Prayers and Aspirations

Prayers and Aspirations

“We pray for the power to be gentle; the strength to be forgiving;

the patience to be understanding; and the endurance to accept 

the consequences of holding to what we believe is right.

May we put our trust in the power of good to overcome evil and may

The power of love to overcome hatred. We pray for the vision to see

and the faith to believe in a world emancipated from violence, 

a new world where fear will no longer lead men to commit injustice, 

nor will selfishness make them bring suffering to others.

Help us to devote our whole life and thought and energy to the task of making peace, 

praying always for the inspiration and the power to fulfill the destiny for which we were created.”

Adapted prayer from Week of Prayer for World Peace  1978

Cited in Prayers for Healing: 365 Blessings, Poems, and Meditations from around the world

All prayers of this kind are profoundly aspirational… Their words and the feelings they express can make them sound so unrealistic in the minds and hearts, or through the eyes of our cynical and violent world.

The value of such prayer, for me, is that it summons the deep yearnings within each heart-that despite culture and politics, the most important hope and the most vital work we have is to reinforce our togetherness. That we are human beings who want to live their lives in peace…

Whatever part of this prayer rings most true for you, offer gratitude for its realization in your life… Whatever part seems daunting or impossible, I ask that you add it to your prayers, reflections, poems, and meditations that you ordinarily have/use; and see if there is some room in your hearts to give this earnest concern some of your healing thoughts and redemptive energies…