Prayers for Peace

Origin of the Prayers of Peace

“At the invitation of Pope John Paul II, the religious leaders of the world assembled for the first time in history to Pray Peace on earth. The Sacred Office of Peace is comprised of the prayers handed down on the Day of Prayer for the World in Assisi, Italy, on October 27, United Nations International Year of Peace 1986.

Hindu Prayer for Peace

Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real.
Oh God, lead us from darkness to light.
Oh God, lead us from death to immortality.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all.

O Lord God Almighty may there be peace in Celestial regions.
May there be peace on earth.
May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome, and may trees and plants bring peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring peace to us.
May thy Vedic Law propagate peace all through the world.

May all things be a source of peace to us.
And may thy peace itself bestow peace on all.
And may that peace come to me also.


Buddhist Prayer for Peace
May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind
quickly be freed from their illnesses.
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.
May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wildernesses
– the children, the aged, the unprotected
– be guarded by beneficent celestials,
and may they quickly attain Buddha hood.

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.

Jainist Prayer for Peace

Peace and Universal Love is the essence of the Gospel
preached by all the Enlightened Ones.
The Lord has preached that equanimity is the Dharma.
Forgive do I, creatures all,
and let all creatures forgive me.
Unto all have I amity, and unto none enmity.
Know that violence is the root cause of all miseries in the world.
Violence in fact, is the knot of bondage.
“Do not injure any living being.”
This is the eternal, perennial, and unalterable
way of spiritual life.

A weapon, howsoever powerful it may be,
can always be superseded by a superior one;
but no weapon can, however,
be superior to non-violence and love.


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 ploughshares,
and our spears into pruning hooks.
Nations shall not lift up sword against nation
– neither shall they learn war any more.
And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.

Shinto Prayer for Peace

Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe, are all our brothers and sisters, why are there constant troubles in this world?

Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us?
I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.


Native African Prayer for Peace
Almighty God, the Great Thumb
we cannot evade to tie any knot:
The Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees;
the all-seeing Lord up on high who sees
even the footprints of an antelope on a rock mass here on earth.
You are the one who does not hesitate to respond to our call.
You are the cornerstone of peace.

Native American Prayer for Peace

O Great spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you;
To your messengers in the four winds, and
to Mother Earth who provides for your children.
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 good things that you provide for us on this Earth.


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.
If the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace, and trust God, for the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God, most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in Humility, and when we address them, we say “PEACE.”

The Baha’i Prayer for Peace
Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity.
Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech.
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 upon the soil of the human heart, and a fruit upon the tree of humility.

Sikh Prayer for Peace
God adjudges us according to our deeds, not the clothes that we wear;
That truth is above everything, but higher still is truthful living.
Know that we attain God when we love, and only that victory endures in consequences of which no one is defeated.

Christian Prayer for Peace
Blessed are the Peacemakers
for they shall be known as the Children of God.
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.
To those who strike you on the cheek offer the other also, and from those who take away your cloak, do not withhold your coat as well.
Give to everyone who begs from you, and of those who take away your goods, do not ask them again.
And as you wish that others would to do you,
do so to them.

Thank you to James Twyman for providing this for us. (James has also put these to music)