| Gracious God, please hasten
the day when swords are beaten into plowshares, spears into pruning
hooks, and people will learn war no more.
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Eternal Lord, your kingdom has broken
into our troubled world through the life death, and resurrection of your
Son. Help us to hear your Word and obey it, so that we become
instruments of your redeeming love. |
| Lord, continue to preserve the people of
Iraq, including fellow members of the Body of Christ in the churches
there, who have already suffered for so long under an oppressive regime. |
God of compassion and love, in our
frailty we surrender all life to you from whom it came, trusting in your
gracious promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord. |
| Almighty God, care for the United States
service men and women in and around Iraq, that they will be preserved in
health and safety. |
O God, we know that you love all your
people and that your will for all is peace. Teach us how to work with
you for peace; Teach us how to love one another; Teach us how to banish
fear and hate. |
| Thank you, Lord, for U.S. military
chaplains -- especially ordained ministers of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America -- for their courage and compassion. Please continue to
bless their ministry among our nation's military forces. |
Merciful Creator, your Holy Spirit
intercedes for us, even when we do not know how to pray. Send your
Spirit now to comfort us in these days of needs and loss, and help us
commend the children of war to your merciful care. |
| O Lord our God, we commend to you
President George Bush and the leaders of all nations, that You will give
them wisdom and compassion, enabling them to preserve the security of
their peoples while also sparing them the destruction of war. |
Look with mercy on your violent, warring
world, loving God, and save both friend and enemy from self-destruction. |
| God our creator, we pray for peace,
knowing that it is Your will for all of creation. |
O God, before whose face all nations rise
and fall, help us once more, to see our foolish ways. As Jesus so taught
us to live, may we so live, daily, and day to day, that indeed, your
reign will be realized, your will be done, on earth, as in heaven. |
| God of love and strength, we lift up
pastors and congregations of the ELCA who support families in times of
crisis, especially those who have relatives and friends in areas of
conflict, whether civilians or soldiers. |
Almighty God, source of all mercy and
giver of all comfort: deal graciously, we pray, with those who mourn,
that, casting all their sorrow on you, they may know the consolation of
your love; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. |
| Compassionate God, increase the energy
and strength of ELCA members who are even now preparing to deliver
relief to the people in war-torn regions. |
Father God, help us to trust the love of
Christ more than politicians, and his grace more than terrorist bombs or
massed military might. |
| Loving Lord, help us to remember your
command to "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you." |
Righteous God, in whose sacred justice
both mercy and truth embrace, keep us from failing to see in all people, including those we now call our enemy, the grandeur of your
image and likeness. |
| Lord, for the peace of the whole world,
for the well-being of your people, and for the unity of all, we
earnestly pray. |
God of mercy, comfort families in each
nation whose sons and daughters, wives and husbands, agonize each day
for the safety of loved ones. Especially remember children whose mothers
and fathers have been taken from them, who weep at night in fear and
loneliness. |
|
Merciful Father, we commend to your care
your children who are being displaced by hostilities in the Middle East;
help the refugees find refuge in their war-torn world.
|
Eternal God, in whose will is our
enduring peace, we find ourselves again in the wilderness of war. With
hopes dashed on the rocks of failed diplomacy among nations filled with
distrust and fear, we cry out to you for mercy.
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Eternal God, we come to you with minds
that are not spotless, with flawed motives and a sense of our sinful
failure to create a peaceful world. We trust in your mercy that we will
be forgiven those things that need forgiving and blessed with peace in
spite of our sinful human nature.
|
Healing God, guardian of those in harm's
way, hold close our sons and daughters who serve our nation in this
conflict fraught with contradiction. Return them soon and safely to us
and the land of their hopes and dreams.
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Let the words of our mouths and the
meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our
strength and our redeemer.
|
Lord, so fill us with a passion for
peace, even among those who hate us and despitefully use us, that we may
cease being a part of the problem and become agents of your cure.
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Savior of the nations, help all the
world's oppressors to repent and turn from their evil ways.
|
God of grace and glory, help us to be so
caught up in the reconciling peace of our Savior Christ, that we may not
be divided as we pray with all our hearts for justice and peace.
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Gracious and merciful God, look in
patient and steadfast love on us who undertake such terror as has filled
our eyes and minds in these last days; where we offend that love, assure
us of its infinity.
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God of all nations, to whom all people
are precious, we pray for those caught up in war, that you may be with
them in their hour of crisis. Please work your grace, as we pray for
both our friends and our enemies.
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We ask You, God, to give us true
repentance and the gift of the Holy Spirit, that those things we do on
this day may please You.
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Bless your peacemakers, Lord, who strive
to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with You.
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