Prayers

Thousands turn to online prayer and advice as financial situation worsens

Web users looking for support during the current financial situation have boosted traffic by more than 70 percent to a Church of England website section focusing on debt advice, and visitor numbers to the church's online prayer page have increased by more than a quarter.

The Matter of Life and Debt website section -- containing a new 'debt spiral' feature enabling visitors to work out if they are among the many families that will be seriously affected by the credit crunch, and useful advice for those worried about debt -- has seen a 71 percent increase in traffic in recent weeks.

The website section is available here.

A new Prayer for the Current Financial Situation has been viewed nearly 8,000 times since it was published online in September - increasing traffic to the popular Prayers for Today section by 28 percent.

It can be found online at

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams recently said: "At this time of international financial turbulence, it is important that the church should be offering the opportunity for prayer and reflection."

Prayers for Today also contains many other useful contemporary prayers, covering issues such as exam stress, and world peace.

Prayer for the current financial situation

Lord God, we live in disturbing days:
across the world,
prices rise,
debts increase,
banks collapse,
jobs are taken away,
and fragile security is under threat.
Loving God, meet us in our fear and hear our prayer:
be a tower of strength amidst the shifting sands,
and a light in the darkness;
help us receive your gift of peace,
and fix our hearts where true joys are to be found,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.