A worry felt by many today is that vital concerns, which will ultimately affect us all, have been all but forgotten due to the coronavirus pandemic, and chief among those is surely the threat of environmental catastrophe. Coronavirus will hopefully be a thing of the past relatively soon; ecological concerns, and the potential damage they pose to all of us, will be with us a lot longer, and, grim though it seems to suggest it, their consequences could be far more devastating. In this prayer, from my forthcoming book Praying with Pretence: Honest Prayers for Honest People, we ask for God’s help in making a difference, no matter how small.
When troubled about the state of our planet
The earth in crisis,
facing environmental disaster:
I say that I care, Lord,
that this really matters to me,
but do I live in a way that shows I mean it?
When it comes to the sacrifices I need to make,
the lifestyle choices I have to change,
do my actions back up my words?
Like so many, I claim to love this planet,
yet am part of a society whose extravagant consumption has placed its future in doubt –
part of a world that refuses to face up to its responsibilities,
and that, for all people’s protestations and good intentions,
is still more concerned with the present than the future.
And while we continue to tinker at the edges of the problem,
we know, deep down, that yet more damage is being done,
potentially irreversible.
Wake us up to the calamity that is upon us.
And though what I can do may only be small,
give me a genuine resolve to make a difference.
Amen.