The Perils of Land and Sea for Those Seeking Refuge

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arms does bind the restless wave,
Who bids the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.

For the past four Sundays we have reflected on some of the reasons people are being forcibly displaced from their homes at a rate of 1 person every 2 seconds. Today I would like for us to reflect on the dangers and perils people who are fleeing their homes encounter.

I ask you to join me in prayer for:
• Those whose life circumstances are forcing them to flee their homes today;
• Those who are scraping enough money together to pay for their voyage;
• Those who are being extorted by human traffickers and smugglers;
• Those who, in the midst of their migration journey, have been separated from loved ones;

O Savior, whose almighty word
The winds and waves submissive heard,
Who walked upon the foaming deep,
And calm amid the rage did sleep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.

I ask you to join me in prayer for:
• Those who are experiencing physical and sexual violence on their journey towards refuge;
• Those who are facing the harsh elements as they cross the desert or the sea;
• Those who have suffered wounds or have medical issues but have no access to healthcare;
• Those who are in labor or are giving birth on their migration journey;
• Those who have died during their migration journey, and for those who have journeyed with them and survived, now to live with the trauma of seeing death so close;

O Holy Spirit, who did brood
Upon the waters dark and rude,
And bid their angry tumult cease,
And give for wild confusion peace;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.

I ask you to join me in prayer for:
• Those who have reached a border on their journey to plead for protection only to find a barbed-wire fence, or a wall, or people dressed in uniforms pointing guns at them;
• Those who ask for protection and are imprisoned for doing so;
• Those who cross a man-made border to find a better life for their children, only to have those children taken from their arms;
• Those who live in refugee camps—often for years or even decades—without proper sanitation, security, food, water, education and job opportunities;
• Those who live lives “suspended” as their legal cases for protection are processed, not knowing what the outcome will be;
• Those who are granted protection and begin to build their lives again, only to have that protection later removed by the hosting country;
• Those who are giving permission to live in another country, but will never be given the dignity of being treated as one of “us”.

O Trinity of love and pow’r,
Your children shield in danger’s hour;
From rock and tempest, fire, and foe,
Protect them where-so-e’er they go;
Thus, evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.