Go Tell it on the Mountain
A Prayer for the Mountains
Sunday, August 13th, 2006
O Divine Spirit,
Spirit of wind and water,
of mountain and majesty,
of all creatures great and small:
Hear our prayer of thanksgiving
for the world that we take for granted,
for your gracious gifts that we do not earn,
for the daily blessings that we do not merit;
Hear our prayer of confession
as we acknowledge our self-absorption,
our short-sightedness;
our failure to care for all creation;
Hear our prayer of supplication
for the mountains, and those who love them;
for the mountains, and those who live in them;
for the mountains, and those who work to preserve and protect them;
Bring us to that day when
the rivers will clap their hands
and the mountains will sing together for joy.
Amen.
September 23rd, 2006 at 5:42 am
I love the prayer. Is it possible to post in on our website http://mountmayapay.multiply.com/
Butuan City, Mindanao, Philippines has a brooding presence that towers above it, Mt. Mayapay. This mountain is terribly denuded and quarrying is going on at many points. A geomorphologist has warned prolonged rain may cause the same kind of disaster that happened at Guinsaogon, Leyte this year when a whole village was entombed by mudslide.
This prayer is universally meaningful. It can help inspire our people to work towards saving our Mt. Mayapay. The people who’re destroying it are our very own public officials who’re landowners inside the mountain.
Many thanks!
October 12th, 2006 at 1:33 pm
You are welcome to use the prayer on your web site.
Blessings and peace,
Mary Jane Hitt
November 4th, 2006 at 5:42 pm
“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.”
-Romans 1:25 (NIV)
March 14th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
A fine prayer in the good Reformed tradition.
April 7th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
i was watching footage of leonardo di caprio’s eco-talk on TV. that made me open his site. I came across the prayers for the mountains. They’re just great inspiration for readers here, especially so because the Cordillera region where i am now in the northern philippines, in fact is made up of mountains. mountains that produced the gold for the mining companies owned by both foreigners and filipinos, mountains that made so many government officials rich. with every gold strike and mill movement they become richer while the mountain dwellers here become poorer.
July 8th, 2007 at 8:46 am
I need plenty more belief, plenty more power of prayer and more Holy Ghost with me. Please pray also that God gives me gifts of God’s grace.
July 26th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Sweet YH:WH, we implore your might to assist us here in our efforts, to preserve your beautiful land. Dear Yeshua, please be with, and stay with us all, and help to soften the hearts of those that would oppose.
Let us live in love, peace and harmony with your creation, and eachother…Amen
December 4th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
While reading this prayer to myself, my eyes were filling with tears. My young daughter looked at me and asked why I was crying. So I read her the prayer aloud, and stopped to explain each line, as she doesn’t have some of the words in her vocabulary yet.
It’s so much more humbling to have to explain to children the things we do to our Earth. As you hear the simplicity of your words fall on their ears, it sinks into the part of you that’s still innocent and childlike. And it hurts so much more to see it from that more vulnerable perspective.
But this prayer filled me with love and hope for a brighter future for my daughter and son. For me, every day is Thanksgiving.
August 18th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Every time I read about mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia it just breaks my heart. We need to fight to end this disaster. We need to bring good, sustainable jobs to people who live in this region so their country is not destroyed.
October 27th, 2016 at 4:06 pm
Hi Mary Jane Hitt,
The United Methodist Women,National Office are seeking permission to reprint the prayer, I Love Mountains. This will be reprinted in a Leader’s Guide to accompany a study on Missionary Conferences. 200 copis will be printed.
May we have your permission?
Best Regards,
Catherine Scott
Permissions Consultant
United Methodist Women, National Office