LNC
PRAYERS FOR PEACE 2020
A
Reading: from Isaiah 11:6-9 (NIV)
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
You are invited to share a few minutes with us as together
we hold before God:
- our collective sadness for the wars that rage across this
earth
- our shared remembrance for the wars of the past
- our dream to see
an end to all violence
- our longing to see
renewed dialogues that cross every boundary
Our
collective sadness for the wars that rage across this earth
Even now there are people and places around the world where
war and strife are a daily part of life. Places where generation after
generation have fought the same enemy. Places where generation after generation
children are raised to prepare for war.
At this time we hold before God, Armenia and Azerbaijan and
the Nagorno-Karabakh border conflict.
We hold before God Syria.
We hold before God Yemen.
We hold before God the places whose conflicts are unknown to
us, or are at this time relatively quiet.
We also hold before God the conflicts that happen within
nation states.
Conflicts rooted in cultural identities.
Conflicts shaped by history.
Conflicts waged over resources and people.
In the silence we hold all this before God.
silence is kept
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Our
shared remembrance for the wars of the past
As we look back on the wars and conflicts of the past, we
recognise the complexity of history and we recognise that we see the events of
the past from a very different perspective to those who fought in the midst of
those conflicts.
We remember before God those wars waged as a response to
acts of aggression by different nation states.
We remember before God those wars waged due to ideological
and theological differences.
We remember before God those wars waged in the name and for
the benefit of wealthy elites.
We remember before God that those who suffer as a result of
war are by and large the marginalised, the poor – the ordinary people.
We remember before God those people and places that we hold
close to us, people and places that have suffered due to war.
We remember before God those who have lived through wars and
still carry the emotional and physical scars of those conflicts.
In the silence we hold all this before God.
silence is kept
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Our
firmest hopes for peace
We bring before God our firmest hopes for peace.
Peace for those places and peoples currently consumed by
war.
Continuing peace for those places where the violence of war
has temporarily been laid down.
Peace for the hearts and minds of those who live in areas
ravaged by wars for generations.
The hope of peace for those who have never experienced true
peace.
Peace that goes beyond ceasefires and speaks of ongoing hopeful,
hope-filled mutuality.
In the silence we hold all this before God.
silence is kept
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Our dream
to see an end to all violence
We dream of a day when violence ceases.
A dream that is barely imaginable.
A dream that is so far removed from our present experience
that the very thought of it verges on insanity.
A dream that might not even be possible – and yet we
recognise that this is the realm of dreams.
Out beyond the expected, in the hinterland beyond what is
known.
And so we hold to this dream as a worthy dream.
In the silence we hold all this before God.
silence is kept
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Our
longing to see renewed dialogues that cross every boundary
For peace to truly blanket this world will require a level
of interdependence and dialogue that is beyond imagining.
For dialogue to penetrate the hates of generations, the stories
of generations and the experiences of generations would be miraculous.
And so we long for miraculous dialogues between neighbours, forever
foes and former friends.
We long for the unexpected to bloom as flowers in the
desert.
We long for words of grace to be spoken.
We long for open ears.
We long for receptive hearts.
And we recognise the ease by which such words are written
and spoken by those detached from conflicts drenched in the suffering of the
generations.
We recognise this.
And yet we also recognise our vocation as peace-makers and
peace-speakers.
We long for earnest dialogue.
Dialogue that breaks down the barriers of pain and
rejection.
Dialogue that acknowledges differences and difficulties and yet
still seeks for something more.
We long for dialogue that reaches out beyond the sanctuary
of what is known, to embrace the longings of the forgotten.
We long for dialogue that gives voice to the voiceless,
those whose worlds have been torn apart by war.
We long for dialogue that strives for peace and mutuality, prophetic
dialogue that is not dismayed by adversity but still hungers for peace.
In the silence we hold all this before God.
silence is kept
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
The Lord’s
Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
A Prayer
of Blessing
Creator God,
We long for your peace
To reign in this world and in our hearts
Help us to be messengers of peace
Empowered and blessed
By the power of your Holy Spirit
All this we pray
In the name of the Father
The Son
And the Holy Spirit
Amen.
