All people are seeking peace – for one reason or another. Peace in how we relate one to another, peace between adherents of religions, peace between nations, Peace on Earth. These fervent desires, wishes and aspirations rise in every heart. As Gandhi told, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. In this message we bring prayers for peace from the scriptures of many of the world’s spiritual paths and faith traditions.
A Hindu Prayer for Peace:
“O God, lead us from the unreal to the Real. O
God, lead us from darkness to light. O God, lead us
from death to immortality. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto
all.”
A 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.”
A Jain Prayer for Peace:
“’Do not injure any living being.’ This is the
eternal, perennial, and unalterable way of spiritual life.
>Forgive do I creatures all, and let all creatures
forgive me. Unto all have I amity, and unto none
enmity.”
A 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.”
A Sikh Prayer for Peace:
“. . . we attain God when we love, and only that
victory endures in consequence of which no one is
defeated.”
A Baha’i Prayer for Peace:
“Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in
adversity. . . . 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 human- kind, a dew
to the soil of the human heart, and a fruit upon the
tree of humility.”
An African Prayer for Peace:
“Almighty God, . . . You are the one who does not
hesitate to respond to our call. You are the
cornerstone of peace.”
A Shinto Prayer for Peace:
“Although the people living across the ocean are, I
believe, all our brothers and sisters – why are there
constant troubles in the world?
I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff
away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of
the mountains.”
A Native American Prayer for Peace:
“O Great Spirit of our Ancestors, . . . 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 in mind. Let us learn to share all the good things
that you provide for us on this Earth.”
A 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.”
A Jewish Prayer for Peace:
“Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
that we may walk the paths of the Most High. And we
shall beat our swords into plowshares, and our spears
into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword
against nation – neither shall they learn war anymore.
And none shall be afraid . . .”
A Christian Prayer for Peace:
“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.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be
called the sons and daughters of God.”
