Praying for Peace

Welcome to this page dedicated to praying for peace during times of gathered worship. Our prayers are a vital way to seek justice and reconciliation, as we cry out to the Prince of Peace for our conflicted world.

These resources are designed to equip you to lead prayers for peace in a meaningful and transformative way. The prayers are structured around three 'postures' with which to pray into the theme:

• REFLECT: a selection of prayer ideas to reflect on the relative peace that we experience in the United Kingdom and Ireland, to lament the conflicts around the world, and to come simply before God in thankfulness for peace and in sorrow for all that stands in its way
• REPENT: a selection of prayer ideas to repent of all that separates us from our neighbour, to confess our taking peace for granted, and to say sorry to God for the times when we have stood in the way of peace
• SEEK: a selection of prayer ideas to ask God for inner transformation into peacemakers, to intercede for peace (at a local, national and international level), and to cry out to the Prince of Peace for a softening of hearts, an end to conflict and lasting peace

The gathered prayer ideas provide space to pray into armed conflict, but also to address the division in every human heart that is the root cause of all conflict.

This is not about praying for an issue 'over there'.

It is about creating space for individual hearts to feel the pain of conflict, and to cry out for peace.

Many thanks to Major Gillian Miller, Lyndall Bywater and Major Gordon Cotterill for contributing to these prayers.