03/02/2026
PRAYERS FOR PEACE and PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE - Prayer for Peace by Rev. Eric Madsen, Prayers of the People adapted from Sundays and Seasons
Reconciled by God’s mercy and sustained by God’s presence, let us pray for the world and its needs.
God of every people and every land,
We come to you shaken by the news from Iran. Bombs fall. Sirens sound. Families hide. Children are afraid. And once again, ordinary people carry the weight of decisions they did not make.
Hold the people of Iran in your tenderness. Hold the grieving. Hold the wounded. Hold those who do not know where home is tonight. Hold those who are angry, those who are numb, and those who are simply trying to survive another day.
We pray not as experts in geopolitics, but as people who believe every human life bears your image. Every mother. Every teenager. Every journalist. Every protester. Every soldier. Every child.
Break the cycle of retaliation. Interrupt the logic of domination. Give courage to those who choose restraint when escalation would be easier. Protect the vulnerable. Strengthen aid workers. Sustain peacemakers.
And for us, keep our hearts soft. Do not let distant violence become background noise. Teach us to care beyond borders. Teach us to pray beyond slogans. Teach us to act in ways that honor the dignity of all.
God of mercy and justice, stay close to the suffering, trouble the comfortable, and breathe your peace into a world that forgets how to rest.
Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
God of all creation, tend this earth. When human greed and disobedience threaten this planet and the life it contains, lead us by your Spirit into ways of reverence, awe, and gentleness.
Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
God of all healing, mend our wounds. Bring wholeness to all who are sick, give peace to all who groan in grief, and send companions to all who are lonely or isolated. Grant courage to those who challenge, especially around issues of racism and systemic oppression.
Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
God of all people, provide for our community. For any among us who hunger for bread, bring nourishment. We lift up these prayers from our community (read prayer requests from the basket here).
Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
God of all life, bring us to you. We thank you for your free and abounding grace, and for those who, by that same grace, now rest eternally in you.
Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
Receive our prayers, O God, through Jesus Christ, our strength and salvation.
Amen.
