A poll from the Pew Research Center, conducted in March 2020 among U.S. adults, shows that the COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on spiritual habits by bringing more people to the practice of prayer. The findings include:
- 55% of U.S. adults have prayed for the end of the spread of coronavirus.
- Included in this number are those who pray daily (86% of Americans and 73% of Christians).
- Also included are those who say they seldom or never pray (15%) and do not belong to any religion (24%).
And the turn to prayer is a worldwide phenomenon. Other research demonstrates that the COVID-19 crisis has increased Google searches for prayer (relative to all Google searches) to the highest level ever recorded. It is estimated that more than half of the world population has prayed to end the coronavirus.
For our visitors from around the world, Spirituality & Practice has found 12 prayers for pandemic times from our large collection of prayers and mantras.
May the Longtime Sun by Mike Heron
May the
longtime
sun shine upon you [More . . . ]
God Help Us by Michael Leunig
God help us to live slowly:
To move simply:
To look softly: [More . . . ]
O God, I Need Thee by Howard Thurman
I Need Thy Sense of Time
Always I have an underlying anxiety about things.
Sometimes I am in a hurry to achieve my ends
And am completely without patience. [More . . .]
In Your Hands by Jacob Boehme
I thank you, O God, for your care and protection this day, keeping me from physical harm and spiritual corruption. [More . . . ]
The Good Pleasure by Thomas A. Kempis
Grant me, O Lord,
to know what I ought to know,
to love what I ought to love [More . . . ]
Help Us to Listen by Janet Shepperson
God of listening, God of peace,
In our hearts may you increase,
Till our flow of words shall cease,
and we hear you. [More . . . ]
Thank You, God by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov
My God,
it has taken me time,
but I’m finally learning
to trust You. [More . . . ]
Your Loving Presence by Source Unknown
Dear God, guide me to always have trust in you
when I am confused or distressed, or feeling fear or pain [More . . . ]
Zen Chant for Well-Being
May suffering ones be suffering free
And the fear struck fearless be. [More . . . ]
Gratitude for What We May Take for Granted by L. Annie Foerster
Spirit of all gifts and grace,
We are not ungrateful – not all the time.
We know that life is a precious gift. Though we would [More . . . ]
Masai Prayer That Our Faith Be Known
Father, thank you for your revelation
about death
and illness
and sorrow. [More . . . ]
God bless this city
and move our hearts with pity
lest we grow hard [More . . . ]
To God We Belong by Jamal Rahman
To become conscious of God in times of uncertainty and despair, the Qur'an asks us to recite the words, "To God we belong and to God we shall return" (2:156). We can repeat the verse like a mantra while focusing on the heart. [More . . . ]
