“Pray without ceasing.” ‐‐‐ 1 Thess. 5:17
Prayer Guide for Global Warming
You may wish to begin your prayer time reflecting on some of the Scriptures which tell of God’s sovereign power over Creation, its role in declaring His glory, our role as stewards and servants, and God’s commands to love Him and love our neighbors.
You may also wish to read the Evangelical Climate Initiative’s statement Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action which gives some background on why Christians should care about climate change.
Dear Lord,
The earth is Yours and we are in Your hands. You are the Creator and the Sustainer of all things, and we acknowledge our own finite understanding, ability, and impact. So we begin our consideration of global warming on our knees in prayer to You who created the planets and the stars, whose eye is on the sparrow, and who cares for each of us as Your children (Col. 1:15-20, I Cor. 10:26, Ps. 24:1, Neh. 9:6).
We pray that You in Your grace would grant us the wisdom to act with prudence and foresight, to protect the earth and Your children for generations to come (Matt. 24:45-46).
We pray for those who are likely to be most hurt by climate change, both now and in the future. God, grant that we might love our neighbors by controlling our global warming pollution and by generously aiding those who will need to adapt to a changing climate (Mark 12:30-31, Luke 6:31, Matt. 25:40, 45).
We pray, as Your Son did, for the unity of those who believe in You (John 17:20-26). We pray that our concern and attention to the issue of climate change would not cause spiritual division in your body, but that You would grant humility and a teachable spirit to all of us (Phil 2:1-11).
We pray, Lord, that in our public and private lives You draw us and all people to Yourself, to will and to work for Your good pleasure and not for the accolades or attention of men. Especially we pray that You guard our hearts against the temptation to self‐righteousness, pride, and political power (Deut 8:17-20).
We pray that our engagement on issues of climate change would not be a distraction from sharing the gospel and living out transformed lives of faithful discipleship. Do not allow the current climate debate to divert us from other issues that Christians are compelled to address: the tragedy of abortion, the defense of marriage and strong families, the promotion of religious freedom at home and abroad, and care for the poor and persecuted, the weak and handicapped, the widow, orphan, and prisoner. We pray instead that our faithfulness to Your Word, and its demands on our lives and our culture, would be the wellspring of our action, and that Your Holy Spirit would guide us to lives that wholly reflect Your love for the world (Acts 20:27).
We pray that You would grant us the power to live out our beliefs in our personal lives; that You would cause us to be faithful stewards of Your resources under our care; and that we would always look first to our own responsibility to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with You (Micah 6:8).
We pray for our political leaders, that You would give them courage, insight, and wisdom to work together for the common good. We pray that partisan divisions would not stand in the way of a prudent response to global warming, and that leaders would understand the urgency of the problem and their responsibility as Your servants to do what is good (Romans 12:4).
We pray that You would be glorified in all things.
We pray in the strong name of the one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live (I Cor 8:6).
Amen.