Firstly, we pray for the Solomon Islands. Doubt is a big thing there, Lord. Many of the people there are having doubts - about the government, about corruption, about their future. These may be very valid doubts. They may be very necessary doubts, needed to bring about a fairer and balanced country. Yet, without Your influence these doubts will only be laid to rest amongst the bodies of the innocent.

We pray for the health and safety of all those in the Solomons. We pray for the safety and hopes of the ordinary people caught up in the struggle for truth. We pray for the safety and patience of peacekeepers sent to maintain order amongst a torrent of high feelings and rage. We pray for the growth of compassion and generosity for those who would otherwise turn affairs to their own profit and advantage.

There’s a lot of doubt in the world, Lord.

We pray for the people of Nepal, who also doubt their future. As they call for democracy, their government responds with a shoot-on-sight curfew. As the King doubts the intentions of his subjects, and the people doubt the intentions of their King, violence and unrest grow. We pray for all those carried away by their ideologies, by their fears, and by their doubts. May a spirit of mutual co-operation grow in their hearts to enable a new Nepal to grow strong, not on the blood of the people, but on the spirit of reconciliation. May the King of all Kings enter their hearts and bring peace.

There’s a lot of doubt in the world, Lord.

Many at the top end of Australia are having doubts about their future, with the onslaught of Cyclone Monica. Evacuees doubt the safety of their homes. Others doubt the safety of their loved ones. Some Australians doubt the seriousness of a cyclone that threatens such an isolated area as the Northern Territory coast. We pray for all those in the path of Monica. For the many aboriginal communities who live there and who will be affected by its destructive power. We pray for their safety, and for their future. May they take refuge in You, may You be their solace and their protector.

Some doubts are closer to home, Lord.

There are many, Lord, who doubt the love or friendship of those around them. Although surrounded by others, they live lonely lives of isolation or misery. We pray for those who are alone, that they will find friends about them, and most of all, in Jesus. We pray that filled with the Holy Spirit, their lives will become full, and that they will no longer doubt that they are truly loved.

We also pray, Lord, for the worlds carers. As they tirelessly work for others, for the elderly, or sick, or young, or disturbed, charge them up with the power of your love. Many doubt their own effectiveness. Others doubt their own strength. Be their support, Lord, and dispel their doubts with a faith in You. You are the power, you are the glory.

Some doubts are closer to home, Lord.

Even within the church, Lord, many have doubts about their faith, their priorities, about the resurrection, about Jesus. About You. You are bigger than our imagination can conceive, you are mysterious, and inexplicable. We cannot see your will, and so doubt. Fill us with the Holy Spirit and move us in our faith. We pray for the Church, for the Leaders of the Church, for the congregations. When we believe conflicting things, bring us closer together rather than further apart. When we become stuck in the past or obsessed with the new, open our eyes to the unchanging, yet never static immenseness of your truth. Just as you have created every single one of us as different people with different understandings, we pray that you will lay upon us an tolerance for those whose views we do not share, as well as a tolerance for those whose views we do.

Some doubts are pathways to your certainties.

Lord, we confess that we sometimes use doubt as an excuse to stop thinking. Through doubts can come better understanding and stronger faith. We pray that we can use our own doubts to come closer to you. We confess that we often see doubts as a brick wall, to stop us, or as an unwanted mound to be beaten down flat. Yet often these same doubts provide a spring-board opportunity to propel our lives more deeply into your love. We pray that you will guide us, and re-new us, despite and because of our doubts.

Finally, Lord, we pray for those here today, and those unable to attend. Regardless of their fears, or doubts, or illnesses or problems, we pray for their health and their faith. We pray that you will carry them all to the light of your love, and that you will inspire each of us to carry your light into the world to dispel doubt and apathy, and replace it with faith, love and compassion.

Amen.