Pray

Sign the pledge Pray Post-referendum Gathering

Please join us in prayer at this significant moment for our country and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice.

As Senior Aboriginal Christian Leader, Aunty Jean Phillips, encourages us, "first of all we need to be coming together, we need to give it a lot of time and prayer, and ask God to give us wisdom and guidance.”

In the lead up to the referendum on October 14, Common Grace shared a series of weekly prayer emails, and daily prayer text messages, to call our movement to prayer for this significant moment facing our country.

Revisit and read through our Weekly Prayer requests and bible verses here.

Prayers from our Aboriginal Christian Leaders and from across the Common Grace movement can be found below.

 

Meredith Walker-Harding's prayer in response to the Voice referendum result.

____

God of love, truth and justice, 
 We want to echo Uncle Ray Minniecon in his Redfern Prayer - that you have lived among all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations since time immemorial. That you gave this land to them, that you have not dispossessed or destroyed them.  
We want to acknowledge the truth written in the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart - that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes are the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and adjacent islands and that this sovereignty has never been ceded or extinguished. 
Lord, We lament the result of this referendum. We lament that so many of us chose to say no to such a simple request, and we lament that the process was politicised by those seeking power. 
 We want Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be seen and celebrated, recognised and listened to, to have dignity, self-determination and treaty. We want to step together into a better future, where all people and all creation can flourish. 
Give us the courage to look at our communities, our church denominations, at our government and legal systems, at our own hearts - and tell the truth of what we find. Root out the racism, apathy, paternalism and selfishness that has taken hold. Change our hearts and help us to be the truth-tellers you have called us to be. 
 Pour out your love onto our Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander sisters and brothers. Heal the wounds caused by this referendum campaign. Help them recover from these exhausting, painful, heartbreaking months. Fill them up with your spirit, your power, your strength. Help them find rest in you, in creation and in community. 
 And help us love our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sisters and brothers like you do - with radical, unconditional, sacrificial love. 
 God of love, truth and justice - help us be people of love, truth and justice.
In Jesus name, Amen.

____

Meredith shared this prayer for Common Grace's Post-Referendum Online Gathering, Tuesday 17 October

____

 

Uncle Pastor Ray Minniecon's Prayer for the Voice

____

Holy Father of all creation,
We come before you today, recognising your sovereignty over all things and your deep understanding of the hearts and minds of the people of our nation. As we approach the voice referendum, we ask for your wisdom, guidance, and discernment.
We pray for a spirit of respect and understanding among all who participate. May disagreements be met with grace and may differences be seen as opportunities to learn and grow together. In times of disagreement, may we be reminded of our shared humanity and the bonds that tie us together.
Let every voice be heard, and may every decision be made with thoughtfulness, integrity, and a genuine desire for the betterment of all. Illuminate our path, Lord, and help us to see beyond our immediate circumstances, to the broader picture of unity, progress, and harmony for we are a land of many nations.
Grant all citizens the patience to listen, the courage to speak, and the grace to respect each other’s viewpoints.
Help us guard against divisiveness and strife. And lead us towards a future where every voice is cherished, and every heart is acknowledged.
Lord may the outcome of this referendum reflect Your will and serve the greater good of our community and nation. Grant us peace in our hearts, knowing that even in the midst of uncertainty, You are in control.
Holy Father, thank you for the privilege of having a voice, for the freedom to express our beliefs, and for the responsibility to act in the best interest of all. Bless this referendum, and may it pave the way for a brighter, united future for all peoples who live on our lands.
In Your Holy Name, we pray.....Amen.
____

Uncle Pastor Ray Minniecon shared this prayer at a recent Faith Leaders gathering talking with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about a 'Yes' vote.

____

 

Adam Gowen's Prayer for the Voice

 

Creator,

We thank you that you are light and love and life. We thank you for leading us on paths that lead to goodness. Help us to keep our feet on those good paths. Strengthen all who are involved in the ministry of reconciliation and guide our minds and hands to the good works you have prepared for us ahead of time. Help us in our times of frustration, hurt, and despair, and encourage and strengthen us in the very core of who we are – ones made in your image. May community be strong, and tender to those who are in need. Inspire people to become strong in optimism and at the same time aware of our need for your help- help us to be humble – to be close to the Earth and to connect with you, your creation, and each other. Help us all to take our place – to soberly evaluate where you would have us be, and what you would have us to, and for us to see success in all of those things. God we pray for our nation, for unity, for community, for love to be exalted.

In the name of your risen Son.

 Ngawa (Yes: Amen)

____

 

Below are prayers shared at our first Listen to the Heart online gathering by Meredith Walker-Harding and Safina Stewart.  

 

Safina Stewart’s Prayer for the Voice

God of wondrous possibility

Take my story and my life

Give me courage to stand for justice 

 

God of dreaming and mystery

Forgive my blind complaining

Give me vision to walk remembering your history

 

God of truth and love

Take my bruised hands and feet

Give me strength and grace to stand for truth

 

God of safety and singing

Take my mouth and my voice

Give me words to inspire and encourage

 

God of knowledge and creativity

Take my whole being

Help me stretch, broaden and deepen

 

God of goodness and hope

Take my connections and influence

And help me stand for Voice and Justice

Amen

 

_____

 

Meredith Walker-Harding’s Prayer for Voice and Justice 

Dear Lord,

Thank you that when you called us to yourself you also called us into your family.

We want to thank and praise you for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family.

Sisters and brothers to whom you have revealed so many truths, about yourself and about your creation.

Thank you for the generous, gracious and faithful ways our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sisters and brothers have shared these truths with us - through relationship, through stories, through art, through song, through care for country.

This year Lord, we have the exciting opportunity to move forward on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice. Please help the non-Indigenous church here in Australia listen deeply to our Indigenous brothers and sisters calls for justice, for a Voice, for treaty and truth telling. Help us echo, amplify and fight for these calls to come true because, as followers of Jesus, you have called us to be people of love, to be people who pursue reconciliation and justice. We have ignored this call in the past, forgive us, help us not to fail now. 

In the lead up to the referendum God, please protect our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family as they encounter people and spaces and structures that are not safe, that wish them harm, that presume to know what is best without listening to what is being asked for, that spread misinformation, that choose self comfort over justice. Surround their hearts and spirits and communities with your love. Help the non-Indigenous church to also surround them with our love and support and resources. 

And in the midst of what will be an exhausting year, remind our Aboriginal and Torres Strait brothers and sisters that it is ok to rest, to take care of themselves, that their day to day lives are important to you, that you love them and want them to flourish.

Thank you for loving us Lord, please help us love you and each other and your world.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

 

_________

 

Uncle Dr Pastor Ray Minniecon’s Redfern Prayer

God of our Dreaming. Father of all our Aboriginal nations in Australia. You have lived among us since time immemorial. We have always known You. You gave this land to our Aboriginal nations. You have not dispossessed us nor destroyed us.

People from other lands, who do not understand our unique culture, our unique lifestyle and our unique heritage have come and destroyed much of our way of life. Many of these people from other lands now want to understand and reconcile with us.

But for many of us Aboriginal people, we find this reconciliation business a little difficult.

Too many of our children are still in jails.

Too many of our children are still living in sub-standard housing.

Too many of our mothers are living on the streets or in refuges.

Too many of our children are still uneducated.

Too many of our children have no land and no community to go back to.

Too many of our children have not got good opportunities for good employment.

Too many of our children are living in extremely unhealthy environments.

Too many of our children are living among violence and abuse.

Too many of our children are dying to drugs and other soul-destroying substances.

God of our Dreaming and Creator of our people, we sometimes feel overwhelmed by these things. Many of us feel like we are refugees in our own land.

Today we are coming together again on one of our battlegrounds to cry out to You for mercy and justice for our children, for our families and for our land.

We pray that more resources will be given to our local community organisations to help us grow healthy and strong.

We pray that the peoples from other lands will be given a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone so that they can understand us and support us properly.

We pray that your Spirit will help and encourage us to grow good strong Aboriginal leaders.

Father we want to grow strong and healthy again in our own land. We want to take our rightful place in our land and make our contribution to the re-building of our families, our communities and our nation.

Please hear our cries for justice. We ask these mercies in the name of Your Son.


Amen.

__________

This Redfern Prayer was written in 2009 by Pastor Raymond Minniecon, a descendant of the Kabi Kabi nation and the Gurang Gurang nation of South-East Queensland, and a descendant of the South Sea Islander people. He is a prominent Aboriginal Christian Leader in Australia with a long history working across Aboriginal justice issues through business and ministry.