Refuge, peace, and comfort is found in many prayers from religions around the world. I find comfort in knowing as I continue to pray for the world through this pandemic, others are praying, too. I’ve chosen a few of the religions I have studied in this semester’s course and share a sample of prayers, in their belief, asking for peace. While we don’t have all the answers and so many argue over the pandemic, prayers brings peace and comfort to my soul. Seeking peace, extending grace and mercy to those in our community-locally and globally-keeps our hearts and minds focused on God as we ask for guidance to live out the days in honor of the Sacred.
Judaism
I have been praying for this day and now it is here!
With great excitement, a touch of trepidation
And with deep gratitude
I give thanks
To all the scientists who toiled day and night
So that I might receive this tiny vaccination
That will protect me and all souls around this world.
With the pandemic still raging
I am blessed to do my part to defeat it.
Let this be the beginning of a new day,
A new time of hope, of joy, of freedom
And most of all, of health.
I thank You, God, for blessing me with life
For sustaining my life
And for enabling me to reach this awe-filled moment.
Amen
This prayer was offered by Rabbi Naomi Levy and can be found at Rabbinical Assemly.org
Islam
Divine Blessing (Hindu Tradition)
Lord, if we offer You a devoted mind and heart,
You will offer to us every blessing on earth and in heaven.
You grant our deepest wishes. You give food to the body and peace to the soul.
You look upon us with love of a mother for her children.
You created this beautiful earth all around us.
And in every plant and animal, every tree and bird,
Your spirit dwells.
You have revealed yourself to me,
infusing my soul with the knowledge that You are the source of all blessing.
And so I sing Your praises day and night. I who am feeble, glorify You who are powerful. I who am nothing, devote myself to You who are everything.
Prayer for Peace (Jain Tradition)
Lead me from Death to Life, from Falsehood to Truth.
Lead me from Despair to hope, from Fear to Trust.
Lead me from Hate to Love, from War to Peace.
Let Peace fill our Heart, our World, our Universe.
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. May those who find themselves in trackless,
Fearful wildernesses – the children, the aged,
The unprotected – be guarded by beneficent celestials.
Shinto
Ema are a small wooden prayer plaques. Shinto worshippers pray silently and write their prayers or wishes on them, then they are hung at the shrine, where the gods are believed to receive them. Below is a picture of the Ema surrounding the tree and a woman praying.
With 2020 being a year like no other in my lifetime, my foundation of faith has been the truth I turn to time and time again as I see stability in a world where social media, politics, and hate vie for the limited attention of its following. Prayer, education, and trying to walk daily what I believe has been the most positive in this very negative time in our world. I do feel, differences in beliefs aside, that the prayer of a faithful heart brings much to our world.
Linda Safford 