Bread for the World believes prayer is central to the work of ending hunger by 2030. Hunger happens in every corner of the world. In this blog series, we will provide a prayer for a different group of countries each week and their efforts to end hunger.
This prayer series will follow the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle, a list compiled by the World Council of Churches that enables Christians around the world to journey in prayer through every region of the world, affirming our solidarity with Christians all over the world, brothers and sisters living in diverse situations, experiencing their challenges and sharing their gifts.
We will especially be lifting up in prayer the challenges related to hunger and poverty that the people of each week’s countries face. In prayer, God’s story and our own story connect—and we and the world are transformed. In a prayer common to all of us—the Lord’s Prayer/the Our Father—we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” This line from this prayer can also be a prayer for the end of hunger.
We invite you to join Bread in our prayers for the world’s countries to end hunger. And we encourage you to share with us your prayers for the featured countries of the week or for the end of hunger in general.
For the week of August 27 – September 2: Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal
Prayer to the Holy Child
Holy child of Bethlehem, born in a stable:
help us to remember all those children living in poverty or even abandoned by their parents.
Holy child of Bethlehem, whom Herod sought to kill:
help us to remember all those holy innocents of our own time who suffer abuse or neglect in so many different ways.
Holy child of Bethlehem, a refugee in Egypt:
help us to care for all those children who are forced to live far away from their homes.
May the God of love bless all of you,
your families and our nation with his gift of peace and happiness.
Amen.
(From the Christmas message of the Most Rev. Robert P. Ellison CSSp, Bishop of Banjul.)
Percentage of the population of these countries living below the national poverty line:
Cape Verde: Not available
The Gambia: 48.4
Guinea: 55.2
Guinea-Bissau: 69.3
Senegal: 46.7
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators as found in the 2017 Hunger Report.
Prayer is a central part of Bread for the World’s work. Learn more about how you can get involved with prayer at Bread.
