Our prayers are for ourselves, our communities, but especially the Ukraine

Please join together in prayer reciting these prayers followed by 5 minutes of silent prayer. Then listen to the music at the end.

Almighty God

You are the Lord of all people and all nations.

We lift before you the current situation in Russia and Ukraine. We pray for Your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, so we pray for peace to come.

We pray that in this horrible situation people will call on Your name and know Your salvation power.

We pray for each girl and boy, each woman and man living in fear of what today and tomorrow might bring. May they know Your loving hand of protection and blessing on them.

We pray for our friends and people we know who have connections with Russia and Ukraine. We pray that they will know Your peace, strength and comfort at this time.

We pray for soldiers on both sides. May they look to You and call upon Your name. May they know Your presence, protect them, guide them. Lead them to put down their weapons and turn from this war, standing up for peace.

Even during such violence and aggression may Your love and peace come through and have victory. May Your light shine and breakthrough this darkness so that all will see Your goodness and power.

We pray for Putin and all the Russian leaders. Change their hearts from violence and aggression and lead them with great wisdom towards peace. You God can change any person and we pray that You do a transformation in their lives.

We pray for all leaders, of all nations. May they cry out to You for wisdom and guidance. May You grant them wisdom to make godly decisions and to respond in ways that will lead to peace and Your will being accomplished in these days.

We also pray that You will raise up leaders that will lead in ways that will demonstrate Your unfailing love throughout the world.

Nothing is impossible for You God, so we pray for Your supernatural power to cause things to happen, and we thank You for stories how You have protected some people.

We pray that at this time people will be treated equally. We especially think of Russian people throughout the world. We pray that people will demonstrate love towards them and not treat them with prejudice.

Finally, we pray for ourselves. Help us to demonstrate Your love in these times. Help us to share our faith and stand up for what is right. Help us to do practical things for those in need and teach us to pray in this situation. Give us a heart for all those in need and stir us to pray for a transformation to take place.

We lift all our prayers to a God who loves us and is able to do more than we can ask or imagine. In the name of Christ our Saviour.

Amen.

A prayer for Ukraine  

God of all,
with alarm and concern we bring before you
the military intervention in Ukraine.

In a world you made for peace and flourishing,
we lament the use of armed force.

We mourn every casualty of this conflict,
every precious life extinguished by war.
We pray comfort for those who grieve
and those who are fearful.

Hear our longing that leaders and nations
will honour the worth of all people
by having the courage
to resolve conflict through dialogue.

May all our human failings be transformed
by your wonderful grace and goodness.

We ask this in the name of Christ,
the author of peace and sustainer of Creation.
Amen.

Prayer for Hope

God of all time,
God of this time,
these times are difficult, and we bring them to you.
There have been other times like this when countries have invaded others.
You show us countries seized a village or settlement at a time and countries facing full invasion.
You reveal, when we dare to look, how national boundaries have changed like waves on the sand.
We feel so powerless; it all is so human and so tragic.
We bring it all to you in our confusion and worry.
Remind us, as ever, that worry is not what we must carry.
Remind us that worry makes us smaller, makes our powerlessness real.
Fill the place that worry has taken in our hearts and replace it with hope.
Give us courage to read the news as we can, to listen, to watch, to understand.
As we face the reality of these times, we pray for your hope to carry and fill us.
Let hope be the insight which we gift to each other.
Fill us with your knowledge that hope is as real an act as giving our money and our welcome.
You will bring peace, as ever you do.
Give us courage to gift your hope to that process.

In the name of your incarnated Christ and in the power and presence of Holy Spirit,
Amen

A prayer for Ukraine by The Church of Scotland Faith Impact Forum:-

The news can be difficult to listen to and to read.
When that news relates to faces we know
And to voices familiar to us,
It becomes all the harder to hear.
Lord God,
We ask you to hold the people of Ukraine deep in your heart.
Protect them, we pray;
From violence,
From political gamesmanship,
from being used and abused.
Give, we pray,
the nations of the world the courage
and the wisdom
to stand up for justice
and the courage too,
to dare to care – generously.
Lord in your mercy,
Take from us all,
The tendencies in us
That seek to lord it over others:
Take from us those traits
that see us pursuing our own needs and wants
before those of others.
Teach us how to live in love
And dignity
And respect – following your example.
In your name and for your sake,
Amen

Join us in prayers this evening. We pray to God giving thanks, coming before Him, praying for ourselves and others. We pray for the Ukraine.

For what is beyond, not invented or made up
Let us offer God our thanks and praise.

For thoughts and ways that are not ours,
Let us offer God our prayers and reflections.

For the love that loves first and shows us what love is
Let us offer God our fellowship and service.

For the light that shines from the face of Jesus Christ and enlightens every
human being.
All: Let us offer God our joy and worship.

Holy, holy, holy, God,
to You we come
rejoicing in who You are.
You are light and in You there is no darkness at all,
You are faithful and true and there is nothing false about You,
You have shown us how much You love us in Jesus Christ,
who became one of us and for our salvation.

Freely, gladly we bring ourselves to You.
Holy Spirit help us,
that with all that is within us,
we may bless Your holy name.

Living God, joyfully we find in Jesus what it means to be fully human.
You give us hope that one day we shall be like Him.
May all His sisters and brothers know fullness of life and God’s glory be seen.

Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer

We pray for people who are hungry or thirsty, in need of food and drink,
for strangers hoping for a welcome,
for people without proper clothing,
for those who are ill at home or in hospital,
and for people in prison and all affected by crime.

Lord, these are our sisters and brothers too,
help us to do what we can to care and to ensure adequate support.

Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer

We look to the day when all of creation will be set free from decay
to enter into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We pray for the climate crisis
that the world’s governments may not falter in their commitment to reduce global temperatures.
We pray for the work of NGOs, charities and faith groups
raising awareness, lobbying governments and garnering support.

Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer

Lord God, who has made it known that You love justice and equity,
we pray for a better sharing of the world’s resources,
for an end to poverty and inequality.
We remember the work of Christian Aid
working with some of the world’s poorest communities
and we pray for the work of Covax, the World Health Organisation’s body
tasked with the equitable sharing of vaccines.
You invite us to collaborate with You and our sisters and brothers
towards the day when Your kingdom is complete
and poverty and injustice will be no more.

Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer

Compassionate Christ,
as Your disciples did in Galilee,
as the men in the gospel did for their sons,
we bring to You now people we would ask You to bless,
in moments of quiet we pray for them.

Silence

Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer

Gracious God, as Lent approaches and we journey with Jesus towards the cross,
may we ever be aware of His glory.
Amen

PRAYER FOR UKRAINE

Loving God,
We pray for the people of Ukraine,
for all those suffering or afraid,
that you will be close to them and protect them.

We pray for world leaders,
for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices.

We pray for the world
that in this moment of crisis,
we may reach out in solidarity
to our brothers and sisters in need.

May we walk in your ways
so that peace and justice
become a reality for the people of Ukraine
and for all the world.

Amen.