Christian Prayers
Christianity was founded in the early 1st century AD, with the teaching, miracles, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Today it is the largest religion in the world, with around 2 billion followers. Especially dominant in the western world, today's Christianity has a wide variety of forms, beliefs and practices but all center around faith in Jesus Christ. 1
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A Christian Prayer for Peace
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called 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 who strike you on the cheek, offer the other 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 them again. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
- U.N. Day of Prayer for World Peace 2
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Prayer for Peace
Almighty God,
from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed,
kindle in the hearts of all men the true love of peace,
and guide with Your pure and peaceable wisdom
those who make decisions for the nations of the earth;
that in tranquility Your kingdom may go forward,
till the earth be filled with the knowledge of Your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Christian Prayer
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Mother Earth
Dear mother earth, who day by day
Unfolds rich blessing on our way,
O praise God! Alleluia!
The fruits and flowers that verdant grow,
Let them his praise abundant show.
O praise God, O praise God,
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
- St. Francis of Assisi
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Thank You for This Earth
O God,
We thank you for this earth, our home; for the wide sky and the blessed sun, for the ocean and streams, for the towering hills and the whispering wind, for the trees and green grass.
We thank you for our senses by which we hear the songs of birds, and see the splendor of fields of golden wheat, and taste autumn's fruit, rejoice in the feel of snow, and smell the breath of spring flowers.
Grant us a heart opened wide to all this beauty; and save us from being so blind that we pass unseeing when even the common thornbush is aflame with your glory.
For each new dawn is filled with infinite possibilities for new beginnings and new discoveries. Life is constantly changing and renewing itself. In this new day of new beginnings with God, all things are possible. We are restored and renewed in a joyous awakening to the wonder that our lives are and, yet, can be.
- Protestant Prayer
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Ecumenical Prayer
O Lord, you love justice and you establish peace on earth.
We bring before you the disunity of today’s world;
the absurd violence, and the many wars,
which are breaking the courage of the peoples of the world;
human greed and injustice,
which breed hatred and strife.
Send your spirit and renew the face of the earth;
teach us to be compassionate towards the whole human family;
strengthen the will of all those
who fight for justice and for peace,
and give us that peace which the world cannot give.
- Ecumenical Centre Prayer
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Prince of Peace
Lord Jesus, when you came among us as a man, you bore the name Prince of Peace.
You promise peace to all who worship God as Father and love his children as brothers and sisters.
Guide us in the way of peace. Reconcile us with one another, that we may be reconciled with you.
May peace reign in our hearts, and may we be witnesses to the peace you give to all the world.
- Christian Prayer
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Creator God
Creator God,
you formed us from the dust of the earth,
and reveal your fingerprints in all flesh.
Teach us your deep wisdom
in the order and beauty of all that you have made.
When our care for your creation is found wanting,
reprove and reform us,
so that our footprints may be more gentle on the earth,
tending and keeping it as your own handiwork,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
- Anglican Church of Australia 3
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A Prayer about Nature and God's Creation
Loving Father and Creator of all we come to you today deeply grateful for your creation.
As we look around us we are amazed at the greatness and majesty of all that you have made.
Nature around us speaks of your greatness - the vast expanse of the sky, the mountains, trees, lakes and streams speak of your great design.
You have given us such beauty in the colors of the rainbow, the beauty of flowers and fields.
Words cannot adequately express the magnificence of all you have created.
We join in praise with the writer of the psalms when he says, 'O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.'
May we show our love and reverence to you, our Lord, by caring for all that you have created. We humbly give you praise and thanks.
- Catholic Prayer
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Environmental Prayer
Gracious God, your amazing love extends through time and space, to all parts of
your creation, which you created and called good. Your covenant with the human
family is remembered in every rainbow in the sky, symbolizing your promise of
love and blessing to every living creature, and to all successive generations. In
Jesus, you invite us to enter into a new covenant, in communion with all who
seek to be faithful to you and to do justice. As people of faith, we are called into
covenant. Your covenant of faithfulness and love extends to the whole creation.
Today we pray for the healing of our planet that present and future generations
may enjoy the fruits of creation, and continue to glorify and praise you.
- United Church of Christ, Environmental Justice Ministry 4
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Let Us Together Praise the Lord
Let us together praise the Lord,
from whom we have rain from the heavens
and abundance from the earth.
Blessed be God now and for ever.
- Christian Prayer
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It is Good to Give Thanks
It is good to give thanks,
for the boundless mercy
which renews us and makes us whole.
Happy are those who know this
and open themselves to the Light
and sing -
You make the sunrise and the sunset shout for joy.
You are the earthʼs fertility.
Your law governs her cycles of snow, run-off, flood, and rain.
You crown the year with abundance
The wild lands are watered with dew.
The hills deck themselves with green.
The meadows adorn themselves with flocks,
The valleys gown themselves with grain.
They dance together.
They join in song.
Glory to You, Creator and Sustainer.
Glory to You for the awesome gift of life.
- From Psalm 65
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World Peace Prayer
May all who work for a world of peace and reason, be granted the gifts of strength and courage.
May the good that dwells withn every human heart be magnified.
May the blessings of truth and understanding be ours.
May the love of God abide within all of us.
And as we create and plan for tomorrow may we do so with grace, wisdom and compassion and love for all.
- The Gnostic Order of Christ
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There is One Breath
There is one breath. There is one life.
There is one earth.
All is holy. All is sacred. All is one.
- Sisters of Earth in Holyoke, Massachusetts
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A Prayer for Peace in Our World
Make your ways known upon earth, Lord God,
your saving power among all peoples.
Renew your Church in holiness
and help us to serve you with joy.
Guide the leaders of all nations,
that justice may prevail throughout the world.
Let not the needy be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Make us instruments of your peace
and let your glory be over all the earth.
- Church of England Prayer
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A Prayer of Gratitude for Creation
God of the universe,
We thank You for Your many good gifts –
For the beauty of Creation and its rich and varied fruits,
For clean water and fresh air, for food and shelter, animals and plants.
Forgive us for the times we have taken the earth’s resources for granted
And wasted what You have given us.
Transform our hearts and minds
So that we would learn to care and share,
To touch the earth with gentleness and with love,
Respecting all living things.
We pray for all those who suffer as a result of our waste,
greed and indifference,
And we pray that the day would come when everyone has enough
food and clean water.
Help us to respect the rights of all people and all species
And help us to willingly share your gifts
Today and always. Amen.
- Eco-Congregation Ireland
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Almighty God
Almighty God,
from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed,
kindle in the hearts of all men the true love of peace,
and guide with Your pure and peaceable wisdom
those who make decisions for the nations of the earth;
that in tranquility Your kingdom may go forward,
till the earth be filled with the knowledge of Your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- From the Roman Missal
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Peace Prayer
The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace.
- Mother Teresa
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Make Us Worthy
Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our fellow men
throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger.
Give them through our hands this day their daily bread,
and by our understanding love, give peace and joy.
- Mother Teresa
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Do All the Good You Can
Do all the good you can. By all the means you can.
In all the ways you can. In all the places you can.
At all the times you can. To all the people you can.
As long as ever you can.
- John Wesley, 18th-century founder of the Methodist movement
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O God Eternal
O God eternal, good beyond all that is good;
fair beyond all that is fair,
in whom is calmness and peace:
reconcile the differences which divide us from one another
and bring us back into the unity of love
which may bear some likeness to your divine nature.
Grant that we may be spiritually one,
both within ourselves and with one another,
through the grace, mercy and tenderness
of your Son, Jesus Christ.
- Christian Orthodox Tradition
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May I Be At Peace
May I be at peace.
May my heart remain open.
May I be aware of my true nature.
May I be healed.
May I be a source of healing to others.
May I dwell in the Breath of God.
- Saint Teresa of Avila
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Quotes and Inspirations
God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.
- Mother Teresa
Seek peace, and pursue it.
- The Bible, Psalm 34
Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.
- Matthew 5:9
We must move forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good.
- Pope Francis
Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground - everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food.'
- The Bible, Genesis 1:29-30
And God said, This is the sign of the covenant I am making
between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all
generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign
of the covenant between me and the earth.
- Genesis 9:12-13
The natural world demands a response that rises from the wild unconscious depths of the human soul.
- Thomas Berry, Ecologist and Catholic Priest
I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.
- Mother Teresa
God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.
- Martin Luther
You have never seen a flower have to come church to know how to cooperate with the rest of nature.
- Rev. Kevin Kitrell Ross
For the Lord thy God brings thee into a good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains with depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates: a land of oil, of olives and honey.
- Deuteronomy 8.8
Listen, Oh heavens, and I will speak, hear, Oh earth, the words of my mouth.
Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.
- Deut. 32:1-2
Tell the heavens and earth to celebrate and sing. Command every mountain to join in song.
- Isaiah 49:13
I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
- Psalm 57:9-10
Everyone who has joined the ranks of Christ must be a glowing point of light in the world, a nucleus of love, a leaven of the whole mass...
The world will never be the dwelling place of peace till peace has found a home in the heart of each and every person, till every person preserves in himself the order ordained by God to be preserved.
- Pope John (Pacem in Terris)
Believe an expert: you will find something far greater in the woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you cannot learn from the masters.
- St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), abbot and author
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Reference Information
1 www.religionfacts.com/compare/religions
4 www.ucc.org/earthcare/pdfs/enviromental_prayer.pdf
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