Happy 4th of July~

I know we're supposed to celebrate the freedoms we inherited from the forefathers of the United States, however, on this day the sound of fire crackers sound hollow when you know there is something so very wrong happening in the world, right now. So, I offer these reflections...

Prayers for Peace
A selection of prayers from various religious traditions.



A Native American Prayer for Peace
O Great Spirit of our Ancestors... Give us the wisdom
to teach our children to love, to respect, and to be kind to
each other so that they may grow with peace in mind.
Let us learn to share all the good things that you provide
for us on this Earth.

A Christian Prayer for Peace
But I say to you that hear, love your enemies, do good to
those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, pray for
those who abuse you. Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they shall be called the sons and daughters of God.

A Muslim Prayer for Peace
In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created
us and made us into tribes and nations that we may
know each other, not that we may despise each other.

A Jewish Prayer for Peace
Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that we
may walk the paths of the Most High. And we shall beat
our swords into plowshares, and our spears into pruning
hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.
Neither shall they learn war anymore. And none shall be afraid.

A Buddhist Prayer for Peace
May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings
of body and mind quickly be freed from their illness.
May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may those
bound be free. May the powerless find power, and
may people think of befriending one another.

A Hindu Prayer for Peace
O God, lead us from the unreal to the Real.
O God, lead us from darkness to light.
O God, lead us from death to immortality.
Shanti, Shanti,
Shanti unto all.

A Jainist Prayer for Peace
Do not injure any living being. This is the eternal,
perennial, and unalterable way of spiritual life.
Forgive do I creatures all, and let all creatures forgive me.
Unto all have I amity, and unto none enmity.

A Baha'i Prayer for Peace
Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity...
be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness and a home
to the stranger. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light
unto the feet of the erring. Be a breath of life to the body
of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart, and
a fruit upon the tree of humility.

A Sikh Prayer for Peace
We attain God when we love, and only that victory
endures in consequences of which no one is defeated.

A Zoroastrian Prayer for Peace
We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the world:
that understanding triumph over ignorance, that
generosity triumph over indifference, that trust triumph
over contempt, and that truth triumph over falsehood.

A Shinto Prayer for Peace
Although the people living across the ocean surrounding
us, I believe all are our brothers and sisters, Why are
there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and
waves rise in the oceans surrounding us? I only earnestly
wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds
which are hanging over the tops of mountains.



I found this at belief.net