{"id":9951,"date":"2026-10-15T10:56:47","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T15:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/?p=9951"},"modified":"2026-10-15T10:56:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T15:56:47","slug":"for-what-shall-we-pray-181","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/9951\/","title":{"rendered":"For what shall we pray?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7866 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/60\/2023\/02\/For-What-Shall-We-Pray-option-1-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"130\" height=\"130\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/60\/2023\/02\/For-What-Shall-We-Pray-option-1-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/60\/2023\/02\/For-What-Shall-We-Pray-option-1-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/60\/2023\/02\/For-What-Shall-We-Pray-option-1-250x250.png 250w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/60\/2023\/02\/For-What-Shall-We-Pray-option-1-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/60\/2023\/02\/For-What-Shall-We-Pray-option-1.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 130px) 100vw, 130px\" \/><\/span>&#8220;For what shall we pray?&#8221; is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/7864\/\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><\/b><b>Prayer Prompts:<\/b><br \/>\nFor all those affected by war and armed conflict around the world, especially in Iran, Gaza, Ethiopia, Syria, South Sudan, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, and Myanmar&#8230;<br \/>\nFor midterm elections and for democratic elections around the world\u2026<br \/>\nFor ongoing student protests in France, Albania, and India\u2026<br \/>\nFor Christa Pike and all those impacted by the death penalty\u2026<br \/>\nFor victims of a school roof collapse in Pakistan&#8230;<br \/>\nFor Pope Leo XIV and his cancer diagnosis&#8230;<br \/>\nFor those in the path of Hurricane Simon and all those affected by natural disasters\u2026<br \/>\nFor all those affected by gun violence, sexual violence, and race-based violence&#8230;<br \/>\nFor the ongoing courage and renewal of the church, led by the Holy Spirit&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><b>Events &amp; Observances:<\/b><br \/>\nOctober Observances: Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15-Oct 15), Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Filipino American History Month, National Bullying Prevention Month, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, LGBTQ History Month<\/p>\n<p>Teresa of Avila, teacher, renewer of the church, died 1582 (Oct 15)<br \/>\nNational Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day (Oct 15)<br \/>\nWorld Food Day (Oct 16)<br \/>\nIgnatius, Bishop of Antioch, martyr, died around 115 (Oct 17)<br \/>\nLuke, Evangelist (Oct 19, transferred)<br \/>\nJames of Jerusalem, martyr, died around 62 (Oct 23)<br \/>\nReformation Sunday (Oct 25)<\/p>\n<p><b>Prayers from ELCA Resources:<\/b><br \/>\n<i>A prayer of Archbishop Desmond Tutu<\/i> (ACS p.48):<br \/>\nCreator God, you have called us to be keepers of your earth. Through greed we have established an economy that destroys the web of life. We have changed our climate and we drown in despair. Let oceans of justice flow. May we learn to sustain and renew the life of our Mother Earth. We stand with indigenous people worldwide who are demanding restoration of their ancestral lands. We pray for our leaders, custodians of Mother Earth, that they may negotiate with wisdom and fairness. May they act with compassion and courage; and lead us<br \/>\ninto the path of justice for the sake of our children and our children\u2019s children. Amen.<\/p>\n<p><i>A prayer for those who are incarcerated<\/i> (ACS p.52)<br \/>\nMighty God, merciful and just: we pray for our jails, prisons, and detention centers, that they be places of fair and humane treatment for all. Lead us to end solitary confinement and other cruel and demeaning practices. Guide police and corrections officers, attorneys and judges to use wisely the power entrusted to them. Inspire prison worshiping communities and chaplains. Rouse us to eradicate racism, corruption, and greed in the criminal justice system. By your Spirit, transform our society, that the dignity and worth of every incarcerated person be honored. We ask this through your resurrected Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.<\/p>\n<p>A variety of worship resources related to the upcoming national election season are <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/9889\/\">available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>ELW = <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburgfortress.org\/store\/category\/286455\/Evangelical-Lutheran-Worship\">Evangelical Lutheran Worship<\/a><\/em><br \/>\nACS = <a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburgfortress.org\/store\/category\/287206\/All-Creation-Sings\"><em>All Creation Sings: Evangelical Lutheran Worship<\/em> <em>Supplement<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Additional topical prayers are found in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (pp. 72\u201387) and All Creation Sings (pp. 46\u201355), as well as in other resources provided in print and online at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sundaysandseasons.com\">sundaysandseasons.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Crafted intercessions for every Sunday and festival are provided in the Sundays and Seasons worship planning guide published <a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburgfortress.org\/store\/category\/286268\/Sundays-and-Seasons\">in-print<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sundaysandseasons.com\">online<\/a> by Augsburg Fortress. <\/em><em>Further assistance for composing prayers of intercession can be found here: <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/5077\/\">Resources for Crafting Prayers of Intercession<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.elca.org\/?_categories=prayer-ventures\">Prayer Ventures<\/a>, a daily prayer resource, is a guide to prayer for the global, social and outreach ministries of the ELCA, as well as for the needs and circumstances of our neighbors, communities and world.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;For what shall we pray?&#8221; is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":283,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>For what shall we pray? - ELCA Worship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/9951\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For what shall we pray? - ELCA Worship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#8220;For what shall we pray?&#8221; is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. 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