Previous Page PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE COLLECTION PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Let us pray for all our fellow men and women whose pain and misery come to us every day in the newspapers, on television and face to face; *for the millions in our world starving to death *for those without adequate shelter *for those who lack clothing *for those whose human rights are ignored *for all who suffer from illness *for refugees who have had to flee there homeland *for all who are chronically homeless *for all who have lost hope *for those who live with mental illness *for those who do not know that they are loved by Jesus *for the unity of the Christian church *and for peace in our troubled world AMEN ---------------------------------------------------------- Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world as your love would have it: a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor; a world where the riches of creation are shared, and everyone can enjoy them; a world where different races and cultures live in harmony and mutual respect; a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love. Give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. -------------------------------------------------------------- Almighty God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they may become the Commonwealth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. -------------------------------------------------------- Almighty God, you have given all peoples one common origin, and your will is to gather them as one family in yourself. Fill the hearts of all with the fire of your love and the desire to ensure justice for all our sisters and brothers. By sharing the good things you give us, may we secure justice and equality for every human being, and a human society built on love and peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ------------------------------------------------------------ For Victims and Perpetrators of Injustice For all those who have fallen victim to hatred and inhumanity, for those loved ones who are left behind to mourn, for the souls of those whose hearts are cold, Lord, hear our prayer. For the children who are being born into this world of conflict and violence, for women and mothers who suffer needlessly, Lord, hear our prayer. For all those who have been forced into unemployment, who long to return to work, for all those who struggle to support their families, Lord, hear our prayer. For the soldiers who are misguided in thinking that their bullets will bring about peace, for those who feel called to conscientiously object to military orders, Lord, hear our prayer. For the children who cry in their beds at night and wonder 'what have I done?', for the mothers and fathers who must try to explain the unexplainable, Lord, hear our prayer. For all the children who have died before their time, for the soldiers who allow their uniform to strip them of their humanity, for the healers who are denied the opportunity to use their gifts, Lord, hear our prayer. For the redemption of souls of both victim and perpetrator, for those who commit themselves to the forgiveness of sins, Lord, hear our prayer. --------------------------------------------------------- O God, Open our eyes that we may see the needs of others; Open our ears that we may hear their cries; Open our hearts that we may feel their anguish and their joy. Let us not be afraid to defend the oppressed, the poor, the powerless, because of the anger and might of the powerful. Show us where love and hope and faith are needed, and use us to bring them to those places. Open our ears and eyes, our hearts and lives, that we may in these coming days be able to do some work of justice and peace for you. Amen. -------------------------------------------------------------- Almighty God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they may become the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. -------------------------------------------------------------- Grant us, Lord God, a vision of our land as your love would make it: - a land where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor; - a land where the benefits of civilised life are shared, and everyone can enjoy them; - a land where different races and cultures live in tolerance and mutual respect; - a land where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love. And give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- Great God who has told us VENGEANCE IS MINE save us from ourselves save us from the vengeance in our hearts and the acid in our souls save us from our desire to hurt as we have been hurt to punish as we have been punished and to terrorize as we have been terrorized give us the strength it takes to listen rather than judge to trust rather than to fear to try again and again to make peace even when peace eludes us we ask O god for the grace to be our best selves we ask for the vision to be builders of the human community rather than its destroyers we ask for humility as a people to understand the fears and hopes of other people we ask for the love it takes to bequeath to the children of the world to come more than the failures of our own making we ask for the heart it takes to care for all the peoples of Afghanistan, and Iraq and of Palestine and Israel as well as for ourselves give us the depth of soul O GOD to constrain our might to resist the temptations of power to refuse to attack the attack biter to understand that vengeance begets violence and to bring peace not war where ever we go for you O GOD have been merciful to us For you O GOD have been patient with us For you O GOD have been gracious to us and so may we be merciful and patient and gracious and trusting with these others who you also love this we ask through JESUS the one without vengeance in his heart this we ask forever and ever AMEN