Tag Archives: prayer

The National Day Of Prayer For Mental Illness Awareness Recovery And Understanding

The National Day of Prayer for Mental Illness Awareness Recovery and Understanding is Tuesday, October 4. This day of prayer was initiated by Angela Vickers of NAMI Florida and Gunnar Christiansen of NAMI California in 2004. It has had widespread support by individual congregations and National Faith Community Mental Illness Networks.

In seeking God’s guidance, we can recommit ourselves to replacing misinformation, blame, fear and prejudice with truth and love in order to offer hope to all who are touched by mental illness.

You can download helpful resources at liturgies to use for the National Day of Prayer on the Home page of the Mental Health Ministries website. This resource is available in English and Spanish. Many faith communities have sponsored an interfaith candle lighting service using a liturgy written by Carole J. Wills that is included in this resource.

There is also a fact sheet, What You Need to Know About Mental Illness, including facts that involve our faith communities.

A Prayer for Overcoming Indifference

A Prayer for Overcoming Indifference

I watch the news, God. I observe it all from a comfortable distance. I see people suffering, and I don’t lift a finger to help them. I condemn injustice but I do nothing to fight against it. I am pained by the faces of starving children, but I am not moved enough to try to save them. I step over homeless people in the street, I walk past outstretched hands, I avert my eyes, I close my heart.

Forgive me, God, for remaining aloof while others are in need of my assistance.

Wake me up, God; ignite my passion, fill me with outrage. Remind me that I am responsible for Your world. Don’t allow me to stand idly by. Inspire me to act. Teach me to believe that I can repair some corner of this world.

When I despair, fill me with hope. When I doubt my strength, fill me with faith. When I am weary, renew my spirit. When I lose direction, show me the way back to meaning, back to compassion, back to You. And let us all say, Amen.