A Prayer for Russia and Eastern Europe
Offered by Steve Gardner in morning worship,
Sunday, September 28, 2003

Our Loving God,  We pray for our brothers and sisters in Russia and Eastern Europe .  We thank you for the gifts they have given the world, for this is the birthplace of Peter Tchaikovsky and Vaclav Havel, of Bela Bartok and Franz Lizst, of Madeleine Albright and Pope John Paul. Tragically, Lord, we know that this is also a region that suffered for decades under some of the most evil dictators who have walked the face of the earth.

It is a place where religious and political freedoms were suppressed, and where the land, water, air, and population were sacrificed to the gods of industrialization and military strength.

Lord, we are thankful that we lived to see the day when the people of Russia and Eastern Europe have started regaining many of their freedoms and have begun to repair the damage inflicted upon their lives and their land.  We pray that you will pour your blessings on them, and will help us to find ways that we can be helpful to our brothers and sisters there and throughout the world.

Lord, when we come before your throne, we pray that you will say, “Enter into my kingdom, beloved, because I was a stranger and you gave me a home, I was hungry and you gave me food to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me water to drink.”   We ask it in Jesus’ name, 

Amen