leadinginworship

Prayer for this warring world

God of angel armies, hear our prayer

for your beloved world.

Cast out the demon of bomb dropping.

Cast out the demon of rocket hurling.

Cast out the demon of bullet shooting.

Cast out the demon of hostage holding.

Cast out the demon of civilian persecuting.

Cast out the demon of ceasefire breaking.

Cast out the demon of perpetual despairing,

that would tell us there is no way to peace.

 

God, you are an impossibility specialist.

Send down angels to melt frozen hearts.

Send down angels to protect civilians.

Send down angels to destroy weapons.

Send down angels to negotiate treaties that last.

Send down angels to gather a scattered people.

Send down angels to heal a broken nation.

Send down angels with good news of great joy

which shall be for all people,

all people who live in this warring world.

 

Easter and terrorism on the same day: A Congregational prayer

God of life,
thank you for empty tombs
and Jesus Christ, risen and alive.
Thank you that death does not have
the final word, ever.
We say this in faith, knowing the devastation
that Sri Lanka is facing because of a terrorist attack;
people of all religions dead and wounded,
people killed in their hotels,
worshippers killed as they gathered on this Easter morning.
God of hope, you know how evil has created pain and grief today.
We ask in faith that these attacks would not create hatred,
but that the people of Sri Lanka could emerge stronger
and more committed to peace after this terrible crime.
We pray for all who find it difficult to believe in resurrection
this Easter morning:
those who are caught in financial hardship, or webs of addiction,
those who are struggling with sickness or are weighed down with depression.
Especially we pray for people on the edge of terrorist attacks,
people who feel that violence is the answer that will bring change,
people with guns and bombs and plans to use them…
Lord in your mercy, show them another way.
We pray for our own communities--
show us places where we can work for peace,
reaching out to those who are desperate and hurting.
Thank you that you are working every day in every way,
new life bursting forth where it seems there is only death,
surprising us with hope and delight.
Be with those of us today who are meeting with family,
and those of us who will spend a quiet day;
in everything we do or say, we want to give glory to Jesus
who is risen, risen indeed.
Alleluia, Amen

Prayer for Those Committing Sexual Offences

This prayer is for all who are making a big mistake today,
especially those who are committing a sexual assault
or abusing someone who trusts them.
God of truth, you know their actions, you hear their words.
Lies, manipulations, plotting.
Threatening, hunting, cornering.
Overpowering, hurting, dominating.
All of these actions devastate the victim.
They also lead the one who does them towards death:
each act obliterating tenderness,
squelching compassion, extinguishing the ability to love.
God of hope, you offer alternatives and new directions
even for those who commit hateful crimes.
Awaken, deep in their hearts, a memory
of kindness done to them, or mercy shown.
Let this glimmer of memory give them pause.
Turn them around, help them walk away.
The world is full of choices, let them see
that they can choose not to be that person
who wrecks and destroys.
There is a better way.
Help them find it.
And for those who live with memories 
of the horrible deeds they’ve done, God of mercy,
show a way to true repentance.
Your grace will give them the courage
to confess their crime to authorities,
to offer apologies and restitution,
to begin the long road of accountability.
We have this one singular and beautiful life;
let it be honest, let it be good

Longest night prayer

There are good years and bad years,
and then there are years from hell.
Hear our prayer O God, for all who are tortured by war.
You know the anguished cries,
and the hearts that have turned to stone.
These are people who will die unless you save them.
We need a Saviour for those who sit in the shadow of death:
for children who have lost their parents,
and have no one to take care of them;
for teenagers forced to fight,
and who can’t imagine a normal life;
for all who have killed and have witnessed the killing;
for all who are fleeing the violence
and looking for a place of refuge;
for parents who have no choices
and see their children starve;
for seniors who cannot believe the losses they have seen.
God, you know the particular pain of each one,
the stories of death and sexual assault,
the stories of homes and homelands destroyed.
You gather our stories in your arms,
and in this longest night, you hold them and us.
Hope shines like an infinitely distant star,
like a star over Bethlehem,
shining over towering concrete walls
and machine gun battlements.
What we need is angels with good news of peace on earth,
lighting the sky of our lives, offering relief.
On this longest night, in the mystery of your love,
steal into our world again.
Be born again in hearts that work for peace,
who will find a way through the chaos that is war.
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
and we trust that you will guide our feet
into the way of peace.
This is our prayer, may it be so.

Advent Peace Prayer for our Gun-filled World

God did you know when you gave us creativity
that we would use it to create a tool to kill each other
with the tiniest movement of our finger?
Around our world, bullets are sown into gun chambers
and we reap destruction, life after life mowed down in blood.
Hear our prayer for all who will hold a gun today:
the soldier on the battlefield,
the lone gunman planning a massacre,
the gang member hunting a rival,
the raging husband threatening a family,
the depressed person wanting to end it all,
the playing children who open a drawer
they’ve been told not to open.
Hear our prayer for those who will die today from bullet wounds,
may they rest in peace,
and for all who will be maimed and scarred in body and spirit,
and for all who grieve, and for all who live in fear.
And we pray for those who by shooting someone
will turn their own heart to stone.
You know Lord, that this is a systemic problem:
we live in a gun culture, where shooting is glorified,
and fortunes are made from the production and trafficking of guns.
Today we pray for an advent miracle,
that you would open our eyes to a way forward
against powers and principalities that feed on bloodshed.
Show us a way that politicians and lawmakers and average people
can work together to make a safer society,
a society free from gun violence.

When Family Violence Devastates a Community...

God of hope, hear our lament.
Since we heard the news of ____________________
our minds are reeling.
This is violence happening in our own neighbourhood.
Some of us knew the victims,
some know people who knew them.
Our community is grieving.
We pray for family and friends of the victims.
We pray for police officers who responded.
We pray for counsellors called in,
and everyone touched by this crime.
We need your help because this crime is not singular.
Every year women are murdered by their partners,
in their homes, in their own bedrooms,
or even when they try to flee the violence.
Help us do better. Help us believe victims of abuse,
help us protect them when they try to leave.
Help us work on changing a culture that teaches men
that women are property, that women must obey,
and that women who don’t, deserve death.
We pray for our local women’s shelter,
that right now is sheltering women who have stories
just like the story of the woman who was murdered.
Give those sheltering women 
strength and courage to do their work,
and show us how we can best support them.
We pray all this in the name of Jesus, Amen

Leaving Marriage: A Survivor's Prayer

For richer, for poorer, for better, for worse.
I made these vows, God, before you and witnesses.
You know I meant them.
But how worse is worse?
What does faithfulness mean when he hurls his dinner at the wall?
What does honour mean when he throws me to the ground by my hair?
What does love mean when sex is always about what he wants?
You know I’m not perfect.
My words, my thoughts, my actions have been far from loving.
But this situation is impossible.
I lie down in fear, and I wake in fear.
What will I do wrong today that will set him off?
After the explosions, he apologizes; he is sorry and charming.
I’ve forgiven more than seventy times seven,
and still there are these bruises.
I vowed to be a part of this marriage,
but his violence has broken this partnership,
and I cannot put it back together alone,
no matter how hard I try.
Our union now is more about anger and terror,
than love and tenderness.
In the despair, in the hopelessness,
in the futility and self-blame,
can I meet you even here?
You are the God who loves me, who cherishes me,
who thinks I’m worth something, who wants the best for me,
who would see good done for me, and not my destruction.
After so many years of praying for my marriage,
and praying for him to change,
today I pray something different.
Help me leave. Help me make it out of here alive.
Give me courage to think of life after marriage.
Help me trust that even if I leave him,
you will never leave him.
Even though he has destroyed the love we had,
your love for him is never ending.
Take care of him,
because I cannot do it anymore.

Prayer Against Patriarchy

God, you see our world.
The girl baby told she is sweet and lovely,
the boy baby praised for strength and power.
The little girl told to be quiet and sit still,
the boy allowed to run and play because boys will be boys.
The adolescent girl not giving the answer in school,
because the boys make fun if she stands out.
The teenage girl crossing her arms over her breasts,
after the boys comment and reach out to touch.
The young woman watching where she walks,
noticing in every room if there is a threat,
gauging when the catcalls become more menacing.
The working woman getting 70% on the dollar
compared to her male colleague.
The mother working a double shift,
working all day and coming home to housework
while her husband rests in the evening.
The woman scared and bruised
after her partner backhands her across the face.
The single mom at the foodbank for her children,
because her partner won’t pay child support..
Creator God, you made us,
you know how gender shapes us,
how expectations cramp our dreams.
Hear our prayer for those who cannot see
how gender roles chain us,
how sexism values men over women.
Help us shape our world,
changing laws and attitudes,
challenging churches and political systems,
supporting those who don’t conform,
encouraging each one to chart their own course.
Help us create a world where we can live,
valued and cherished for who we are.

 

Psalm for a Women's Shelter

Lord, you are my rock and my redeemer,
you are my shelter, an ever present help in times of trouble.
You know that violence has been my diet, day and night.
I called to you from the depths, “Lord, save my life.”
It is not my enemy that attacks me, but it is my partner,
the one I love who assails me.
My body is black and blue,
my mind is reeling from insults thrown at me.
The love that I gave is thrown back in my teeth.
In this storm of trouble, I looked for help;
you led me to this women’s shelter.
When I needed a safe place to protect my children,
they found a space for me.
When my abuser pursued me, they locked the door against him;
they protected my identity.
They saw my wounds and got me medical care.
They heard my torment, and provided counsellors.
Even when I walked in the valley of the shadow of suicide,
they were with me, they held my hand.
They believed that goodness and mercy could come to me,
even when I was sure it wouldn’t.
For leading me to this place, where my soul can be restored,
I will be thankful all the days of my life,
till I dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
 
 

 

Prayer for a Battered Woman

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
When I think I can change another person,
remind me that I can change only myself.
When I think that being hurt is your will,
remind me of your exodus call to flee from oppression.
When I think I should sacrifice myself unto death,
remind me that you died for our sins, so I don’t have to.
 
O Lord grant that I may not so much seek to endure abuse,
as to escape it entirely;
that I may not so much seek to model victimization,
as to model being a faithful survivor.
For it is in new beginnings that we find your grace,
it is in standing on our own two feet that we find your strength,
it is in leading our family to safety, that we find peace.

Breath of Spring Congregational Prayer

We listen this morning to the sound of our own breath,
and the breathing of those around us. [pause for 30 seconds]
Thank you God for breath,
for life flowing in and out of each of us.
It is wonderful to be alive—thank you for life!
Thank you for the sweet scent of the breath of spring;
for blossoms--apricot, cherry, peach,
for daffodils and sweet hyacinths,
for the good earth, turned over and ready for seed,
for the strong sun and its power.
Thank you that you are a God who hears our breath.
You hear our slow steady breaths as we’ve slept,
the panting of children as they run and play,
the deep breaths of hard work and manual labour,
our slow sighs when we are weary or filled with grief.
You hear our first little baby breath,
you are the one who hears and knows our final breath.
Your Spirit moves over the earth, enlivening us all.
Help us to exhale hatred, and inhale your love
Help us to exhale greed, and inhale your generosity.
Help us to exhale despair, and inhale your hope.
Breathe life into peacemakers,
in the conflicts in our own town and country,
where class and race and ideology divide us.
Breathe life into peacemakers in ___________
where war has ruled so long.
Breathe inspiration into our government leaders and diplomats,
helping them work for peaceful solutions.
Forgive us when we are not outraged by war and violence,
and instead are numb to every new story of destruction.
On this most beautiful of days,
with your Spirit blowing over this land,
thank you for giving us this chance
to be part of your breathtaking work,
humble servants in the service of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Social Fabric Prayer

The transgender man beaten,
and the woman harassed on the bus.
The disabled student not accommodated,
and the bomb threat at the Jewish child-care centre.
Racial profiling at the border
and another refugee told to go home.
A million tiny teeth
ripping at the webs that connect us,
fissures fracturing the social fabric.
Reading the news my heart feels tattered,
and all that’s good seems lost
and left behind.

Can we defend, say, “Not here!" to hatred,
hold firm to every last strand of civility?
We are not over and done with.
Threads of mercy shuttle between us
and even when we feel like running,
we are being woven, a work in progress.
For every breaking thread,
a new wisp, strong as spider web.

On a night like this,
when darkness looms
and every light seems small,
I stitch a prayer into the night sky.
God of all graces, rip every seam
I’ve sown in hatred.
I want to be stranded in love,
reaching out to touch,
in this material world,
the hem of your garment. 

A prayer for times like these

For a world where lies are accepted at face value;

hear our prayer, God of truth.

For a world where racism in high places is tolerated;

hear our prayer, God of the oppressed.

For a world where people with disabilities are mocked;

hear our prayer, God of the disadvantaged.

For a world where the rich hold the reins of power;

hear our prayer, God of the poor.

For a world where men violate women with impunity;

hear our prayer, God of the downtrodden.

For a world where the earth is ignored and neglected;

hear our prayer, God of the voiceless.

For a world where nations interfere in enemies’ elections;

hear our prayer, God of the disenfranchised.

For a world where the church is charmed by false gods;

hear our prayer, God of the lost.

For a world where free speech is threatened;

hear our prayer, God of the silenced.

For a world where hatred is growing by leaps and bounds;

hear our prayer, God of the vulnerable.

For a world where dissent is dangerous and necessary,

hear our prayer, God of those who suffer for righteousness’ sake.

God of hope, we turn to you for vision and courage

as we strive to be faithful in word and deed,

followers of Christ in times like these.

Message from the Manger

We love you in the manger, Jesus.

Your little hands and feet,

your soft breathing,

your eyes closed in sleep.

You may be a revolutionary,

but we like our revolutionaries in diapers.

Forgive us, Lord,

for preferring a Saviour that doesn’t talk;

a Saviour that has no words of judgement

for our callousness to the suffering of others,

whose arms aren’t tossing over tables,

whose feet aren’t leading us to Jerusalem.

 

In this advent season,

where the world around us

is convulsing with violence and bigotry,

give us ears to hear

the unspoken message from the manger.

A Middle Eastern baby with dark skin

is threatened with violence

and becomes a refugee.

God with us,

now and forevermore.

A prayer about terror (on the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre)

God of the afflicted:
On this anniversary of the Montreal massacre
where a man who declared feminists his enemy
opened fire in a school,
killing fourteen, wounding fourteen,
on this day we turn to you.
We pray for healing for all affected by acts of terror.
Terror from a bomb, or a gun,
or a knife, or a rope, or a body,
terror from any force poised for cruelty.
You know what happened next.
Be with all who are picking up,
with tears, the pieces of their lives,
painstakingly living to see another day,
and another, and another,
becoming survivors.
Be with them in the fear
that haunts them daily
and pursues them in their dreams.
Be with them in their anger,
which fuels their drive for justice,
and their certainty
that this must not happen again.
And yet it happens to another,
and another, and another.
Almighty God, where are you?
Jesus, do you see our suffering?
Holy Spirit, where is your relief?
God of the terror-stricken,
God of the terror-survivors,
God of the terror-fighters,
God of all who work for peace,
we pray to you today:
deliver us from evil.

Peace Prayer for Imprisoned Sexual Offenders

Great God, hear my prayer for every person in prison
convicted of a sexual offence.
These are the people I count as enemy,
that our society counts as enemy;
rapists, abusers, child molesters.
Jesus, you are the key of David,
you walk through every locked prison door,
you look with love into the heart of each one.
You know the history of aggression,
and that when the unspeakable is done to us,
blind pain can cause us to lash out.
You see how violence leaves deep scars on the violators.
And so we pray—
for those who have no hope of parole,
show them that you can open the prison of their heart;
for those who are stuck in webs of lies and denial,
open their eyes to the value of repentance;
for those who are in desperate need of therapy,
change our systems that deny treatment;
for those who have been abandoned by friends and family,
bring visitors and helpers to comfort them;
for those who have internalized hateful labels
like “scum of the earth”, and “garbage”,
open their ears to hear you whisper the word “beloved”.
Unsettle us with improbable and unexpected incarnations
as you are born again in the cages we call prisons.
Right in the midst of broken dreams and wasted lives
there you are: Immanuel, Christ the Lord,
God with us.  Amen.

A Settler Prayer for Peace

Creator God
hear our prayer for settlers everywhere,
for people living on land stolen
and traded unfairly from indigenous peoples.
You know our cruelties,
our disregard for cultures and histories,
our cavalier dismissal of treaty rights,
our personal prejudices, our institutional racism.
We are part of a colonial system so insidious,
those who benefit don’t even see it, even when it’s in front of our faces.

You are a God who names, a God who hears.
You know the name of every missing and murdered indigenous woman.
You heard the cries of every child in every residential school.
You know the original names of every landmark,
in languages that no one living knows.
You hear the earth groaning as it is torn and broken,
its holy balance polluted and poisoned.
Send us a chinook peace to melt our permafrosted hearts,
a Great Spirit of hope that blows through our land,
rearranging landscapes, upsetting tables where money is counted.
A wind that changes our hearts and gives us courage
to seek justice, love kindness
and walk humbly together,
settler and First Nations, Inuit and Metis,
for we are all God's children.

A Prayer for when Sexual Abuse is Discovered

My God, my God,
where were you?
My innocent child,
my beautiful innocent child,
a child of God, your child,
this child has been abused.
First and foremost,
protect my child, Lord.
Keep them from further harm.
Heal the hurt.
Mend the memories.
Restore what is lost.
Show me how to help
and how to get them the help they need.
Let there not be lasting, lingering effects
from this deed done.

God of all the dark places in the world,
you know what I am feeling inside.
Such a feeling of guilt:
how could I have missed this?
how could I not have known?
how could I not be there to protect?
These feelings are enough to engulf me,
but they are matched thought by thought
with rage and outrage and anger.
How dare he?
If there was a trigger to pull,
I would pull it.
With every wailing prophet,
I call down judgement and destruction,
never in my life have I longed this much
for a God of wrath.

And yet the next moment
I am filled so much with sadness
for this broken hurting world;
so many little ones abused,
so many warped people hurting others,
probably after being hurt themselves as children.
God of all of us, how can you bear it?
Jesus, thank you that you too felt the outrage,
you too spoke of millstones around necks
and people being drowned in the bottom of the sea.
Yet your actions were all of love;
even in extreme pain, you spoke the word “Forgive”.

Holy Spirit, I need your presence with us on this journey.
Lead me in good paths, not bitter ones.
Teach me how to trust again.
Be our companion as we work for justice and accountability,
accompany us as we walk step by step towards healing.
And yes, even touch the heart of the one who offended,
convict, convert and illumine their minds,
so that they can understand the wrong they’ve done,
and never do it again.

My first and last thought is for my baby, my own,
a child of God, wounded and hurting.
You who sees the littlest sparrow falling,
reach out and catch this one,
mend them inside and out,
and keep them in your loving care forever.  Amen.

A prayer for those contemplating suicide

For each of your beloved children
who this night are poised to take their own life,
we pray this prayer.
For those plagued by despair,
for those haunted by hopelessness,
for those immersed in mind-numbing pain,
for those confused by bewildering delusions,
for those mired in violent memories,
for those pushed to the edge by grief,
for those bullied because of their sexuality,
for those overwhelmed by stress or financial pressures,
for those caught fast in chains of addiction,
for those feeling unwanted and unloved,
for those who can love everyone but themselves,
for those who feel that the world would be better off without them,
Creator of us all, hear our prayer.
Send your rainbow of hope
arching over these dark moments.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet;
thousands of angels of every hue
surrounding and supporting each dear one
tenderly, lovingly,
away from the brink.
Your presence a bridge to one more day.

Prayer for Male Survivors of Violence

God of Comfort:
We pray today for men and boys
whose lives have been scarred by abuse and violence.
We pray for boys bullied and molested
by people who should be their friends.
We pray for boys sexually abused and exploited
by people they trust who should protect them.
We pray for boys who cry their tears alone
with no one to comfort them.
We pray for men who have suffered physical assault
and have fear as a constant companion.
We pray for men who have been sexually assaulted
and have nowhere to tell their story.
Jesus, teach our church to see your face
in all people, all genders
who suffer from the effects of violence. Amen.