Prayers for Peace in the Middle East

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Peace in the Middle East

God of mercy and compassion,
of grace and reconciliation,
pour your power upon all your children in the Middle East:
Jews, Muslims and Christians,
Palestinians and Israelis.
Let hatred be turned into love, fear to trust, despair to hope,
oppression to freedom, occupation to liberation,
that violent encounters may be replaced by loving embraces,
and peace and justice could be experienced by all.

- Reverend Said

Reconciliation in the Middle East

Almighty God!
After almost a century of mistrust and fratricide,
you inspired Jews, Christians, and Muslims
to take the path of reconciliation in the Middle East...
We ask for your forgiveness, O God,
yet we find it hard to forgive our past enemies.
May Your Words touch those who still stray

in the wilderness of vengeful violence,
forgetting your command to "forgive and overlook,
till God accomplish His Purpose;
for God hath power over all things."

- Abdelwahab Hechiche

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Bring Justice and Peace

God of all creation, bring justice and peace to our world.
Teach us to be peacemakers. Guide us in our pursuit of
justice and the common good. Inspire us to welcome all, forgive
all, and love all. Direct us as we walk in the shadow of Jesus: the
Way, the Truth, and the Life. Inspire us to perceive the world
through your eyes, that we might find hope and joy each day,
supportive of each other, for the sake of your Kingdom.

- Author Unknown

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Father of All Mercies

Father of all mercies, we pray for the families who have fled their homes in fear. We lift up the mothers and fathers who have escaped with only their children, leaving everything else behind. Their country has changed, their lives will never be the same and they are afraid of the future.

Lord, you are the God who heals. Please bring your comfort and healing to those who are hurting.

We lift up the communities who have taken in refugees and displaced people, even though they may be struggling themselves. We thank you for their generosity and compassion towards those in distress.

Lord, you are the God who provides. We pray that timely help and support will reach all who are in need.

Father, there is so much pain and conflict across the Middle East. We pray for leaders throughout the region and ask you to turn their hearts towards peace. As our leaders and those around the world consider how to respond, please grant them wisdom and insight.

Lord Jesus, you are the Prince of Peace. We pray for an end to the violence and bloodshed, and ask you to bring a new dawn of peace across the Middle East.

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God, Giver of Peace

Sustain together in undiminished hope, O God of hope, those who continue to labor with undiminished determination to build peace in the land from which, of old, out of brokenness, violence and destruction, nevertheless hope emerged for so many of faith. . . . Bless all the spiritual seed of Abraham together with the light of your Presence. For in the light of your Presence we have found a way of justice and mercy and a vision of Peace. We praise you O God, Giver of Peace, who commands us to Peace.

- Rabbi Herbert, from "Christians and a Land Called Holy: How We Can Foster Justice, Peace, and Hope"

God, Source of Life

O God Source of Life, Creator of Peace. . . Help Your children, anguished and confused, to understand the futility of hatred and violence and grant them the ability to stretch across political, religious and national boundaries so they may confront horror and fear by continuing together in the search for justice, peace and truth. . . . With every fiber of our being we beg You, O God, to help us not to fail nor falter.

- Rabbi H. Rolando
Found on:
https://www.neumc.org/files/tables/content/808313/fields/files/5c3584b07db3441ea9942daec750304a/prayers-middleeast.pdf

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We Turn to You

Lord God, we turn to you in these trying hours when conflict is a daily reality for our sisters and brothers in Israel and Palestine. We promise you to work to our utmost for peace and reconciliation in the region. But we know we cannot do it alone. We very much need the strength of your presence in our midst if we are to overcome the obstacles before us. So our prayer at this moment is that you add your support to our efforts, that you show yourself as a tower of strength in those moments when the barriers seem impassable. Together we can become beacons of hope for just and peaceful societies in the land so very dear to the peoples of your covenant.

- Reverend John T. Pawlikowski

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Two Peoples, One Land

Two peoples, one land,
Three faiths, one root,
One earth, one mother,
One sky, one beginning, one future, one destiny,
One broken heart, One God.
We pray to You: Grant us a vision of unity.
May we see the many in the one and the one in the many.
May you, Life of All the Worlds, Source of All Amazing Differences help us to see clearly.
Guide us gently and firmly toward each other, toward peace.

- Rabbi Sheila Weinberg

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God of Peace

In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful: Guide us on the straight way, the way of those whom thou has blessed. Help us so that we do not transgress the bounds of what is right and lawful. Take us out of deep darkness into light. Make us not bear burdens which we have no strength to bear. Help us bring about mutual affection and understanding between us. Grant us Thy forgiveness and blessings, O Our Sustainer, for with Thee is all journeys' end.

- Mian Ashraf

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God, Most Gracious

O God of peace, you have established Jerusalem as the Lord's House and a place of peace, and you have called on all who live there to love you and prosper. Instill in her inhabitants - Jews, Christians and Muslims - a hunger for justice and dignity and a resolve to end the distrust that culminates in violence. Grant them the wisdom and patience to build a city where Israeli and Palestinian reside in safety, free from oppression and committed to the good of all. In this endeavor, make every one of us agents of your peace, O God. Forgive us our indifference and stamp out the prejudices that lead to hatred. Fill us with the reconciling spirit of your presence. So may we join people of good will - in the Middle East and throughout the world - who raise before Jerusalem's gates their insistent Shalom and Salaam: "Peace be within your walls. . . .Peace be within you."

- The Reverends Harry and Judith Hoehler First Parish (Unitarian-Universalist), Weston, MA

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Prayer of Approach

Spirit of the living God,
Come afresh on your holy land.
Help your people to restore broken relationships.
Give them patience to break down barriers of suspicion and mistrust;
ability to discern personal prejudices and the courage to overcome fear.
Teach them to respect each other's integrity and rights
so that your kingdom may be established on earth.
For Jesus' sake.

- Rt Rev Riah Abu El-Assal

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Peace in Syria

O God of Mercy and Tender Compassion,
We cry out to you in this time of crisis.
Hear the cries of the people of Syria.
Bring healing to those suffering from violence
and comfort to those mourning the dead.

O God of Hope,
sustain those who labor for peaceful and just solutions.
Inspire leaders and decision makers to choose the way of peace over the way of violence.
Deliver all your children from the threat of war
and teach us to encounter one another with reverence and love.

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ
Who came to bring to peace on earth
And who abides with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.

- Sr. Deborah Harmeling, O.S.B.

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For the People of Syria

Almighty eternal God, source of all compassion,
The promise of your mercy and saving help fills our hearts with hope.
Hear the cries of the people of Syria;
Bring healing to those suffering from the violence,
And comfort to those mourning the dead.
Empower and encourage Syria's neighbors
In their care and welcome for refugees.
Convert the hearts of those who have taken up arms,
And strengthen the resolve of those committed to peace.

O God of hope and Father of mercy,
Your Holy Spirit inspires us to look beyond ourselves and our own needs.
Inpsire leaders to choose peace over violence,
And to seek reconciliation with enemies.
Inspire the Church around the world with compassion for the people of Syria,
and fill us with hope for a future of peace built on justice for all.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace and Light of the World,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

- Adapted by the USCCB from Catholics Confront Global Poverty

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Peace and Strength

Holy One of blessing
We pray for the soldiers
who are called to defend the people of Israel.
Keep them safe. When they are weary
give them strength.
When they are scared give them courage.
May they find strength and faith in the days ahead.

Holy One of blessing,
We pray for the people of Israel
Who long to live under the canopy of peace.
Keep them safe. When they are threatened
protect them from harm.
When they are wounded and bereaved
grant them healing and comfort.
May they find strength and courage in the days ahead.

May our voices carry prayers of hope
that the people of Israel know that they are not alone.

Dear God,
give us strength
and know that there is nothing more sacred than peace.
Grant us dear God,
Faith. Courage. Wisdom.

- Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar

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A Reading from an Angelus Homily of Pope Francis

Today, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to add my voice
to the cry which rises up with increasing anguish from every part of the world...
from the one great family which is humanity.
It is the cry for peace!
It is a cry which declares with force:
We want a peaceful world; we want to be men and women of peace ...
and we want in our society, torn apart by divisions and conflict,
that peace break out!
There are so many conflicts in this world which cause me great suffering and worry,
but in these days my heart is deeply wounded by what is happening in Syria
and by the dramatic developments which are looming.
I appeal strongly for peace ...
How much suffering, how much devastation,
how much pain has the use of arms carried in its wake ...
I think of many children who will not see the light of the future!
With utmost firmness I condemn the use of chemical weapons.
There is a judgment of God and of history upon our actions which is inescapable!
Never has the use of violence brought peace in its wake.
War begets war; violence begets violence.
What can we do to make peace in the world?
As Pope John said, it pertains to each individual
to establish new relationships in human society
under the mastery and guidance of justice and love.
All men and women of good will are bound by the task of pursuing peace.
I make a forceful and urgent call to the entire Catholic Church,
and also to every Christian of other confessions
as well as to followers of every religion
and to those brothers and sister who do not believe:
Peace is a good which overcomes every barrier, because it belongs to all of humanity.
I repeat forcefully:
It is neither a culture of confrontation nor a culture of conflict
which builds harmony with and between peoples,
but it is a culture of encounter and a culture of dialogue;
This is the only way to peace.
May the plea for peace rise up and touch the hearts of everyone
so that they may lay down their weapons
and let themselves be led by the desire for peace.

- Pope Francis

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