Develop a Discipleship System
Praying for Change: Daily Prayers for Anti-Racism
By Derek Weber
While the headlines may have receded, the sin of racism continues to be seen and felt on both individual and systemic levels. Dismantling racism is not a short-term task but a lifelong moving forward to perfection in love—to use founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley’s words. Therefore, Discipleship Ministries and other agencies and bodies of The United Methodist Church will continue to provide resources and guidance on how to become anti-racist individuals and churches. Please seek out the help you need to maintain your efforts to transform your community into an anti-racist fellowship.
The Worship Team of Discipleship Ministries believes, however, that such a change will not happen unless the whole process is bathed in prayer every step along the way. To that end, we will continue to provide daily prayers to help keep us all centered on the ongoing journey of transformation. From Monday through Friday, a new prayer will be posted here for your use as personal devotion, to share in your small group, or for use in corporate worship.
If you wish to receive these prayers each day in your email, the process for signing up is outlined below. If you would like to submit a prayer for anti-racism, click here to contact us. Join with us in this season of prayer and change in our denomination and beyond.
December 20, 2024
Mary, friend and mother to all, through your Son, God has found a way to unite himself to every human being, called to be one people, sisters and brothers to each other. We ask for your help in calling on your Son, seeking forgiveness for the times when we have failed to love and respect one another. We ask for your help in obtaining from your Son the grace we need to overcome the evil of racism and to build a just society. We ask for your help in following your Son, so that prejudice and animosity will no longer infect our minds or hearts but will be replaced with a love that respects the dignity of each person. Mother of the Church, the Spirit of your Son Jesus warms our hearts: pray for us. Amen.
USCCB Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, 2020, cited in “Anti-Racism,” Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, https://www.sinsinawa.org/peace-justice/anti-racism/.
December 19, 2024
God of light and truth, you call all men and women to live lives of holiness and justice. Help us to see in one another: a heart which is tender, a mind which is humble, and a care for our brothers and sisters so that together we may build up the Body of Christ as a sign of hope and mercy for all. We make this prayer through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, “Praying for Racial Justice,” https://www.cbcew.org.uk/racial-justice-prayers/.
December 18, 2024
It’s gotten cold here where I live, God of times and seasons. For me, it means putting on a sweater or another blanket on the bed and turning up the heat just a bit until it feels comfortable. But I can’t help but be aware that there are many for whom those aren’t real options. Some are already wearing everything they own, and the thermostats under interstate bridges are hard to come by. Yet what can I do, Lord, to give comfort to these siblings who live on the streets? What can my little contribution do to change this worldwide problem? It is beyond my resources, whatever they might be.
On the other hand, I don’t hear you asking me to solve a worldwide problem, but simply to love my neighbor—whoever that neighbor might be. Let me not avoid doing anything because I think I can’t do anything. Instead, let me do something. Let me give; let me help; let me see the faces of those I pass by and know them as part of my family. Help me embrace the multihued community of God in whatever ways are before me. It’s gotten cold here where I live. Let it not be cold in me. In Christ’s name. Amen.
Derek C Weber, December 2024
December 17, 2024
Leader: Lord, we ask that you would form us to be peacemakers. May we be people who speak the truth in love as we work for a reconciled world.
Congregation: Oh Lord, only you can make all things new.
Leader: Lord, we commit our lives to you, believing that you are working in the world in spite of destructive powers and principalities. Bring healing to those who are hurt, peace to those who are anxious, and love to those who are fearful. We wait for you, O Lord. Make haste to help us.
Congregation: Oh Lord, only you can make all things new.
Rich Villodas, Missio Alliance, cited in April Yamasaki, “How to Pray Against Racial Hostility,” https://aprilyamasaki.com/2017/08/14/how-to-pray-against-racial-hostility/.
December 16, 2024
Lord, we are tired of the senseless acts of violence, the injustices, the oppression, the racism, and the ignored laments of black and brown communities. Hear us, Lord. Open the hearts, minds, and ears of all your children to hear and understand the cries of pain, of sadness, of trauma, and of immense loss.
Your Son, Jesus, came to us that we “may have life, and have it abundantly.” May each of us be committed to sharing life and love in our world. May we speak truth to power. May we allow the Spirit to lead us to act for justice. Lord, we invite you to use us so that we might bring about a transformation in our world; a transformation that makes a beloved community real here on this earth.
Amen.
Excerpted from A Prayer for Racial Justice, the Grotto, https://www.grottonetwork.com/stories/prayer-against-racism.
Rev. Dr. Derek Weber, Director of Preaching Ministries, served churches in Indiana and Arkansas and the British Methodist Church. His PhD is from University of Edinburgh in preaching and media. He has taught preaching in seminary and conference settings for more than 20 years.
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