As you may remember, last year the Cornwall Alliance hosted its first Day of Prayer for the Environment and the Poor. Many friends wrote prayers, and those were great guides for others to pray on that day! Many also committed to pray at specific times on March 25.

We’re hosting our second annual Day of Prayer, again on March 25—the birthday of Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug (about whom more below). We’d love for you to participate by writing prayers and reflections on issues related to

• the environment,
• poverty and economic development,
• the gospel,
• the un-born,
• the need for abundant, affordable, reliable energy,
• the use of technology to benefit humans and the environment,
• the integrity of science,
• the health of our political discourse,
• protection for the church from deception about environmental stewardship, economic development, and especially the gospel,
• other topics close to your heart within the broader mission of the Cornwall Alliance, or
• for Christians, elected officials, and others, whose work relates to any of the above.

Your written prayers may be long or short, formal or informal, prose or poetry. You might incorporate some Scripture or use a passage as a starting point, but you needn’t. We definitely hope you’ll write more than one prayer for us—we’d love to have enough to post five or more each day and then at least one each hour throughout March 25. If you know of some already published prayers (in public domain) that would be suitable, please refer us to those, too. And feel free to forward this invitation to friends and colleagues who you believe will welcome the opportunity to contribute prayers as well.

If you’re a missionary, or affiliated with a mission organization, feel free to write about the specific challenges you see in that mission field.

We’ll post these prayers on our website beginning March 1, leading up to the Day of Prayer, and throughout the day on March 25.

Please send any submissions (or questions) to Megan@CornwallAlliance.org. We’ll accept submissions through March 24, but the sooner we receive them, the better, and we definitely need plenty for the first 24 days in March.

Please also take some time on March 25 to pray with us, for “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16). If you’d like to commit to praying during some specific block of time on March 25 (from 5 minutes to as long as you’d like!), please inform Megan.

Why March 25 for the Cornwall Alliance
Day of Prayer for the Environment and the Poor?

March 25 is the birthday of Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Norman Borlaug, “Father of the Green Revolution” and “The Man Who Fed the World” by his work increasing crop yields around the world.

In 1968 Paul Ehrlich published The Population Bomb, claiming that there was no hope to feed rising populations. Millions would starve to death no matter what remedial actions were taken. But while he was publishing his predictions of doom and gloom, Dr. Borlaug had already set out to create a high-yield agricultural revolution in countries that no one dreamed could be food self-sufficient.

Borlaug’s work in India and Pakistan won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. He continued to work for the rest of his life to extend crop yields and relieve hunger and poverty around the world. In addition to the Nobel Peace Prize, he received The Presidential Medal of Freedom, Vannevar Bush Award, Public Welfare Medal, National Medal of Science, Congressional Gold Medal, and the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian honor.

Borlaug’s amazing achievements not only fed, and continue to feed, billions of people, but also improve all of the world’s environment. Why? Because they reduce the need to convert natural lands to farmlands by enabling farmers to grow more food on every acre. That makes him a hero not only of the poor but also of the earth itself. That’s why the Cornwall Alliance, which strives to promote both Biblical earth stewardship and economic development for the poor, celebrates his life and work by hosting a “Day of Prayer for the Environment and the Poor” on his birthday.

Norman Borlaug, a devout Christian, is a prime example of the godly dominion called for in Genesis 1:28, namely, men and women created in God’s image working together to enhance the fruitfulness, the beauty, and the safety of the earth, to the glory of God and the benefit of our neighbors.