For/From Nepal: Words of Prayer

From 7 June

Bhaktapur: Woman at the Well - June 2010

When we pray, we speak to God of our ultimate concerns - for justice, for daily bread, for forgiveness, and for guidance. The words and language that we employ point to the 'central things' in the heart of an individual, a group, or an entire community.

It was revelatory, then, for me to participate in a responsive prayer for Nepal at an English-language worship in service this past Sunday. While much of the prayer-language was familiar and spoke both to my individual experience and that of the communities from which I come, a significant portion of the words registered as 'foreign' when they crossed my lips.

Caste, Constitutional Instability, Water Shortages, and Electrical Load Sharing are not conditions I am familiar with either in the United States or in Malaysia. For our Christian brothers and sisters in Nepal, their prayers for the nation reveal the centrality of these pressing realities:

Our heavenly Father, we come before you to intercede for our country, Nepal. We humbly ask that you show your grace and mercy upon our land and the people,and may your love bring healing to all.

We pray for your peace that will put an end to various conflicts in our society - ethnic conflict, caste conflict, political conflict, and militant conflict. May there be harmony, forgiveness, and good understanding among all groups. . .

We pray for the political leaders, particularly as they try to form a new Constitution and a stable, democratic government. May they cooperate together for the good of Nepal and its people. Grant them wisdom, courage, and honesty to lead the country. Let them put the country first before all their personal interests or ambitions. . .

We pray for unity which is so much needed today: unity among our leaders, different communities, political parties, languages, cultures, and also within the Church in Nepal. Help us as your followers to be a positive example and influence upon our neighbors who have not heard the Gospel.

Lord, we also pray for our daily needs such as electricity and water. We pray for sufficient rain for the farmers to cultivate the land, and for all who are struggling to make a daily living.

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Amen.

While we draw close to one another, as partners in mission, and learn to bear one another's burdens, may it be that the prayer language of the Church in Nepal becomes our own and, in turn, that our our ultimate concerns become theirs as well.