Prayer Offered for March 9, 2026

Gracious and merciful God, yesterday, on March 8, International Women’s Day was celebrated, having been officially recognized by the UN in 1977. We pray for the women of the world who must overcome fear with courage in so many aspects of their lives. Rosa Parks once said:

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”

And speaking of courage, Jan Richardson says:

I cannot say where [courage] lives,

only that it comes to the heart that is open,

to the heart that asks,

to the heart that does not turn away.

When courage arrives, it might surprise us

by how quiet it is,

how it moves with such grace 

for possessing such power….

We will recognize it by how still our fear becomes

as it loosens its grip,

perhaps never quite leaving,

but calmly turning into joy

as we enter the life that is finally our own.

_{(“Blessing of Courage” by Jan Richardson)}

So Gracious God, thank You for all the women who have inspired us to greater courage in our lives, and we ask Your blessing on those who are still consumed by fear due to unjust structures.—AMEN.