When we are lost for words, prayers and laments like this one by Rev Jon Swales can help us express our heart’s desire to our Almighty God.
Father of Creation,
God of Peace,
The world has changed,
And so have our hearts,
As we face disappointment,
disorientation and distress
Not knowing what will happen next.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy.
Putin and the Masters of War
Have opened the door to the beasts of war,
And it may overwhelm us.
Who is like the beast?
Who can fight against it?
Yet our grief, anxiety and fear
is nothing compared to that faced
by ordinary people living in Ukraine.
So we pray for,
The brave and the scared,
The soldier and civilian,
The elderly and the newborn,
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy.
And so we pray for,
Those who have decided to fight,
Those who have decided to flee,
Those who resist but choose not to kill.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
And so we pray for
Those who this day will be wounded,
Those who this day will die,
Those who this day will mourn.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy
Father of Compassion,
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We look to you,
In a world at war,
For hope, healing and help,
For grace, goodness and guidance,
For the cessation of war and the flourishing of peace.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy.
Father of Peace,
God of Hope,
After crucifixion,
Your Son was laid silent in the grave,
And then you spoke and he was raised to life.
Violence does not win,
It will not have the last word,
Death does not win,
It will not have the last word.
In the reconciliation of all things,
War will be no more.
In the reconciliation of all things,
All tears will be wiped away.
In the reconciliation of all things,
There will be a tree for the healing of the nations.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy.
Hospody pomyluy, Господи помилуй
Christ have mercy.
Amen
To listen to this prayer being read by Rev Jon Swales, please click on the link below:
Lament and Hope: Prayers for Peace and Justice: A Prayer for Peace in Ukraine
You can find more laments, prayers and poems on the same podcast site, some are about the climate change disaster, some were in response to Covid, and there are more about the Ukraine as well.
Rev Jon Swales is Lighthouse Mission Priest (C of E) at Lighthouse West Yorkshire, which is is a fresh expression of church and registered Leeds-based charity which reaches out to those who are battered and bruised by the storms of life.