Prayers of the People: A Litany Against Violence
compiled by Dr. Jason Myers
During the season of Lent, we will spend time in our Prayers of the People acknowledging corporate sins in our world of which we need repentance and amendment of life. Today’s prayer is a lament against violence and we’re reminded from our Gospel reading in Luke today of the violence Jesus experienced and how those who sought to commit and did commit violence against him.
Lament Against Violence
O Holy God, like Isaiah the prophet we stand in awe of your glory, feeling tremendously small and polluted by our sin, and the sin of our society. We lament the violence that deeply marks our world. Violence entered creation through Cain and Abel. Born of jealousy, rooted in fear of scarcity, Brother turned against brother The soil soaked with blood, Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper? Help us to know your presence wherever there is suffering in our world. Help us to hear and respond to our brothers and sisters who cry out.
Oh Good and Just God, aware of our own brokenness, we ask for the gift of courage to identify how and where we are in need of conviction in order to live in solidarity with all the people of the earth.
Lord in your mercy, Hear Our Prayer
Deliver us from the violence of superiority and disdain. Grant us the desire, and the humility, to listen with special care to those whose experiences and attitudes are different from our own.
Lord in your mercy, Hear Our Prayer
We lament the terror attack in Christchurch, NZ where 49 were killed in an act of religious violence. We grapple with the ever-increasing reality of terror and hate. We pray for the families and friends who grieve the loss of their loved ones, for the families and friends of those wounded as they begin the long road toward recovery. Let our love for God and our love for neighbor be demonstrated with every word and with every action.
Lord in your mercy, Hear Our Prayer
Deliver us from the violence of greed and privilege. Grant us the desire, and the will, to live simply so others may have their just share of Earth's resources.
Lord in your mercy, Hear Our Prayer
Deliver us from the silence that gives consent to abuse, war, and evil.
Grant us the desire, and the courage, to risk speaking and acting for the common good.
Lord in your mercy, Hear Our Prayer
Deliver us from the violence of irreverence, exploitation, and control.
Grant us the desire, and the strength, to act responsibly within the cycle of creation.
Lord in your mercy, Hear Our Prayer
God in whose image we are made, many are devalued across the globe. Help us to affirm their gifts and personhood, as they are beautifully and wonderfully created. Spare them from sexual harassment, molestation, and ritual abuse. Defend them from violent crimes, being kept in captivity, and atrocities of war, and help us to love and respect them as a part of your good creation.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
God, we bring before you all survivors of sexual misconduct and abuse who are seeking courage and healing, who have been hurt by the abuse of power and exploitation in relationships. We grieve the violence done against them in the world and tragically in the church. We have not protected your people. In the pain of broken trust and shattered lives, In the grief for all that has been lost. Lord, heal and restore those survivors of sexual misconduct and abuse and give courage to seek you.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of true power, be with all our systems of justice and those who have been entrusted with authority over others. Guide all police officers, attorneys, judges, lawmakers, and religious leaders in the decisions they make and the counsel they give. Fill them with your compassion and keep them from abuse of power.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of love, mercy, and justice. We as a church lament our complicity in those attitudes, actions, and words which perpetuate violence, we beg for the grace of a non-violent heart.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever.
Amen.
