Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

Below are some points that you can pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

God of Comfort
send your Spirit to encompass all those whose lives are torn apart by violence and death in Israel and Palestine.
You are the Advocate of the oppressed and the One whose eye is on the sparrow.
Let arms reach out in healing, rather than aggression.
Let hearts mourn rather than militarize.

God of Justice
Give strength to those whose long work for a just peace might seem fruitless now.
Strengthen their resolve.
Do not let them feel alone. Show us how to support their work and bolster their courage.
Guide religious leaders to model unity and reconciliation across lines of division.
Guide political leaders to listen with their hearts as they seek peace and pursue it.
Help all people choose the rigorous path of just peace and disavow violence.

God of Love
We lift up Palestine and Israel — its people, its land, its creatures.
War is a monster that consumes everything in its path.
Let us burn incense, not children. Let us break bread, not bodies.
Let us plant olive groves, not cemeteries.
We beg for love and compassion to prevail on all your holy mountains.

God of Hope
We lift up the cities of the region: Gaza City and Tel Aviv,
Ramallah and Ashkelon, Deir El Balah and Sderot, so long divided, yet so filled with life and creativity.
Come again to breathe peace on your peoples that all may recognize you.

God of Mercy
Even now work on the hearts of combatants to choose life over death, reconciliation over retaliation,
restoration over destruction. Help us resist antisemitism in all its forms, especially in our own churches.
All people, Israelis and Palestinians, deserve to live in peace and unafraid, with a right to determine their future together.

God of the Nations
Let not one more child or elder be sacrificed on altars of political expediency.
Keep safe all people from unjust leaders who would exploit vulnerability for their own distorted ends.
Give wise discernment to those making decisions to pursue peace.
Provide them insight into fostering well-being, freedom, and thriving for all.
Teach all of us to resolve injustices with righteousness, not rockets.
Guard our hearts against retaliation, and give us hearts for love alone.
Strengthen our faith in you, O God of All Flesh, even when we don’t have clear answers,
so that we may still offer ourselves nonviolently for the cause of peace.