Seven Prayers for Peace for Int'l Day of Peace (Sept. 21) — Pacific Southwest International Mission Center

Seven Prayers for Peace
Written by Glenn Johnson

As we prepare for the International Day of Peace on September 21, you are invited to share in the Seven Prayers for Peace. These are designed to be used for individual spiritual practice as meditative prayer readings. You may read them silently or speak them aloud.

They may also be used as an element in a worship service.

The final prayer, Prayer Sharing the Peace of Jesus Christ, could easily be listed first. It reads somewhat as a responsive reading where the leader reads the bolded part and the congregation engages in “Passing the Peace” by speaking the unitalicized words. In a congregational setting worshippers approach one another an as one speaks the words “Peace be with you” the other responds with “and also with you.” The congregants then find another person to repeat the passing of the peace with and repeat the exchange. This is a common practice in many denominations but is practiced less often in Community of Christ.

In some settings, the passing of the peace is phrased as “The peace of Christ be with you … and also with you” while in still others it may be “The peace of the Lord be with you… and also with you.” Sometimes it is shortened to simply “Peace of Christ.” And sometimes the response is a simple echo: “the peace of Christ” back to the first person. There isn’t really a right or a wrong way and of course it can be done in many languages too.

The seven prayers were selected to highlight seven foundations of peace, but they do not cover all dimensions of peace or address all contexts of injustice and violence. The seven foundations upon which the prayers are based, are as follows:

· Prayer of Peace for the Earth. The Hebrew concept of Shalom often begins with a foundation in the Creation. God declared the Creation good. The primordial status of creation was both good and peaceful. While we have wandered from our commitment as humanity to the Sacredness of Creation, the Prayer for Peace for the Earth acknowledges peace for creation as a foundation of peace.

· Prayer of Peace Within. Recognition of human dignity and worth begins with a foundational understanding of the Worth of All Persons. Blessed with the assurance of our own goodness and God’s infinite mercy, we can pray for inner peace. A peace within that sustains for peaceful interactions and situations across contexts. Continuing Revelation.

· Prayer of Peace in Relationships. As a foundation for peace, Peace in Relationships acknowledges that we cannot live alone. A life lived for the self alone risks being unfulfilled and empty. When we see the value in others we find Unity in Diversity. Peaceful relationships depend upon respect for differences and commitment to living in community. When we live together peacefully, we experience the Blessings of Community.

· Prayer for Interfaith Peace. Traditional western conceptions of “religion” have a tendency to divide peoples and create a sense of otherness. A transcendent understanding of the divine invites us to recognize that All Are Called – not simply in our contexts, but across all contexts including other faith traditions and value systems and networks.

· Prayer for Just Peace. Peace for peace’s sake falls short of the divine call to Shalom if it is not based on justice. A true peace is a just peace. Extending justice means erasing injustice, unfairness, inequity, and all attempts at marginalization. We make Responsible Choices when we make just choices. To live justly, is to live righteously. When one class of people controls and dominates society, this may quell violence or dissent, but it does not mean that true peace has been achieved. Mandated peace is often simply oppression. Only peace with justice is a true and lasting peace.

· Prayer for a Peaceful World. At the core of our identity as Community of Christ is our Pursuit of Peace (Shalom). For peace to be possible, one of its foundations must be peace between all people. If nations must exist, then they must exist peacefully to achieve true Shalom. In an idealistic sense, moving towards true Shalom will mean abandoning all nation-state complexes. While we are not likely to see this in our lifetimes, it is an ideal evolution of peaceful society. And it is something that we ought to pursue continuously and peacefully.

· Prayer Sharing the Peace of Jesus Christ. The first enduring principle of Community of Christ is Grace and Generosity. This principle is based on an understanding of the grace of God. As members of Community of Christ, we understand that Jesus Christ is the blessing of God’s shalom. When we share the Peace of Jesus Christ, we share the greatest gift that God’s grace has bestowed upon us. A grace that is most fully realized when it is shared and whose fruits are peace.

One final note, if you share any of the Seven Prayers for Peace online, please credit the source as follows: Source: Community of Christ, 2025. This will help Community of Christ retain rights of editorial use and control of our content. Thank you. Glenn Johnson.

Prayer of Peace for the Earth

God of Creation, we pray for Peace for the Earth.

With awe and wonder, we praise your great and marvelous works. The depths of the seas are filled with your bounty. The heights of the mountains are your footstool. We scrutinize the tiniest pieces of matter and energy that you have created from your imagination. We seek to decode the very spirals of life you have envisioned. In the heat of the day your clouds provide shelter. In the coolness of night your infinite stars light our path.

And yet the joy of our searching is interrupted by our own careless pollution. In our arrogance, carbon has been spewed into the atmosphere. Temperatures rise generation across generation. Reverence is replaced with revolution. Gratitude is supplanted by greed. Forgive us. Forgive our carelessness, neglect, and complicity.

Detach our identities from consumption and greed. Let us find new ways of living that heal the earth. May each sacred meal we are granted in the living of life be a moment of communion with the earth. We seek your divine will in the patterns of nature. Grant us holy wisdom in finding sabbath and rest for the earth. Bless us with the insight that the new creation we seek is already among us. Open our eyes to peace for the earth. Amen.

Prayer for Peace Within

Peace of the presence, attune my breath to your indwelling.

Let fear and insecurity pass. Hear my prayer of grief and let solace heal my wounded spirit. Break my addictions. Let me have no idols, no false gods. Strengthen my resolve to remain true to my calling. Quiet my restless mind and anxious heart. Help me to sense your attention and desire for joy, hope, peace, and love in my life. Satisfy my longing for meaning and understanding. Let wisdom, compassion, and empathy find a gentle resting place within me.

Forgive my pride and ambition. I turn from greed, ambition, avarice, and envy. Let inner peace animate my goodwill. Create in me, a pure heart, Oh God.

May your divine presence rest upon me and comfort me. Let acceptance be my watchword and mercy be my compass. May trust shape my attitudes and predispositions. May forgiveness flow from my center. May gratitude shine from my countenance. May awe inspire my actions and reveal your will. May peace dwell within me and justice journey by my side. Amen.

Prayer for Peace In Relationships

Peace of the kin-dom of God, bless our relationships.

Enter the life of our family in whatever form and grant us love, calm, and mutual respect. Bless intimacy with your abiding peace. May our familial commitment to safety, protection and shelter never be forsaken. Help us to forgive one another’s little mistakes. Replace pettiness with empathy and replace competition with collaboration.

Help us to love our neighbors as ourselves, always bringing peace to those with whom we live in community. Grant us unity in diversity and harmony even amidst the struggles of life. Replace fear with compassion.

Help us to find those opportunities to evolve transactional relationships into transformational relationships where mutual connections are valued and common ground is discovered.

Let us protect ourselves even as we respond to aggression with nonviolence and understanding, and respond to violence with restraint.

May we invite all into the kin-dom of God and practice inclusion in our words and deeds. Let us approach all with tenderness of feeling. Amen.

Prayer for Interfaith Peace

God of many names and author of all understanding, help us to appreciate the diversity of cultures and beliefs among individuals and groups. Melt our hearts and help us to give up all prejudice. Forgive our intolerance and accept our pleas for guidance in all things.

May we replace suspicion with wonder and curiosity. Help us to understand that the labels of orthodoxy and heresy are dependent on perspective. May we value our diversity and share our differences honestly without antagonism.

Grant us humility and the ability to learn from others. May we be unthreatened by that which seems different, even contrary to our experience. Help us to appreciate the divergent paths of others and find common ground when it presents itself.

May mutual respect and the conferring of dignity to all persons allow us to converse and find agreement in many things.

May we find alliances in the cause of justice, and friends in the pursuit of peace. For we see the divine presence among all of creation, and divine truth spread across all peoples and cultures.

Bestow the blessings of peace on all peoples we pray. Amen.

Prayer for Just Peace

God of Justice, we hear your call to resist the temptations of riches, prestige, and domination. Forgive us for our complicity in all systems of privilege and domination. Help mold our resistance into a determination to extend truth, equanimity, and fairness to all people. Bring an end to bias, discrimination, and racism. Put aside our tendency to nationalism and xenophobia and replace it with an appreciation for the good in all peoples.

Where there has been inequality, oppression, and persecution, let the healing of reconciliation enter our ways. Break down the structural barriers to equality and impartiality. Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

May reparations and restitution be made for injury and wrong. May our desires be peaceful and our ways just. May peace come into all hearts and just-dealings enter into every market, hall and court. Amen.

Prayer for a Peaceful World

God of all, accept our plea for peace. Too many times, mothers have wept for their sons. Too many times, fathers have wept for their daughters. Too many times, children have wept for their parents. Our world is awash in violence and grief is everywhere. Guns attack children in schools and worshipers in their houses of worship. Everywhere persons perish by their own hands, the hands of another and mercy seems nowhere to be found. When will it end? How will your voice be heard above the crying?

Forgive us for othering and making different those whom you have created beautifully and wonderfully. Forgive us our divisive national identities, ethnic strife, religious opposition and culture wars – for they lead to violence within and between nations. Let us become a part of the solution by promoting critical thinking and providing empathy education. Give us the resolve to speak up for diplomacy and international organizations that foster understanding. Let us be willing to sacrifice wealth to promote economic equity and opportunity. Fill us with tolerance, compassion, and mutual respect on the pathway to peace. Help us to love our enemies and bless those who would persecute us.

Let there be peace on earth. Amen.

Prayer Sharing the Peace of Christ

Peaceful One, may I share the peace of Jesus Christ with all in this blessing of peace.