“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18
“Whoever would love life, . . . he must seek peace and pursue it.” 1 Peter 3:10-11
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you. . . ” Romans 15:7
“Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” James 3:18
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. . . ” Colossians 3:15
Help us O Lord to value your peace and to pursue it, in our hearts and in our world. Guide us O Lord.
Amen
They will neither harm or destroy on all my holy mountain for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord . . . Isaiah 11:9
Keep before us a vision of your peace O Lord.
Save us from violence, discord, and confusion;
from fear, intolerance, and terror;
from factions, tribalism, and hyper-partisanship;
from lies, deceit, and mendacity;
from pride and arrogance and every evil way.
Help us pursue your peace O Lord.
On this 4th of July as we think about our country’s past struggles, current condition, and future, we invite you to review and add your prayers to the following verses, most of which are adapted from the “Prayer For Our Nation” in the Lutheran Book of Worship:
Bless our land and people with honest industry, and an honorable way of life.
Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil course of action.
Make us who come from many nations, with many different languages and cultures, a united people.
Let us provide a truthful education, and informed public discourse.
Give those whom we have entrusted with the authority of government the spirit of wisdom, that there might be justice and peace in our land.
Help us to understand and value our interdependence as much as our freedoms, and help us forgive and care for one another.
We need your help O Lord, and seek your guidance.
Amen
O God, you will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are fixed on you . . . Isaiah 26:3
On this 13th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, we pray for an end to hate and violence throughout our world. We remember and pray for those who died in the attacks, that they might be at peace with you. We pray for their families and friends, that in their grieving they may find the peace which transcends all understanding. [Php.4:7] And we pray for all who remain in our unstable and violent world, that we may find new ways of living together.
We pray for peace O God.
O God, our creator, look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and guide us as we work through our struggle and confusion. [#3]*
We pray for peace O God.
O Lord you have commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth; deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you. [#6]
We pray for peace O God.
Give us the grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, hurt and anger, and whatever else may hinder us from peaceful union and concord. Help us to seek the holy bonds of truth and peace, of compassion and charity. [#14]
We pray for peace O God.
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom all nations and people work in harmony, guide us in love. [#3, 4] Lead us from dissension, factions and selfish ambitions to a world abundant in the fruits of your Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. [Galatians 5:19-26] Guide all the nations, — and each of us as individuals in our interactions with family, neighbors, and community, — into the ways of justice and truth, peace and love. [5]
Grant us peace O God.
* Adapted in part from The Book of Common Prayer, “Prayers and Thanksgivings”, No.s 3 -6, 14.
“. . . where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.” 2 Co. 3:17
“Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
Lord, on this 4th of July, grant us freedom from our fears:
Fear of moving forward.
Fear that feeds cynicism and despair.
Fear that flashes into anger and hate.
Fear that is reflected in our selfishness.
Fear that fuels our partisan divides.
Fear that crushes hope.
Lead us from fear toward love and compassion, caring and community, for there we will find you (1 John 4:8). In you there is no fear (1 John 4:18). Free from fear, we can find the way to a better future: one country, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Amen.
“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans 5:5
On this inaugural day, which is also the anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and the 5oth anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington, we pray with hope that the divisions caused by factionalism and fear will cease to constrain us and that we will have the courage to take up the work of healing.
Let us seek, as Lincoln urged in his second inaugural, a “just and lasting peace among ourselves” and work together “with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right”.
Help us O Lord to listen to and to learn from each other, for as Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us, it is from other points of view that “. . . we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition.”
Because wisdom is found in listening (Pr. 1″5), help us attend to your word: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19).
Grant us courage, compassion, and self-control as we move forward, O Lord.
Amen.
Lord as we approach this election, do not let us despair or be overtaken by fear. Help us instead to embrace hope, and to trust in your words: “There is surely a future hope for you and your hope will not be cut off.” Pr. 23:18.
Do not let us be so overcome by adversity that we fail to vote or over-rely on simplistic pitches. Do not let hypocrisy, arrogance, mendacity, or hollow promises mislead us. Let us fend off both cynicism and hate. From a love of money, save us.
Give us the courage to acknowledge our circumstances are complex, and that real solutions will take sacrifice, sharing, hard work and a willingness to work with others. Help us elect leaders who will place our common good over partisan loyalties and who will care for us all. Fill us with compassion and direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose. Help us to trust in you and to encourage one another.
Grant us wisdom O Lord. Amen
. . . But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love. . . . If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. Galatians 5:13, 15
What are the acts of a sinful nature? You have warned us O Lord against hatred, discord, jealousy, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy. (Galatians 5:20-21). In this time of national trial, help us turn away from these habits of the sinful nature. Help us to listen to each other, accept the need to try new paths, and above all, to care for those in need. Help us to seek accountability in ourselves and not just in others, be open to new information, and be willing to make changes as new knowledge is gained. Help us to forgive past wrongs, focus on the common good, and build toward a future where all can prosper. Give us wise leaders, and let the mockers fall by the wayside. (Proverbs 9:7-12). Heal our hearts O Lord, and help our country.
Amen
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Matthew 25:35-36
Lord as unemployment rates soar, we pray for those without jobs. As foreclosures increase, we pray for those who have lost their homes. We pray for the hungry, the homeless, those who need and cannot find afford medical care, those who are without heat or adequate clothing, those in schools without resources, and those who are without hope. We pray for those who lash out in anger, seek relief in drugs, or abandon those they care for. We pray for children and spouses who fall victim to the anger and despair of those they depend on. Give us the courage Lord to reach out in compassion, to share what we have, and build countless bridges of caring through feeding, sheltering, clothing, and reaching out to those who are battered by the current economic storm. In the words of your apostle (1 John 3:18), “let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen
Prayers For Our Country 