Prayers for Peace

Book of Common Worship

FOR PEACE
Eternal God,
in your perfect realm no sword is drawn
but the sword of righteousness,
and there is no strength but the strength of love.
So mightily spread abroad your Spirit,
that all peoples may be gathered
under the banner of the Prince of Peace,
as your children;
to you be dominion and glory,
now and forever. Amen.

FOR HOPE
We pray that someday an arrow will be broken,
not in something or someone,
but by each of humankind,
to indicate peace, not violence.
Someday, oneness with creation,
rather than domination over creation,
will be the goal to be respected.
Someday fearlessness to love and make a difference
will be experienced by all people.
Then the eagle will carry our prayer for peace and love,
and the people of the red, white, yellow, brown,
and black communities
can sit in the same circle together to communicate in love
and experience the presence of the Great Mystery in their midst.
Someday can be today for you and me. Amen.

FOR WORLD UNITY
O God,
you love justice and you establish peace on earth.
We bring before you the disunity of today’s world:
the absurd violence, and the many wars,
which are breaking the courage of the peoples of the world;
militarism and the armaments race,
which are threatening life on the planet;
human greed and injustice,
which breed hatred and strife.
Send your Spirit and renew the face of the earth;
teach us to be compassionate toward the whole human family;
strengthen the will of all those who fight for justice and for peace;
lead all nations into the path of peace,
and give us that peace which the world cannot give. Amen.

IN A TIME OF INTERNATIONAL CRISIS
Eternal God, our only hope,
our help in times of trouble:
show nations ways to work out differences.
Do not let threats multiply
or power be used without compassion.
May your will overrule human willfulness,
so that people may agree and settle claims peacefully.
Hold back those who are impulsive,
lest desire for vengeance overwhelm our common welfare.
Bring peace to earth, through Jesus Christ,
the Prince of Peace and Savior of us all. Amen.

FOR THOSE IN THE MILITARY
Righteous God, you rule the nations.
Guard brave men and women
who risk themselves in battle for their country.
Give them compassion for enemies
who also fight for patriotic causes.
Keep our sons and daughters from hate that hardens,
or from scorekeeping with human lives.
Though they must be at war,
let them live for peace,
as eager for agreement as for victory.
Encourage them as they encourage one another,
and never let hard duty separate them
for loyalty to your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

DURING A NATIONAL CRISIS
God of ages,
in your sight nations rise and fall,
and pass through times of peril.
Now when our land is troubled,
be near to judge and save.
May leaders be led by your wisdom;
may they search your will and see it clearly.
If we have turned from your way,
help us to reverse our ways and repent.
Give us your light and your truth to guide us;
through Jesus Christ,
who is Lord of this world, and our Savior. Amen.

Prayers from the First Gulf War ( prayers adapted)

FOR THOSE IN MILITARY SERVICE
God of compassion,
we pray for military personnel,
offered for the sake of others,
and separated from family and loved ones.
Care for them; meet their needs.
Grant them courage, compassion, strength,
and all they need for the living of these days.
Sustain them through their every trial.
Remind them of the humanity they share
even with those who are called “the enemy;”
through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.

FOR THOSE IN LEADERSHIP
Holy God,
provide those who make decisions
of life or death
of war or peace
with the wisdom and courage,
the patience and the judgment
to seek peaceful means
of resolving conflict.
We pray through the Prince of Peace,
Jesus the Christ.
Amen.

FOR THE VICTIMS OF WAR
Merciful God,
comfort and console those who get in the way of war
and suffer the most –
the women, the children, the old ones –
who are wounded and killed,
orphaned and widowed,
and left homeless and hungry.
Touch your children with compassion
that we might respond swiftly and well
to the needs of those who suffer;
we pray in the name of Jesus who suffered for all. Amen.

FOR MERCY AS WE MAKE WAR
Have mercy on us, O God,
when your children kill each other.
Remind us that war is evil
turning life into hell and death.
Forgive us.
Cure our warring madness.
Guide us to pursue justice
through nonviolent means;
this we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF THOSE IN MILITARY SERVICE
God of love,
we pray for families left behind
by those called to serve in the armed forces.
We pray for husband, wives, and partners,
for sisters and brothers, sons and daughters,
mothers and fathers, cousins and grandparent,
aunts and uncles, co-workers and special friends.
We pray for all who wait and wonder and worry
on account of one they love.
Stand with them in these anxious moments.
Help them feel your loving presence
embracing them,
embracing those they love.
Speed the day when they will know glad reunion.
In Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

FOR THOSE IN MILITARY SERVICE
O God,
from age to age you are God;
your care extends to the farthest reaches of the earth.
In your grace, hold and bless those whom we love,
who are absent from us now,
gone in the service of our country.
Protect them in all dangers of soul and body.
Guide them in their tasks.
Remind them of the cords of love that bind us together
even across the distance that lies between us.
By those cords gently draw us all ever nearer to you
that we may be drawn ever nearer to one another.
We pray through Jesus. Amen.

FOR THOSE WHO REFUSE MILITARY SERVICE FOR CONSCIENCE’S SAKE
God whose Christ is called the Prince of Peace,
watch over those brave ones among us
who refuse military service
because of their faith and convictions.
Help them to discern your call and
to understand their hearts.
Give them strength to stand true to their consciences;
charity to love their brothers and sisters who serve in the armed forces;
humility to avoid self-righteousness; and
courage to speak the truth in their witness to peace.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Newly Written Prayers from the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program

FOR THE HUMAN COST OF WAR
God who grieved the death of your Christ,
we grieve as we gather.
Our spirits are sore,
our hearts are aching,
for your children have lacked
the moral courage and
the creative vision
to prevent war.
As a result,
your children,
our sisters and brothers,
will be wounded, maimed, and killed.
Your children from the United States,
your children from Iraq,
your children from allied forces,
your children in the military,
your children who are civilians.
On both sides, on all sides,
all are your beloved children.
Forgive us, God.
May your children know your presence and love.
May we work to end this war,
to care for those it harms,
to seek nonviolent ways to work for justice.
In the name of the crucified and risen Christ we pray. Amen.

FOR A NEW WAY OF UNDERSTANDING
Help me remember, loving God,
that body counts
and casualty lists
and collateral damage
have faces
closely resembling
my partner,
my children,
my friends,
my colleagues,
and myself.
Amen.

FOR A NEW WAY OF SEEING
God who creates us all
and who loves us each,
help us look past
“the enemy”
to see our brothers and sisters.
May this new way looking
impact our living;
in Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.

FOR A WORLD AT WAR
God for all the world,
as focus our prayers
on the needs of those involved in
the war in Iraq,
remind us that there are many wars and armed conflicts
taking place around your world today.
In Angola and Zimbabwe,
in Colombia and Uzbekistan,
in the Kashmir and the Philippines.
and in too many other places,
your children know war and conflict
fueled by present injustices
and wrongs remembered.
Provide the people in such situations
the hope and faith and love to endure.
Provide leaders the courage and vision
to seek and implement nonviolent solutions
which do justice for all.
Bless the efforts of those who work for peace in all these places.
Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

FOR THOSE WE CALL OUR ENEMIES
Gracious God,
your son Jesus
calls us to do some hard things.
His way is not easy.
Nothing may challenge us as much
as his call to love and pray for those whom we call our enemies.
Yet we would follow where he leads
and so we pray
for President Saddam Hussein of Iraq
that he might work for peace between his nation and the United States;
that he might honor the rights of all Iraqi citizens.
We pray for the Iraqi leaders
that they might make wise and just decisions
for their people.
We pray for the members of the Iraqi military,
recognizing that they are fathers and sons, mothers and daughters,
people doing their jobs as do those in our military;
watch over them,
speed the day when they leave the battlefields
and return to those they love.
We pray for the people of Iraq,
who have borne oppression,
who have gone through war and suffered its aftermath,
who have endured sanctions,
who have experienced the bombings of the no-fly zones.
and who now again face war
which deals
destruction to their homes,
devastation to their country, and
death to their loved ones.
Stand with them.
Make your presence known to them.
Comfort them in their grief.
Strengthen them for the living of these days.
For all of these we pray,
as Jesus asked us to do,
and in his name.
Amen.

FOR OUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS
Gracious God,
We are angry,
we are sad,
we are fearful,
we are worried,
we are confused.
(a period of silence)
We gather with many convictions and opinions.
We gather with many needs.
We gather with so much
in our hearts and
on our minds.
(a period of silence)
All that we bring with us to this time,
we offer to you;
trusting you to strengthen us for the living of these days
and to care for us, for our loved ones,
for your world, for your children
better than we are able to ask;
in Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Prayers and Affirmations from Peacemaking through Worship (Volumes 1 and 2)

FOR A VISION OF PEACE
Eternal God,
you broke into the world
not with the shout of battle
but with the cry of a tiny babe;
now break into the lives
of your children around the world.
Fill us with a vision of
your peace on earth
so that even in the midst
of conflict and violence
we may have hope,
through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

UNIVERSAL PEACE PRAYER
Satish Kumar
Lead me from death to life,
from falsehood to truth.
Lead me from despair to hope,
from fear to trust.
Lead me from hate to love,
from war to peace.
Let peace fill our hearts,
our world, our universe.

Condúceme de la muerte a la vida,
de la mentira a la verdad.
Condúceme de la desperación a la esperanza,
del miedo a la confianza.
Condúceme del odio al amor,
de la Guerra a la paz.
Que la paz llene nuestros corazones,
nuestro mundo, nuestro universo.

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
In the midst of hunger and war
We celebrate the promise of plenty and peace.
In the midst of oppression and tyranny
We celebrate the promise of service and freedom.
In the midst of doubt and despair
We celebrate the promise of faith and hope.
In the midst of fear and betrayal
We celebrate the promise of joy and loyalty.
In the midst of hatred and death
We celebrate the promise of love and life.
In the midst of sin and decay
We celebrate the promise of salvation and renewal.
In the midst of death on every side
We celebrate the promise of the living Christ.

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH FROM THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
We are not alone; we live in God’s world.
We believe in God
who has created and is creating;
who has come in Jesus, to reconcile and make new.
We trust in God
who calls us to be the church;
to love and serve others;
to seek justice and resist evil;
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.