Prayer For Those Dying In War Or Economic Chaos from the United Church of Christ

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“Hear our prayer for all those
who will die today because of war and economic oppression, especially the
children.

Prepare them for the agony,
despair, and terror of the violence that is upon them. Comfort them and hold
them close to the bosom of your most Immaculate Heart as they drink deeply of
the bitter cup which is forced upon them. Wipe their tears, calm their fears,
welcome them to peace and safety. Eternal rest grant to them, and may perpetual
light shine upon them. May all rise in judgment against the wickedness that
brings this violence upon the world.

Overturn the thrones of
tyranny, scatter the unjust, cast down the bloody rulers who make the cry of
the widow and orphan rise to heaven. Give us your grace and strength to stand
against the demonic powers which prowl about the world seeking the ruin of
souls. Grant that peace with justice will come to all the world.
Amen.”



A Meditation on Violence and Prayer From the United Church of Christ

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“This is the fast that pleases me:
to break unjust fetters,
to let the oppressed go free,
to share your bread with the hungry
and shelter the homeless poor.
If you do away with the yoke,
the clenched fist, the wicked word,
if you give your bread to the hungry
and relief to the oppressed,
your light will rise in the darkness.
Amen
.”



A Prayer For Grief And Loss From the United Church of Christ

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“O God:
You bring hope out of emptiness, energy out of fear, new life out of grief and loss.
As Mary returned to mourn yet found unspeakable joy, so comfort all who have lost their homes
through persecution, war, exile, or deliberate destruction.
Give them security, a place to live, and neighbors they trust to be, with them,
a new sign of peace to the world.
Amen.



A Litany for Social Justice

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“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.”



A Prayer For Eyes To See From the United Church of Christ

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“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.”



A Prayer For Refugees From the United Church of Christ

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“Almighty and merciful God, whose Son became a refugee and had no place to call his own;
look with mercy on those who today are fleeing from danger, homeless and hungry.
Bless those who work to bring them relief;
inspire generosity and compassion in all our hearts;
and guide the nations of the world towards that day when all will rejoice in your Commonwealth of justice and of peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.”



A Prayer For Peace From The United Church Of Christ

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



A Prayer for Our Indigenous Neighbours

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“Creator, Spirit, Comforter, Advocate,

We greet you this day with thanks for the blessings of our lives and for the blessing of the people of our community. We pray especially this morning for the original peoples of this land. We think with gratitude about the welcome Indigenous peoples gave to the first visitors who arrived here from afar, from other parts of the world, and settled in this place. We imagine that there must have been misunderstandings and hardship in these early relationships, but we also know from the stories we have been told that working relationships, bonds of friendship and even bonds of kinship and love, grew out of these early encounters.

Our ancestors in this place agreed to share these sacred lands in a covenantal relationship and to live side by side in peace as neighbours, respecting each other as communities of peoples with different customs and traditions, and unique understandings of their relationship with you, but created, as we have been taught, each and every one, in your own image. We see you in each other and learn about you as we encounter each other.

You, Creator God, know the needs of the Indigenous peoples of this place far better than we do. We are aware of the ongoing injustices and adversity, including racism, which our Indigenous brothers, sisters, and cousins experience. The violence faced by some in our own community angers us, saddens us, frustrates us, and leaves us searching for answers.

Lord God, you know that we have a deep love for this place. As your faithful disciples, we long to know what we can do to best show that we love our neighbours as ourselves.

Help us to use our gifts, our knowledge, our skills, our positions in society, and our strength in Christ, as a community of faith, to support our neighbours. Give us humility and the wisdom to know when and how to follow their lead in seeking solutions, and in making positive changes. Open our hearts, our minds, and our spirits to new possibilities when the steps our Indigenous leaders and neighbours wish to take may be uncomfortable or unfamiliar.

Holy Spirit, fill us with the power and the courage to trust in you and to trust in others. Help us to trust in the deep wisdom and traditional knowledges that you have gifted to our Indigenous neighbours. Help us to accept the gift of learning from our neighbours that we may broaden and deepen our understanding of how to live together, to share resources, to put our complementary skills to work together, and most of all to build on our common desire to live in wholeness together as all of your peoples. We thank you for the blessing you have given us to know you better by getting to know our neighbours better in all of their diverse God-given beauty.

We pray for our Indigenous neighbours. We ask that you will help us to let our Indigenous neighbours know that we honour them, we want to live together with them in harmony, and we share their hope for a blessed future together, for growth in mutual understanding and respect, for healing, for justice, and for reconciliation. We pray for all of our relations.
Amen.”



A Step Along the Way: Dedicated to Archbishop Oscar Romero

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“It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.

No pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.”



A Prayer for Living the Gospel

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“God of yesterday, today and tomorrow,
we call to mind your presence within us and around us.

Open our ears that we may hear your Word.
Open our hearts that we may understand your Word.
Open our mouths that we may speak your World.

Inspire us with the Gospel message,
that we may celebrate all that is life-giving,
restore hope where it has been lost,
and work to bring about change where it is needed.

May we live the Gospel with courage,
constancy and love.
May we be open to the challenge
of your call to true freedom.
May we be faithful to you in our daily choices and decisions.
May we make your love known
through our words and actions.

May the triune God reign in our hearts, now and forever.

Amen



A Prayer for Witness

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“Spirit of God,
We have heard your call to share in building up the Kingdom of God.

Fill us with the desire to change ourselves and to change the world.

Enflame our passion for justice into a commitment to address unjust situations and structures.

Deepen our concern for our sisters and brothers in America and overseas who endure the burdens of poverty, war, exploitation and persecution.

Let us enthusiastically play our part in the mission of the Church in the modern world.

Banish any complacency in our hearts and minds.

Teach us to recognize the lack of justice.

May we always act in the Spirit of justice.
May we envisage, pray about and create a different sort of world
in which injustice is replaced with a renewed sense of solidarity and care.

Enlivened by the Spirit, may we go forth in the peace of the Holy Spirit to love and serve the Lord.

Amen



Let Us Not Just Speak of Justice

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“Heavenly Father, we pray for the poorest and most vulnerable. Let us not just speak of justice, but let us act in just ways. May the oppressed and needy feel justice and equality and experience a world without hunger and poverty.”



Prayer For Social Justice

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“Lord Jesus, Carpenter and King, supreme Sovereign of all men, look with tender mercy upon the multitudes of our day who bear the indignities of injustice everywhere. Raise up leaders in every land dedicated to Your standards of order, equity, and justice. Grant unto us, Lord Jesus, the grace to be worthy members of Your Mystical Body, laboring unceasingly to fulfill our vocation in the social apostolate of Your Church. Sharpen our intellects to pierce the pettiness of prejudice; to perceive the beauty of true human brotherhood. Guide our minds to a meaningful understanding of the problems of the poor, of the oppressed, of the unemployed, of all in need of assistance anywhere. Guide our hearts against the subtle lure of earthly things and undue regard for those who possess them. May we hunger and thirst after justice always.
Amen.”



A Prayer For Justice

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“Father, you have given all peoples one common origin.
It is your will that they be gathered together
as one family in yourself.
Fill the hearts of mankind with the fire of your love
and with the desire to ensure justice for all.
By sharing the good things you give us,
may we secure an equality for all
our brothers and sisters throughout the world.
May there be an end to division, strife and war.
May there be a dawning of a truly human society
built on love and peace.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord.
Amen.”



We Cannot Merely Pray

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“We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end war;

For we know that You have made the world in a way that people must find their own path to peace within themselves and with their neighbors.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end starvation;

For You have already given us the resources with which to feed the entire world, if we would only use them wisely.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to root out prejudice;

For You have already given us eyes with which to see the good in all people, if we would only use them rightly.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end despair;

For You have already given us the power to clear away slums and to give hope, if we would only use our power justly.

We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end disease;

For You have already given us great minds with which to search out cures and healing, if we would only use them constructively.

Therefore we pray to You instead, O God, for strength, determination and will power,
To do instead of just pray,
To become instead of merely to wish.”



A prayer for Simone and Sha'Carri and all the Black girls and women when excellence isn’t good enough by Christina Edmondson

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“Merciful God, the Creator God who masterfully designed the human frame, hear our lament. How long will Black girls be denied their humanity?

Treated as if they have no pain or as tho they cannot feel pain? How long will Black pain be punished? Our creativity cursed, success blocked, or drive pathologized by being given standards to meet unattainable to others?

How long will Black women’s grief and anxiety be ignored as they are labeled irresponsible or haughty? God of Hagar, see, restore and avenge your daughters. Grant healing and protection. God of the tired and misused Black women, hear our prayer”



Praying For People In Poverty

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“God, thank you for the abundance of life, relationships, health, comfort, and wealth you have provided, and thank you that even in times of need, despair, and brokenness, you are there. Please, put your arms around children and families in extreme poverty so they feel comfort and hope; meet their needs both physically and spiritually. And, Lord, guide me so I can be your hands and feet pursuing justice for the poor and upholding the cause of the needy.
Amen.”



On This Day . . .

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“Mend a quarrel
Search out a forgotten friend
Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust
Write a love letter
Share some treasures
Give a soft answer
Encourage youth

Manifest your loyalty in a word or deed
Keep a promise
Find the time
Forego a grudge
Forgive an enemy
Listen
Apologize if you were wrong

Try to understand
Flout envy
Examine your demands on others
Think first of someone else
Appreciate, be kind, be gentle
Laugh a little more.
Deserve confidence

Take up arms against malice
Decry complacency
Express your gratitude
Worship your God
Gladden the heart of a child
Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth

Speak your love
Speak it again
Speak it still again
Speak it still once again....
Amen.”

 ~Author Unknown

Prayer For Inner Peace And Strength

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“O Father,

Your life in me brings stillness to my turmoil.
Your life in me brings clarity to my confusion.
Your life in me brings wisdom to my worry.
Your life in me brings contentment to my striving.
You life in me brings gentleness to my anger.
Your life in me brings patience to my panic.
Your life in me brings hope to my suffering.
Your life in me brings faith to my frustration.
Your life in me brings such heavenly treasure into my heart
And enables me to navigate a peaceful path.
In you I find strength for my journey.
Amen.



Push My Buttons Prayer

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“Lord, it's likely that sometime today
someone will push my buttons
challenge my good will
misread my intentions
tick me off
try my patience
rattle my cage
judge me in haste
test my kindness
or do all of the above...

Give me the grace I'll need at such times
to respond with patience
to trust and accept
to listen carefully
to reach out in peace
to be fair and just
to anctipate goodness
in all my words and deeds...

I know this is a lot to ask, Lord,
but I need your help
to do for others
as I'd have them do for me...

Amen.”

- Rev. Austin Fleming


  • Found at Jesuit Resources