A Prayer For Peace

A Prayer for Peace

May be used on International Day of Peace (September 21)

O Prince of Peace,

We come to You,

For our hearts don’t feel peaceful

And our world doesn’t either.

All around us, chaos swirls

Along with our emotions,

And we’re trying to find our footing,

Trying to raise a family that follows You,

Even in times of upheaval—

Especially then.

We seek the peace of Your Kingdom,

And we ask You to help us

Be makers of peace too—

In our community,

In our world,

In our family,

In our hearts.

O Lord, we know that we have confused

Passive peacekeeping with active peacemaking.

We have sought a false peace

That doesn’t ruffle feathers

And avoids conflict

Instead of the true peace

That comes in the shelter of Your wings.

Lord, we seek refuge in You.

Will You instill in us the values of Your

Upside-down Kingdom,

Where peacemakers are blessed

Even if it doesn’t always feel that way?

The world is on fire,

Ignited by shouts and screams at one another.

Help us not add to the noise

But seek to listen.

Help us seek to understand

Instead of only trying to be understood.

When Jesus broke in,

The angels declared,

“Peace on earth

And goodwill to all.”

But we have lost our way

And shut our eyes to the star leading the way.

We have chosen the way of self

Over the love of neighbor,

Choosing violence of word and deed

Over Your peaceable Kingdom,

Where the wolf lies down with the lamb

And a child leads us all.

God, help us work for peace

With and for our children.

Help us raise children

Who sow love instead of hate,

Planting seeds that will become

Mighty oaks of righteousness

And cultivating lives of justice

So that our world may bloom with Your love.

May our family be known by our love

And by our willingness to show up

And stand with those who are often unheard.

May we use our voices to speak

When something is wrong

Or someone is hurt.

We pray for those—locally and globally—

For whom conflict is a close companion,

For whom violence waits in the shadows,

For whom war is never far away.

We ache for the day

When warring nations will be at peace,

When brother will not fight against brother.

We cry out for the ways

We have hurt one another

And ask forgiveness for the times

We have not stood up for peace.

Thank You for Your Spirit,

Who dwells within us

And around us.

We ask for guidance

And for open hands and curious hearts

As we enter into challenging conversations.

We ask for a spirit of peace as we

Interact with our world and the people in it.

Give us a spirit of humility so that we

May have compassion for those we don’t understand.

Give us a spirit of gentleness

So that we may have mercy for ourselves.

Give us a spirit of boldness

So that we may love.

We come to You as imperfect peacemakers,

Our hearts bruised and bloodied

Over well-intentioned failures.

We know we don’t always get it right,

But we know this is the way of the Lord.

And we ask that in each new day

We would wake with a posture of love

And a bent toward peace.

We pray that our hopes for a more flourishing world

Would be renewed with Your unfailing mercy.

Help us rebuild and repair where harm has been done,

Both in our land and in our hearts.

We ask for Your peace that surpasses all understanding,

And that we would be emboldened enough to work for peace

And humble enough to turn to You again and again.

We lay down our swords

And our fighting words

And our deep desire to be right

As we come to You.

If we shout,

May we shout good news to the poor.

If we fight,

May we fight injustice.

If we push,

May we push doors open toward freedom.

If we wrestle,

May we wrestle with You.

If we break,

May we break the chains of captivity.

If we defend,

May we defend the vulnerable.

If we tear down,

May we tear down walls that divide.

Matthew 5:9; Luke 2:14; Isaiah 11:6; Isaiah 61:3