Dear God of peace, Creator God,

I pray for Mother Earth. Please intervene and stop our ongoing destruction of the environment, land, water, and air. It's as if we are drunkards heading toward death, oblivious to our actions. The nations of the world seemed determined to extract fossil fuels and any resource that will bring more money, regardless off the consequences of our actions upon the earth, the poor, or future generations. At this rate, we will unleash unlimited carbons, raise the earth's temperature, melt the polar ice caps, and unleash catastrophic climate change with unparalleled hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, and droughts, that will kill millions, poison the water, and unleash a global hell of permanent war.

Dear God, prevent us from this ongoing crucifixion of the earth. Help us to stop the destruction of the earth and to be nonviolent to the earth. Give us the wisdom to share the earth together wisely, to protect our water, land, and the air, to leave fossil fuels in the ground and pursue alternative forms of energy, such as wind and solar power. Give us an entirely new understanding that we might put Mother Earth and her creatures first, that we might also protect the poor and vulnerable, then we might legislate global protection of the environment and stop greedy corporations from raping Mother Earth and killing her poor.

Creator God, anything is possible with you. We need to be healed, personally, globally, ecologically. We are sorry for our environmental destruction and systemic of violence. We grieve the damage and death we have caused. We repent of our environmental violence, our hatred of the poor, of your creatures, of your creation. Our violence is our own self destruction. We have gone insane. Give us the sanity of nonviolence.

Give us a new will, a new spirit, a new heart, a new grassroots movement to protect creation. Save ourselves through your grace, and help us embark on a new future of nonviolence and respect for creation and one another.

We love you for the gift of your creation, for the beauty of Mother Earth. Thank you for such a gift. Do not let us destroy it. Do not let the nations of the world burn it down, wage permanent war, lead your creatures to extinction, and kill millions of sisters and brothers along the way. Give us the wisdom and way forward, that we might become who you created us to be -- your beloved sons and daughters, instruments of your peace and nonviolence, loving stewards of your beautiful paradise. Amen.

John Dear in They Will Inherit the Earth