A prayer for those caught up in conflict

we recognise in your company that all battlefields are tragedies,
where everyone loses and no one truly wins,
for we destroy our true selves in the process of armed struggle.

This day we pray for those places across the globe
where nations, groups and individuals
refuse to turn swords into ploughshares,
turning on their brothers and sisters and upon you;
turning food and medicine into bombs and bullets.
We pray for legitimate armed forces,
for guerrilla forces and terrorist organisations
each caught in their own web of human conflict.

(silence)

We pray for civilian people drawn into suffering,
regardless of age, gender or faith;
for places where homes are destroyed,
citizens become refugees,
and casualties become statistics.

(silence)

We pray for humanitarian organisations
tending sick and injured,
restoring relationships,
rebuilding communities,
crossing political barriers.

(silence)

And we pray for each other,
as we recognise our own conflict situations,
in communities, churches and homes,
and the internal conflict of conscience and personality.

(silence)

To all of us you say:
'I come that all may have life in its fullness.'
'Peace be still.'
'Be still and know that I am God.'