Faith & Worship

The total number of refugees in the world at the end of 2015 reached 65.3 million -- or one out of every 113 people on Earth, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The number represents a 5.8 million increase on the year before.

"Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."
(Psalm 82:3,4)

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Bless all those who are,
through no fault of their own,
forced to flee their homes
and take, along with family,
only that which they can carry
and seek a safer place to live.
Remind us of our Saviour who,
as a child, was also a refugee,
finding shelter in a foreign land,
and give us hearts and hands
willing to reach out and help
these, our distant relatives
within your worldwide family.
Amen

 

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In a world which cares more
for the needs of self than others,
and is increasingly becoming
more inward-looking and fractured,
give us a heart for the vulnerable,
the refugee, the forgotten, the lost;
a heart that is based on yours,
poured out for the needs of many
and not for the comfort of a few.
Give us a heart which looks out
and sees your beauty in all people,
and welcomes them as a friend.

 

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You are God
of the refugee,
the oppressed
and dispossessed.
You are God
of the weak,
the starving
and suffering.
You are God
who asks for
justice
like a flowing river,
goodness
as a sparkling stream,
love
that is seen in action.
Forgive us,
challenge us,
change us,
God of love, we pray.

 

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Today Lord, we bring to you
the forgotten people
who were TV headlines
just a month or two ago;
who are still suffering,
still fleeing for their lives,
still dying for lack
of medical provision,
still seeing their world
crumbling into dust
beneath tired feet,
but whose plight
has been downgraded
to make room
for more recent barbarity.
Lord, we bring to you
this fragile world,
its precious people,
its suffering people,
its forgotten people,
made beautifully in your image
and still crying out for help.

 

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God bless
the persecuted
and oppressed
God bless
the refugee
and dispossessed.

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These and around 300 other prayers available in 'Ripples - Engaging with the world in prayer', more info here