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 September 27–October 3: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia
Prayer of Confession
You are not the accuser, but the liberator,
not the destroyer, but the rescuer,
not the executioner, but the saviour,
not the scatterer, but the gatherer,
not the traitor, but the deliverer.
You do not pull down, but lift up.
You do not knock down, but stand upright.
You do not curse, but bless.
You do not take revenge, but give grace.
You do not torment, but comfort.
You do not erase, but write.
You do not shake, but steady.
You do not trample, but console.
You do not invent the causes of death,
but seek the means to preserve life.
You do not forget to help.
You do not abandon the good.
You do not withhold compassion.
You do not bring the sentence of death,
but the legacy of life.
You are not opposed for your generosity.
You are not blasphemed for your grace.
You are not cursed for your bounty.
You are not insulted for your free gifts.
You are not mocked for your patience.
You are not blamed for your pardon.
You are not accused for your goodness.
You are not dishonoured for your sweetness.
You are not despised for your meekness.
For these, we send not complaints,
but gratitude that cannot be silenced.
Take away my sins, Almighty.
Remove the curse from me, blessed.
Pardon my debts, merciful.
Erase my transgressions, compassionate.
Extend your hand of deliverance
and I will instantly be made perfect.
What is easier than this for you Lord,
and what is more important to you?
Thus, providential Lord, revive me,
made in your image and brought to life by your breath,
in order to renew the breath of your pure
enlightening grace,
protecting my sinful soul.
© 2001 The Armenian Prayer Book of St Gregory of Narek, English transl. Thomas J. Samuelian, www.stgregoryofnarek.am
Percentage of the population of these countries living below the national poverty line (2014 figures):
Armenia: 32.4
Azerbaijan: 6.0
Georgia: 14.8
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators as found in the 2015 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.
Photo: The Ateni Sioni Church is an early 7th-century Georgian Orthodox church located south of the city of Gori, Georgia. It stands in the Tana River valley, which is known not only for its historical monuments but also for its picturesque landscapes and wine. Wikimedia Commons.
