To help us stay focused today on the idea of Peace,
here are thirteen prayers of peace from spiritual people from faiths around the
world.
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Christian Prayer for Peace:
Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS,
for they shall be known as the Children of God.
But I say to you that hear,
love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you
pray for those who abuse you.
To those that strike you on the cheek,
offer the other one also,
and from those who take away your cloak,
do not withhold your coat as well.
Give to everyone who begs from you,
and of those who take away your goods,
do not ask for them again.
And as you wish that others would do to you,
do so to them.
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The Prayer of Saint Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred ... let me sow love
Where there is injury ... pardon
Where there is doubt ... faith
Where there is despair ... hope
Where there is darkness ... light
Where there is sadness ... joy
Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled ...
as to console
To be understood ...
as to understand,
To be loved ...
as to love
For it is in giving ... that we receive,
It is in pardoning ... that we are pardoned,
It is in dying ...
that we are born to eternal life ..........................
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Baha'i Prayer for Peace:
Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity.
Be fair in judgment, and guarded in thy speech,
Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a home
to the stranger.
Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the
feet of the erring
Be a breath of life to the body of humankind,
a dew to the soil of the human heart,
and a fruit upon the tree of humility.
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Buddhist Prayer for Peace:
May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of
body and mind quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may
those bound be free.
May the powerless find power, and may people think of
befriending one another.
May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful
wilderness -- the children, the age, the unprotected -- be guarded by
beneficial celestials, and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood
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Hindu Prayer for Peace:
Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real.
Oh God, lead us from darkness to light.
Oh God, lead us from death to immortality.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all.
Oh Lord God almighty, may there be peace in celestial
regions.
May there be peace on Earth.
May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome, and may trees and plants
bring peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring peace to us.
May thy Vedic Law propagate peace all through the
world.
May all things be a source of peace to us.
And may thy peace itself, bestow peace on all and may
that peace come to me also.
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Jainist Prayer for peace:
Peace and Universal Love is the essence of the Gospel
preached by all Enlightened Ones.
The Lord has preached that equanimity is the dharma
Forgive do I creatures all, and let all creatures
forgive me.
Unto all have I amity, and unto none enmity.
Know that violence is the root cause of all miseries
in the world.
Violence, in fact, is the knot of bondage.
"Do not injure any living being."
This is the eternal, perennial, and unalterable way
of spiritual life.
A weapon, howsoever powerful it may be, can always be
superseded by a superior one;
but no weapon can, however, create safety for those
who use it.
Muslim Prayer for Peace:
In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created
us and made us into tribes and nations
That we may know each other, not that we may despise
each other.
If the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also
incline towards peace,
and trust God, for the Lord is the one that heareth
and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God, Most gracious are those who
walk on the Earth in humility,
and when we address them, we say
"PEACE."
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Native American Prayer for Peace:
Almighty God, the Great Thumb we cannot evade to tie
any knot;
the Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees:
the all-seeing Lord up on high
who sees even the footprints of an antelope on a rock
mass here on Earth.
You are the one who does not hesitate to respond to
our call.
You are the cornerstone of peace.
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Another Native American Prayer for Peace:
Oh Great Spirit of our Ancestors,
I raise my pipe to you.
To your messengers the four winds,
and to Mother Earth who provides for your children.
Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to
respect, and to be kind to each other
so that they may grow with peace of mind.
Let us learn to share all good things that you
provide for us on this Earth.
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Shinto Prayer for Peace:
Although the people living across the ocean
surrounding us,
I believe are all our brothers and sisters,
why are there constant troubles in this world?
Why do winds and waves rise in the oceans surrounding
us?
I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff
away
all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of
mountains.
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Zoroastrian Prayer for Peace:
We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the
world:
that understanding triumph over ignorance,
that generosity triumph over indifference,
that trust triumph over contempt,
and that truth triumph over falsehood.
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Sikh Prayer for Peace:
God adjudges us according to our deeds,
not the coat that we wear:
that Truth is above everything,
but higher still is truthful living.
Know that we attaineth God when we loveth,
and only victory endures in consequences of which no
one is defeated.
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Metta meditation:
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be free from harm, from physical and
mental suffering.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings live with ease and a kind and compassionate
heart.
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Forgiveness Practice:
If I have hurt or harmed anyone in any way, knowingly
or unknowingly,
I ask their forgiveness.
If anyone has hurt or harmed me in any way, either
knowingly or unknowingly,
I forgive them.
If there is a situation I am not yet ready to
forgive,
I forgive myself for not being ready.
For all the ways I have hurt or harmed myself,
knowingly or unknowingly,
I offer forgiveness.
May this all resolve in a way that allows more peace,
love and connection for us all.
For this I pray.