"For this I shall praise you among the nations and sing praise to your name."
Romans 15:10
I am back now from my fifth trip to the States this year. This trip took me to be a part of the World Mission Conference in Green Lake, WI. I was blessed to work alongside of missionary colleague and friend, Joyce Anderson Reed from La Paz, Mexico. Together we planned and directed the evening programs. We were charged with highlighting the ministries of our IM missionaries on US/Puerto Rico assignment as well as international guests from places as far away as Northeast India, Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa, Brazil and Lebanon. We were humbled by the many stories of God's surprising acts of grace in and on behalf of His people throughout our world. Since the theme of the conference was Surprised by Prayer, Mission and the Untamed God we experienced the Lord's Prayer in a different way each evening. We heard it in different languages and from a youth's perspective, we sang it, we signed, and we prayed it. The following is one of the prayers I wrote to be used in the service focused on Confession and Lament to help us experience a God-sized prayer, one where we all lift up our cries to the Lord at the same time for the issues only God can resolve. I came home inspired and challenged to be surprised by the God who is not tame, but good. I hope you can find something new and surprising in the very familiar yet life transforming practice of prayer.

Our Father, in heaven, whose name is holy,
We pray for all of the children left orphaned by AIDS, famine, war, poverty and neglect who wonder who will take care of them. We pray for the children whose home is the streets who have had to learn to parent one another the best way they know how. Parent them, provide them safety, comfort and care. As we have felt your parenting love, let us, your people, be Your arms to embrace them, Your shield to protect them from harm, and Your voice that assures them of their worth.

Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,
We pray for our own countries and the kingdoms of this world, both those in the news and those whose actions only You notice, who wage war wanting to do their own wills no matter how many of your precious children get hurt in the process. Help us to work for Your reign where life and peace overcome death and violence.

Give us the bread we need for today,
We pray for your people throughout our world who have not had their bread, or tortilla, nor rice today because others have had too much or more than their share today. Turn our sense of entitlement into sensitive sharing so that all might know the fullness of Your provision today. Thank you for the examples of this that we see in ministries led by your followers throughout the world.

Forgive us our wrongs as we forgive those who have done wrong to us,
We pray for the hurts we have caused to others both individually and as a community of faith. Transform our family and congregational conflicts into a dynamic movement of your Spirit. We, like you, are not strangers to the pain of betrayal, abandonment, and mistrust. We have seen the consequences of our own abuses of power, money, and sex and long to live differently. Redeem our wrongs and renew us through your grace.

Lead us away from temptation and deliver us from evil,
We pray for a major force to uproot and end the systems of death and slavery that exist in the trafficking of humans in our generation. We pray for a change of heart, conscious and soul in those who promote sex as business, slavery as market demand, and human life as commodity to be traded. Lead us into life and love and away from all that steals those away from your creation.

To You, oh God, belongs the honor and the glory and the power forever. Amen
Please be in prayer for our Intensive course on Domestic Violence during the week of August 23-26th with Ray and Adalia Schellinger-Gutierrez, IM missionaries from Tijuana, Mexico.