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A Ridley Park UMC Publication
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| Prayer for Peace Vigil |
| Noon, January 14, 1991 through Noon, January 15, 1991 |
| It may seem superfluous to ask Christians to pray constantly for peace. After all, don't the scriptures urge this upon us? "Pray continually," the apostle Paul urges. But there is a point here that may be easily overlooked. Every time we pray for peace we are witnessing to our own conviction that peace is indeed possible, for only fools or madmen keep on praying for what is obviously impossible. So we sustain hope in a world where many have succumbed to cynicism and despair. The "Prayer for Peace" which was launched in Westminster Abby, London, England on Hiroshima Day 1981 provides a form of prayer for use by people of many different faiths and millions have pledged themselves to use it and commend it to others down through the years. That prayer is as follows: |
| Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth. Lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust. Lead me from hate to love, from war to peace. Let peace fill our hearts, our world, our universe. |
| "Suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand. If he is not able he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace." Luke 14: 31-32. |
| We live is the shadow of peace, but too often we face the shadow and not the light. We pray for peace today because we know we are not a whole people without it. May our prayer be that God forgive our warring madness, our abuse of power, and our disregard of the rights of others. We don't need the burden of the need always to be in control. May we learn the way of mutual love for all people and in so doing, give peace a chance. |
| Read: Romans 3: 10-17 |
| A Prayer For Peace |
| 0 God, we your people around the world gather in houses of worship, great and small, urban, suburban and rural, on the brink or a great global disaster asking, pleading that your Spirit will be with those on whom the burden of making war falls, that they might discover the miracle of dialogue and achieve victories for peace beyond their expectations. may we see the day when war and bloodshed cease, when a great peace will embrace the world, when nation will not threaten nation, and humankind will not again make war, when all who inhabit this world shall realize that we have not come into being in order to hate, or to destroy. We have come into being to praise, to labor, to love. Compassionate God, bless the leaders of all the nations involved in this current crisis with the power of compassion. Fulfill the promise conveyed in scripture: I will bring peace to the land, and you shall lie down and noone shall terrify you. I will rid the land of vicious and it shall not be ravaged by war. Let love and justice flow like a mighty stream. Let peace fill the earth as the waters fill the sea. Amen. |
| We thank you and God for your participation in this "Prayer Vigil For Peace." We believe mightily in the power of prayer and trust that God will hear our prayers for peace. You may enter the sanctuary when you are ready and use this paper as a guide for your meditation and prayers. Please feel free to stay as long as you wish and leave when you are ready. In this act you have become a peacemaker. Remember the words of Jesus: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." |
| Read Isaiah 2: 1-5 |
| GUIDED PRAYER |
| The men and women of operation "Desert Shield"; their safety and quick return home to their various countries. |
| Those who make up the military forces of Iraq. |
| Those civilians on both sides whose lives are so intermeshed in this struggle. |
| Sadaam Hussein that he might realize the terrible pain and suffering that his decisions might incur. |
| George Bush who carries the weight and burden of sending our men and women into armed conflict. |
| All the other leaders of countries involved in this conflict that they might continue to exert their various influences. |
| Israel and Jordan that their responses might be rational. |
| All of us that we might continually pray for peace not only in this situation but throughout our world. |
| Again, we thank you for being here and joining in our prayer vigil for peace. We pray God's richest blessing for you and ask that you continue, in your homes, at school, and on the job to pray for peace in the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. |
| May you go in His name and with His peace. Amen. |
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