush, listen.
In the rapidly growing numbers of people with AIDs who are successfully
receiving treatment in South Africa,
Do you hear God's healing, spreading?
Hush, listen.
In the singing, dancing flash mobs,
in the holiday celebrations,
in the friends and family you see, and the ones that you are missing
Do you hear God's joy abounding?
Hush, listen.
In the places where our world is breaking,
in the quiet of Advent waiting,
Do you hear Light, dawning?
— from World News This Week In Prayer - Thurs., Dec. 1, 2011. You can subscribe to their site to receive weekly prayers of intercession based on recent world events.
For more prayers and resources for Advent or Christmas, check the indexes at the top right side of the page.
