Tag Archives: exploitation

a prayer for world peace

 

A Prayer for World Peace

by Jane Goodall

 

We pray to the great Spiritual Power in which
we live and move and have our being.
We pray that we may at all times
keep our minds open to new ideas and shun dogma;
that we may grow in our understanding of the nature of all living beings
and our connectedness with the natural world;
that we may become ever more filled with
generosity of spirit and true compassion and love for all life;
that we may strive to heal the hurts that we have inflicted on nature
and control our greed for material things, knowing that
our actions are harming our natural world and the future of our children;
that we may value each and every human being
for who he is, for who she is,
reaching to the spirit that is within,
knowing the power of each individual to change the world.We pray for social justice,
for the alleviation of the crippling poverty
that condemns millions of people around the world
to lives of misery – hungry, sick, and utterly without hope.
We pray for the children who are starving,
who are condemned to homelessness, slave labor, and prostitution,
and especially for those forced to fight, to kill and torture
even members of their own family.
We pray for the victims of violence and war,
for those wounded in body and for those wounded in mind.
We pray for the multitudes of refugees, forced from their homes to alien places
through war or through the utter destruction of their environment.We pray for suffering animals everywhere,
for an end to the pain caused by scientific experimentation,
intensive farming, fur farming, shooting, trapping,
training for entertainment, abusive pet owners,
and all other forms of exploitation
such as overloading and overworking pack animals,
bull fighting, badger baiting, dog and cock fighting and so many more.We pray for an end to cruelty,
whether to humans or other animals,
for an end to bullying, and torture in all its forms.
We pray that we may learn the peace that comes with forgiving
and the strength we gain in loving;
that we may learn to take nothing for granted in this life;
that we may learn to see and understand with our hearts;
that we may learn to rejoice in our being.We pray for these things with humility;
We pray because of the hope that is within us,
and because of a faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit;
We pray because of our love for Creation, and because of our trust in God.
We pray, above all, for peace throughout the world.

A prayer for a world divided

 

A Prayer of Hope

Let us pray:

We pray today for God’s world. We pray that it

might discover its human face. We pray for a

world divided.

Divided unequally between the prosperous and

the desperate.

Between those born into privilege and power and

those born into poverty and pain.

Divided unequally between the wealthy and the

The power-filled and the poor.

The greedy and the poor.

The corrupt and the poor.

The poor who always get more than their fairshare

of poverty.

God of life, into your world you come. Into this

divided human community you arrive.

You sit amongst the poor but the wealthy do not

see you.

You walk with the lonely and the abandoned but

those with power cannot hear your footsteps.

You stand among the hungry crowds waiting for

food but the greedy will not share their food with

You live among the powerless, the frightened

and the weak but the corrupt fail to notice you

and continue to exploit you.

God of hope, deliver us all from selfrighteousness

so that whilst we may call the

world towards a different way, we might also, in

your name, become the

answer to the prayers of the silent, suffering,

struggling ones.

God of justice, not just us, grant us the courage

to live as well as proclaim your gospel.

God of life, grant us the energy to serve others in

your name.

God of love, enable and allow us, with

all our weaknesses and fears, to

continue this walk of faith, for faith

and in faith.

a prayer by the Rev David Pargeter, Executive Director, Commission for Mission, Uniting Church in Australia)