Global Prayers for Peace
In a world with much confusion and conflict where it feels there is nothing we can do or change, focusing our minds on what is good, lovely and peaceful is important. Many religious practices around the world provide an abundance of beautiful prayers for peace.
Praying for peace is not complicated or difficult. Just talk to God. We are pretty sure no matter what name you call God, your prayer is HEARD. There is wisdom in the old saying, “We do not have because we do not ask.” So ask. Ask for PEACE.
Ask for peace to be present in our lives and in the world. Wherever you are, set a reminder on your device for 1:02 so that you, too, can be part of the global movement of people praying for peace.
If you don’t know where to start or what to say in praying for peace, consider these prayers as a starting point.
Prayer for Peace
(St. Francis of Assisi)
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Loving-Kindness Prayer
(Adapted Tibetan Buddhist Version)
May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all beings never be separated from the sacred joy that is free from sorrow.
May all beings live in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.
Prayer for Peace in the World (Contemporary, from Siddur Lev Shalem)
May it be Your will, Adonai our God and God of our ancestors,
To put an end to war and bloodshed in the world,
And to draw into the hearts of all Your creatures
The spirit of compassion and peace.
Then shall nation not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.
And all who dwell on earth shall know
That we have not come into being to hate or destroy,
But to love, to build, and to bring peace to all living things.
Shalom Prayer
Grant peace, goodness, blessing, grace, loving kindness, and mercy to us and to all Israel.
Shinto Harmony Prayer
Let all beings live in harmony. Let our thoughts be true, our words sincere, our hearts at peace.
Hopi Prayer for Peace
Great Spirit and all unseen,
This day we pray and ask You for guidance,
Humble us so that we may walk with You
In harmony and peace.
Let all nations come together as one,
That we may understand
That we are all Your children.
Let the hearts of all people
Be open to peace, to love, and to understanding.
The Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim | Numbers 6:24–26)
May God bless you and keep you;
May God’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
May God’s face be lifted toward you and grant you peace.
Buddhist Metta Prayer
May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be free from suffering.
Shānti Mantra
(Universal Peace Invocation)
May all beings be happy.
May all be free from illness.
May all see goodness and auspiciousness.
May none suffer or be in sorrow.
Om, peace, peace, peace.
Iroquois Peace Prayer
We return thanks to our Mother, the Earth,
which sustains us.
We return thanks to the rivers and streams,
which supply us with water.
We return thanks to all herbs,
which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.
We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and squash,
which give us life.
We return thanks to the wind,
which moves the air and banishes diseases.
We return thanks to the moon and the stars,
which have given us their light when the sun was gone.
We return thanks to our Grandfather He-no,
who has given to us his rain.
We return thanks to the Great Spirit,
in whom is embodied all goodness,
and who directs all things for the good of His children.
Cherokee Peace Prayer
Let us know peace —
For as long as the moon shall rise,
For as long as the rivers shall flow,
For as long as the sun shall shine,
For as long as the grass shall grow —
Let us know peace.
Oseh Shalom
(The Maker of Peace)
May the One who makes peace in the heavens
Make peace for us and for all Israel, and upon all who dwell on earth
And let us say: Amen.
Lakota Peace Prayer
Grandfather, Great Spirit,
You have been always, and before You nothing has been.
There is no one to pray to but You.
The star nations all over the heavens are Yours,
And Yours are the grasses of the earth.
You are older than all need, older than all pain and prayer.
Teach me to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that live.
May I learn to see with the eyes of my heart.
May I bring peace to my people and to all nations.
Prayer of
St. John Chrysostom
(for Peace of Soul and the World)
Priest: Peace be unto all.
People: And to your spirit.
A Short Daily Orthodox Prayer for Peace (adapted)
Lord Jesus Christ, our true Peace,
Calm the storms within our hearts and between nations.
Let Thy Holy Spirit reconcile all who are divided,
Heal the wounds of hatred and fear,
And make us instruments of Thy mercy.
For Thou art our peace and our salvation,
To Thee be glory forever. Amen.
Priest’s Peace Blessing
(from the Divine Liturgy)
O Lord, deprive me not of Thy heavenly good things.
O Lord, deliver me from eternal torments.
O Lord, if I have sinned in mind or thought, in word or deed, forgive me.
O Lord, deliver me from all ignorance, forgetfulness, faintheartedness, and stony insensibility.
O Lord, grant me peace and stillness of soul, that I may serve Thee in purity and truth.
O Lord, grant me to love Thee with all my heart and to do Thy will in all things. Amen.
A beautiful private prayer often said before sleep or during times of anxiety.
Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
(Lenten Prayer for Inner Peace)
O Lord and Master of my life,
take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.
But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.
Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins
and not to judge my brother,
for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer for Peace
(from Vespers)
O Lord our God, Who hast given peace to men,
and sent down the gift of the Most Holy Spirit upon Thy disciples and apostles,
and through them didst grant peace to the whole world:
O Lover of mankind, grant us Thy peace, and forgive us all our sins,
for Thou art our peace, and we glorify Thee —
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
From the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great
Priest/Deacon: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
For the peace from above, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
For the peace of the whole world, for the good estate of the holy churches of God,
and for the union of all, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
For this holy house and for those who enter with faith, reverence, and the fear of God, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
The Great Litany (Litany of Peace)
Japanese Peace Prayer
Let all beings live in harmony. Let our thoughts be true, our words sincere, our hearts at peace.
Sahih Muslim 54
Spread peace among you.
Islamic Peace Greeting
Peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of Allah.
Hadith-based prayer recited after salah
O God, You are peace and from You comes peace.
Blessed are You, O Lord of Majesty and Honor.
Qur’anic Vision of Peace (Surah Al-Furqan 25:63)
And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk gently upon the earth,
and when the ignorant address them harshly, they respond with words of peace.
Duʿā’ for
Peace Among People
O Allah, make us keys for goodness and closers of evil.
O Allah, reconcile our hearts and guide us to the paths of peace.
Universal Peace Prayer
(Mahāyāna Tradition)
May all beings everywhere,
Plagued by sufferings of body and mind,
Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy.
May no living creature suffer,
Commit evil or fall ill.
May none be afraid or despised,
With a mind weighed down by sorrow.
May perfect peace reign in every heart and world.
May all beings awaken and be free.
Metta Bhavana
(Loving-Kindness Prayer–Theravāda Tradition)
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be free from enmity.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings live in peace and joy.
May all beings take care of themselves happily.
Shānti Pāṭha
(from the Yajur Veda)
May peace radiate in the heavens,
Peace reign in the sky and on earth,
Peace flow in the waters and herbs,
Peace be in the trees and all beings,
Peace in the gods, and peace in the entire cosmos.
May peace alone prevail everywhere.
Pope Benedict XV (1914) Prayer for Peace
Dismayed by the horrors of war which bring ruin to peoples and nations, we turn, O Jesus, to Thy most loving heart as to our last hope • . . O King of Peace, we humbly implore the peace for which we long. From Thy Sacred Heart Thou didst send forth over the world divine charity, so that discord might end and love alone reign among men . . . Do Thou inspire rulers and people with counsels of meekness, do Thou heal the discords that tear the nations asunder ... And as once before to the cry . . . ‘Save us, Lord, we perish,’ Thou didst answer with words of mercy, and didst still the raging waves, do now deign to hear our trustful prayer, and give the world peace and tranquility.” No King is saved by a great army nor shall a giant be saved by the abundance of his strength. ... Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will call upon the name of Lord Our God.
John Paul II
Prayer for Peace
O God, Creator of the universe, who extends your paternal concern over every creature and guides the events of history to the goal of salvation, we acknowledge your fatherly love when you break the resistance of mankind and, in a world torn by strife and discord, you make us ready for reconciliation.
Renew for us the wonders of your mercy: send forth your Spirit that He may work in the intimacy of hearts, that enemies may begin to dialogue, that adversaries may shake hands and peoples may encounter one another in harmony.
May all commit themselves to the sincere search for true peace which will extinguish all arguments, for charity which overcomes hatred, for pardon which disarms revenge.
Amen.
Pope Saint John XXIII
Prayer for Peace
Lord Jesus Christ, who are called the Prince of Peace, who are yourself our peace and reconciliation, who so often said, “Peace to you,” grant us peace.
Make all men and women witnesses of truth, justice, and brotherly love. Banish from their hearts whatever might endanger peace.
Enlighten our rulers that they may guarantee and defend the great gift of peace.
May all peoples of the earth become as brothers and sisters. May longed-for peace blossom forth and reign always over us all.
Jeremiah 29:11
I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord;
they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope.