A new prayer published on the Church of England website aims to help people caught up in the current difficult financial situation.

The prayer is one of a range of resources available in an online initiative that has received the backing of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. He said: "At this time of international financial turbulence, it is important that the Church should be offering the opportunity for prayer and reflection."

Asking God to be a "tower of strength amidst the shifting sands, and a light in the darkness", the prayer has been written by the Rev Peter Moger, the Archbishops' Council's National Worship Development Officer.

More prayers for those worried about debt are already available on the Church's website and are available in conjunction with the Matter of Life and Debt website pages, which have been updated to include a resource called the Debt Spiral, allowing website visitors to work out if they are one of the families at risk of getting into serious debt due to the credit crunch.

They also include common sense advice, a downloadable interactive file for working out a household budget, money-saving tips, helpful case studies, and useful links to organisations that can help those in serious debt.

Surveys conducted in recent years indicate that around two-thirds of UK adults pray, leading the Archbishops' Council's Head of Research and Statistics, the Rev Lynda Barley, to describe prayer as "one of the best kept secrets in modern Britain".

On the web:
www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers
www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers/#debt
www.cofe.anglican.org/debt

The prayer reads:

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.