Baha¹i Peace Prayer

O Thou kind Lord! O Thou Who art generous and merciful! We are servants of Thy threshold and are gathered beneath the sheltering shadow of Thy divine unity. The sun of Thy mercy is shining upon all, and the clouds of Thy bounty shower upon all. Thy gifts encompass all, Thy loving providence sustains all, Thy protection overshadows all, and the glances of Thy favor are cast upon all.

O Lord! Grant Thine infinite bestowals, and let the light of Thy guidance shine. Illumine the eyes, gladden the hearts with abiding joy. Confer a new spirit upon all people and bestow upon them eternal life. Unlock the gates of true understanding and let the light of faith shine resplendent. Gather all people beneath the shadow of Thy bounty and cause them to unite in harmony, so that they may become as the rays of one sun, as the waves of one ocean, and as the fruit of one tree. May they drink from the same fountain. May they be refreshed by the same breeze. May they receive illumination from the same source of light. Thou art the Giver, the Merciful, the Omnipotent.

(Abdu¹l-Baha)

From the Baha¹i-literature

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity.

Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face.

Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge.

Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech.

Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men.

Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts.

Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive.

Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.

Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.

(Baha¹u¹llah)

Jewish Peace Prayer (Jonathan Magonet)

God of all creation, we stand in awe before You, impelled by visions of the harmony of humanity. We are children of many traditions - inheritors of shared wisdom and tragic misunderstandings, of proud hope and humble successes. Now is time for us to meet - in harmony and truth, in courage and trust, in love and promise.

In that what we share, let us see the common prayer of humanity; in that in which we differ, let us wonder at human freedom; in our unity and our differences, let us know the uniqueness that is God.

May our courage match our convictions, and our integrity match our hope. May our faith in You bring us closer to each other. May our meeting with past and present bring blessing for the future. Amen

Christian Peace Prayer

„O Lord of all, who inspires and blesses each effort made towards better understanding, mutual acceptance, and global solidarity, we thank you for the faith you have granted us, and for the efforts towards a just peace which have brought us here together.

Cleanse us and our religious traditions from every trace of narrowness and intolerance; bestow your spirit upon ever more people, especially the young, that they may join forces with all those who work for peace. Support them in developing, across all borders and beyond all selfish goals and interests, an awareness of the unity of the human family, and in establishing responsible community.

We beseech thee especially: grant us all the experience of deep faith, that we may be brought ever closer to thee, source of truthfulness and compassion. Plant in us a wideranging awareness of the unbearable burden of poverty borne by millions of our sisters and brothers, of the ever growing divide between North and South, and of the demonic striving for weapons of mass destruction.

Release in us a greater spirit of individual and social responsibility, so that the treasures of this earth may be used, not for the destruction of our planet, but in wise stewardship and a brightly shining flame of all-embracing love."

(Angelo Fernandez, Bishop of New Delhi, first President of Religions for Peace, Melbourne 1989)

Christian Peace Prayer in the spirit of Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Hindu Peace Prayer

This is my prayer to thee, my lord-strike, strike at the root of penury in my heart.

Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows.

Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service.

Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might.

Give me the strength to raise my mind high above daily trifles.

[Give me the strength to feel your presence in people from different cultures and religious traditions] and give me the strength to surrender my strength to thy will with love.

(According to Rigveda, Yajurveda und Atharvaveda und Rabindranath Tagore)

Muslim recitation of the Quran, Surah 3 (Al-Imran)

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

8 "Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower.

18 Allah witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and those of knowledge - [that He is] maintaining [creation] in justice. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

19 Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. ...

25 So how will it be when We assemble them for a Day about which there is no doubt? And each soul will be compensated [in full for] what it earned, and they will not be wronged.

26 Say, "O Allah , Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, You are over all things competent.

27 You cause the night to enter the day, and You cause the day to enter the night; and You bring the living out of the dead, and You bring the dead out of the living. And You give provision to whom You will without account."

Sikh Peace Prayer

(from holy book of the Sikhs -  Guru Granth Sahib)

The world is going up in flames,

please bestow thy mercy.

Save it, in any way you can.

The true Guru has shown the way to peace,

by contemplating the true Word, it is achieved.

Nanak knows no other than thee,

Who is forgiving, O my Lord.

In Your Mercy, You care for all beings and creatures.

You produce corn and water in abundance,

You eliminate pain and poverty, and carry all beings across.

The Great Giver has listened to my prayer,

 and the world has been cooled and comforted.

Take me into Your Embrace,

and take away all my pain.

Nanak meditates the Name of the Lord,

the House of God is fruitful and prosperous.