How do we pray for God’s creation?

(From The Pollinator: Prayer for God’s Creation, 2 Dec 2020)

With under a year until November 2021’s vital COP26 Climate Conference, there are several recent prayer initiatives helping people pray for the Climate. Christian Aid and some of the Season of Creation global steering group have launched a multifaith Global Prayer and Action Chain for Climate Justice. Also, a group of organizations closely linked to the Lausanne/WEA Creation Care Network (LWCCN) and The Pollinator (including A Rocha International, Climate Witness Project, Eden Vigil and YWAM) have launched Climate Intercessors, as ‘a global network of people whose prayers are as real and urgent as the climate crisis’. You can sign up to commit to praying with others over the coming year, that God would move the principalities and powers and release his Spirit over world leaders as they meet in Glasgow in 2021.

So, how do you pray for creation, and for the climate?

Here are some simple suggestions:

• Firstly, we pray together, in and with creation, not just for creation. Scripture is clear that the whole creation prays without ceasing: rivers, mountains, birds, animals, even rocks can cry out! As we pray outdoors, in creation, we become aware of this orchestra of worship that constantly rises up to God. Our individual prayers are part of a great chorus, strengthened as we pray with other believers (online or in person), with creation, and with the great company of saints.
  
  

• Next, we pray with lament, grief and weeping, especially amidst today’s climate crisis and the disappearance of precious biodiversity. Creation is groaning and God’s Spirit joins in with groans too deep for words (Romans 8). The Bible is full of lament and we join in, throwing ourselves on our faces before God, pleading and longing for his justice and salvation. Hope is born of the desperation of lament, knowing that God alone can change things.
  
  

• Then, we pray with discernment, passion and persistence. Prayer is not a list of requests to a heavenly Santa Claus, nor a political agenda bracketed with ‘Dear Lord’ and ‘Amen’. It is a conversation with our loving, listening Father, where we implore using our minds, our hearts and our body language. As we pray, we listen for God’s Spirit prompting and changing our own ideas, We pray boldly, because we know we are connecting to the God before whom nations are like dust or drops of water (Isaiah 40:15).
  
  

• Finally, we pray with adoration and expectancy. The early Christians in Rome, violently persecuted and living underground, are pictured in the catacombs standing with faces and palms upwards. We can rejoice, even in the midst of a creation in crisis, because God’s character and promises do not change, and Jesus’ resurrection guarantees future hope for the renewal of creation. Lifting our faces in worship, we receive the hope-fuelled vision we need to continue in prayer and action for God’s beloved and beleaguered creation.

As you celebrate Advent with your family and your church family this year, our prayer for you is that this will be a season of joyful anticipation and prayer, as together we look not only for Jesus' promised return, but along with that, the liberation of all of his creation (Romans 8:19-21).

Dave Bookless, for the LWCCN Family

At Your Service

A Rocha International’s At Your Service is a repository of creation care resources for churches. If you teach, preach or lead worship, this is for you. ‘At Your Service’ has been designed for Christian groups who want to explore the biblical basis of caring for God’s earth. You’ll find sermon ideas, Bible studies, prayers, songs, children’s activities and much, much more.

Other Prayer Resources

The Puriri Prayer and the Kawakawa Prayer - Prayers inspired by native trees written by John Staniland from St Mark’s Swanson and co-chair of the A Rocha Auckland local group.

Prayers with a creation care theme - Prayers written by Silvia Purdie , co-convenor of the A Rocha Christchurch local group. Includes prayers of praise, prayers of confession, prayers of blessing, prayers for a planting day, prayers based on Scripture, and prayers of dediction.

The Season of Creation is an annual celebration of prayer and action to protect creation. It is celebrated by Christians of all traditions, and the leaders of faith traditions have encouraged the faithful to participate. The season begins September 1, the Day of Prayer for Creation, and runs through October 4, the Feast of St. Francis, who is the patron saint of ecology in many traditions. The suggested theme for 2020 is “Jubilee for the Earth”. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are on a pilgrimage to better care of creation. The Official Season of Creation 2020 Celebration Guide contains many useful resources including the Season of Creation 2020 Prayer and an Ecumenical Prayer Service for the Season of Creation. Check out more of their denominational resources here.

Prayer Ideas

Spend some time in a place of natural beauty. Be quiet and use all your senses to discover something you had never noticed before. Give God thanks for that thing. Meditate on Scripture and ask God to speak to you through something that you see, hear, feel or smell.