Prayers for Peace
from Various Faith Traditions
Buddhist: May we, living rightly, come to know Truth, that, abiding in peace, we may bring peace to all beings; for everything is changing, nothing is our own, and not seeing clearly we perpetuate the disease of the world. Christian: O Lord, you love justice and you establish peace on earth. Send your Spirit and renew the face of the earth; teach us to be compassionate towards the whole human family; strengthen the will of all those who fight for justice and for peace, and give us that peace which the world cannot give. Confucian: First there must be order and harmony within your own heart. Only then can there be peace and harmony in the world. Hindu: Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. God’s peace, peace, peace to all. Jain: Let the whole universe be blessed, let all beings be engaged in one another’s well being. Let all weaknesses, sickness and faults be diminished and vanish. Let everyone, everywhere, be blissful and at peace. Jewish: May it be your will, Eternal One, our God, God of our ancestors, that wars and bloodshed be abolished from the world, and bring into the world a great and wonderful and lasting peace. And let no nation lift up sword against nation – let them learn no more the ways of war! Muslim: In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful, praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations that we may know each other, not that we may despise each other. If the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace, and trust God, for the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things. Native African: Almighty God, the Great Thumb we cannot evade to tie any knot; the Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees: the all-seeing Lord up on high who sees even the footprints of an antelope on a rockmass here on Earth. You are the one who does not hesitate to respond to our call. You are the cornerstone of peace. Native American: O Great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you. Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to respect and to be kind to each other, so that they may grow with peace in mind. Let us learn to share all the good things you provide for us on this Earth. Shinto: Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us are, I believe, all our brothers and sisters, why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.” Sikh: In peace while up and standing, in peace even when seated: this realisation makes me fearless. Our Ruler, the Lord, is our Protector, knowing all that is in our hearts. I sleep without anxiety and wake up without anxiety. Sufi: Guide of all people, God of all deities, Lord of all angels, we pray you to dispel the mists of illusion from the hearts of the nations and lift their lives by your all-sufficient power, your ever shining light, your everlasting life, your heavenly joy and your perfect peace. Taoist: The peace of one individual is small. The peace of many people together is big. When we see ourselves as separate from our community and from nature, then violence and strife arise. It is only when we understand our part in an overall unity that there is the possibility of peace on a large scale. Zoroastrian: Inspire us O Wise Lord, to live in mutual understanding and trust and peace. We are all brothers and sisters belonging to one great human family and we are children of one Father. O wise Lord, teach us to live as comrades, all in willing fellowship and loving fraternity, in brotherly and sisterly helpfulness and co-operation.
Let there be peace on earth, And let it begin with me. Let there be love on earth, And let it begin in my heart. Let there be miracles on earth, And let them begin with my faith. Let there be a future, And let it begin with my action – now. Return to main prayer page. Jump to SeekingSanctuary website. |