Prayers in Time of War: March 2003

The Bishop of Chichester said in his address on the brink of war recently, “As Christians, our sight is fixed on a world where war is no more, and we also know that true religion and virtue can never be defended or extended by violence, force of arms or war... Our faith tells us that if we can manage to hold in our hearts the people of Iraq and their neighbours, the soldiers massing in the area, the leaders of the nations, and especially our own, as they wrestle with their consciences, God may be able to do more with our sense of helpless anguish than we can possibly imagine.”

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.

Romans 8:26

We offer here some resources for prayer which may be helpful. The previous sets of prayers are still available.

Much of this material is also available as a PDF document (211kb): right-click the link and choose “Save target as...” or “Save link as...” to save the file to your computer. You will need a PDF reader (available free from Adobe).

Prayers

A Simple Prayer in Troubled Times

God of love,
turn our hearts to your ways;
and give us peace. Amen.

This brief and simple prayer can easily be memorised for use as a repeated prayer from the heart.

A better way

God of peace, overturn our warring;
God of mercy, awaken our forgiveness;
God of healing, guide us to a better way.

Two prayers for those who suffer the effects of war or disaster

These prayers are suitable for inter-faith use

O God our creator,
in Your great kindness,
look upon our brothers and sisters
suffering in war or disaster.
Comfort those who are grieving
and be with them in their pain.
Help them to mourn
and to move on.
Bless them as they work
to rebuild their lives.
We thank You
for the sign of Your Presence
in all who come to their aid. Amen.

O God our creator,
we call upon You today
to bless those people
suffering in war or disaster.
They have lost so much:
family and friends,
homes and land,
and meaning.
Let them know You are with them
even in their shock and grief.
Strengthen them to comfort one another.
And in the people reaching out to help,
may they see the face of Your love.
Amen

An Inter-faith prayer for peace

God, you are the source of life and peace.
Praised be your name for ever.
We know it is you who turn
    our minds to thoughts of peace.
Hear our prayer in this time of crisis.
Your power changes hearts.
Muslims, Christians and Jews remember, and profoundly affirm,
    that they are followers of the one God,
    children of Abraham, brothers and sisters.
Enemies begin to speak to one another;
those who were estranged join hands in friendship;
nations seek the way of peace together.
Strengthen our resolve to give witness
    to these truths by the way we live.
Give to us:
understanding that puts an end to strife;
mercy that quenches hatred, and
forgiveness that overcomes vengeance.
Empower all people to live in your law of love.
Amen.

An Act of Sorrow

God our Father:
your Son said Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.
We confess that we have failed to keep the way of peace;
we confess that we have marred your Kingdom here on earth;
we confess that we have placed our fellow man in mortal danger.
We lament our sins: Lord, have mercy.
In your great goodness,
repair what we have done in our fallen humanity;
relieve all who suffer;
keep safe those in peril;
and restore peace to your world.
We ask this through your Son our Lord Jesus Christ,
Amen.

A Prayer for Reconciliation

Gracious God,
ruling the earth and its people
not by terror but in love;
we worship you.
We confess that too often
our words hurt others
and our deeds are selfish;
forgive us.
In this time of uncertainty and fear,
help us to love our enemies
and do good to those who hate us,
in the name of Jesus our Lord.
Amen.

An Act of Dedication

We come to you, God Creator.
You are the source of light and beauty and power.
Your Son Jesus is the way of faith and hope and love.
Your Spirit is the fire of love, the fount of wisdom, the bond of unity.
You call us at all times to be people of the beatitudes,
    witnesses to the Gospel of peace and love and forgiveness.
Especially do you call us
    at this time of death and destruction and broken lives,
    of terrible violence and fierce hatred.
We renew our acceptance of your call.
We promise to work
    to bring the light of the Gospel to those living in darkness;
    to bring the hope of the Gospel to those living in despair;
    to bring the healing of the Gospel to the lonely,
        the disadvantaged, the marginalized:
And to bring the peace of the Gospel to a divided world.

A Prayer for the Leaders of the Nations

O God our heavenly Father,
whose love sets no boundaries
and whose strength is in service;
grant to the leaders of the nations
wisdom, courage and insight at this time of darkness and fear.
Give to all who exercise authority
determination to defend the principles of freedom, love and tolerance,
strength to protect and safeguard the innocent
and clarity of vision to guide the world into the paths of justice and peace.
This we ask through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.

A prayer for the Armed Forces

Almighty God,
stretch forth your mighty arm
    to strengthen and protect the armed forces:
grant that, meeting danger with courage
and all occasions with discipline and loyalty,
they may truly serve the cause of justice and peace;
to the honour of your holy name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Two Prayers for Peace

Almighty Father,
whose will is to restore all things
in your beloved Son, the king of all:
govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,
and bring the families of the nations,
divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
to be subject to his just and gentle rule;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

O God, who wouldst fold both heaven and earth in a single peace:
Let the design of thy great love
lighten upon the waste of our wraths and sorrows:
and give peace to thy Church,
peace among nations,
peace in our dwellings,
and peace in our hearts:
through thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

A Prayer for the Whole Human Family

O God,
you made us in your own image
    and redeemed us through Jesus your Son:
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 work through our struggle and confusion
    to accomplish your purpose on earth;
that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony
    around your heavenly throne;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Other resources

Other resources have been made available:

• Invitation to Prayer, March 2003 [www.invitationtoprayer.org]
• Pax Christi: PDF (55k)
• The Diocese of Portsmouth
• The Royal Army Chaplains’ Department
• Invitation to Prayer, Epiphany 2003 [on this site]

Prayers for children

At a time such as this children may ask why do we have to fight each other? Why does God let it happen? Where is God? Children will be seeing images of war on the television and in newspapers and they may be afraid by what they see and whether it will happen to them. Help the children by listening to their questions and being honest in response.

Prayer activities for children

Whether with a children’s group or as a family collect together newspaper headlines and pictures as a focus for prayer. Point to the images of individual people and remind the children that God cares for each and every one of them. Light a nightlight candle and remind the children that God is in the darkest places bringing his love. Alternatively give the children little silver stars to stick on the images that upset them or which make them afraid. Invite the children to ask God to bring the light of his love into those places.

Prayers that might be used at this time with children

Lord God,
let your peace rest so gently on our hearts and minds
that we may have the strength
to work for peace in our world
today, tomorrow and for ever.
Amen.

Lord in heaven,
please listen to all those who are praying to you now.
Those who are sad and crying,
those who have lost friends and family,
those who are alone and frightened.
Help them to remember, that you are there
and you are listening.
In Jesus’ name, we pray: Amen.

God of goodness and love,
whom we can trust to be with us in every hour of need;
watch over and protect all who are faced with the fears of fighting and war.
Protect the children and their families keep them together and safe from harm.
We ask that peace will soon return
and that this war may bring about a new freedom and hope.
where countries will once again live at peace with one another.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.