Daily Prayer for Peace
1:00 p.m.
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Guinea - Bissau
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more about Guinea - Bissau?
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Gathering in Silence
Call to Prayer
Lighting of CandleInvitation |
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Welcome today to this sacred
place. Each day in this Temple dedicated to the pursuit of peace, we
pray to God for peace in our world. In addition, each day we pray for a
different country.
Today we will hold up the people of Guinea-Bissau in our prayers.
Located in western Africa, guerrilla warfare liberated a mix of ethnic
groups from Portuguese rule in 1974. In 1994 Guinea-Bissau’s first
multiparty elections were held. An army uprising four years later led to
a civil war, which caused severe damage to the nation's infrastructure.
Political instability continued with a military coup in 2003.
Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its
crippled economy, devastated in the civil war. Guinea-Bissau is among
the world's least developed countries, with most people engaged in
subsistence agriculture and fishing—cashew nuts are the main export
crop. Development of agriculture is now a top priority; petroleum,
bauxite, and timber are potential foreign exchange earners.
As we worship together, let us unite as one and pray for peace with
justice in our world. The author of peace, even our God of wisdom and
light, will guide us. |
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| Scripture Reading: Doctrine and Covenants 161:3a
& c |
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Open your hearts and feel the yearnings of
your bothers and sisters who are lonely, despised, fearful, neglected,
unloved. Reach out in understanding, clasp their hands, and invite all
to share in the blessings of community created in the name of the One
who suffered on behalf of all.
Be patient with one another, for creating sacred community is arduous,
and even painful. But it is to loving community such as this that each
is called. Be courageous and visionary, believing in the power of just a
few vibrant witnesses to transform the world. Be assured that love will
overcome the voices of fear, division, and deceit. |
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Prayer for Peace by Helen Lents, Independence,
Missouri |
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Gracious Lord, our hearts ache and hunger for peace in
our troubled world. We come to Thee this day humbled by the little we
seem able to do to initiate changes of any significance in the midst of
the hatred and violence surrounding us and influencing the actions of so
many. There is a need for our understanding that small steps of
consistent effort result in great strides as we seek for and respond to
Thy guidance in our human and environmental relationships.
Help us, Heavenly Parent, to be sustained in hope that, as one writer
has said, “sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the
impossible.” May we remember the Scriptural promise that when we are
willing to forsake all things for His sake, we will have the knowledge
and assurance that with God all things are possible.
We desire to move forward in the small steps of our own unique
giftedness to witness of Thy love and to reflect the joy to be found in
living peaceably, appreciating the value and worth of each person’s
life. The blessings we receive call us to spend ourselves in being a
blessing to others as the struggle for a peaceful world continues. May
we fulfill our opportunity to join with all who strive to be
peacemakers. Our desire to be joined our human endeavors with the call
of the Great Peacemaker, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. |
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Hymn - Here, O Lord, Your Servants Gather -
Sing for Peace #29 |
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Prayers of the People
Please join us now, praying the Prayers of the People. During the
moments of silence, you are invited to pray silently or meditate. |
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We thank you and praise you, God, for all the blessings
of this life. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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We confess to you our shortcomings. In your compassion forgive our sins,
known and unknown, things done or left undone. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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We pray for peace among the nations of the world, and in particular we
ask your blessing on the people of Guinea Bissau this day. They struggle
to become a nation of peace. Be with them and guide them, we pray. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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We pray for the just and equitable use of the resources of your earth.
May all peoples be wise partakers of your bounties. We pray for persons
in pursuit of their daily livelihood. May they know peace and be able to
joyfully celebrate the present day. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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We pray for the personal concerns of those
gathered here this day. We hold our needs up
to you, and ask for guidance. |
| The People Pray in Silence |
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Please use this space to pray for any
current concern or event in our community, city, state, nation or world
that you feel needs to be held up to God for prayerful consideration.
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| The People Pray in Silence |
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Hear our prayer, O God. Today we offer ourselves as instruments of your
peace. Amen. |
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| Sending Forth |
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We conclude our service today with Ministry of Music.
You are invited to remain to pray or meditate in the quiet of this place
for as long as you may wish.
May the God of Abraham and Sarah, the God of Lehi and Nephi, the God of
Jesus the Christ, guard you and guide you, as we strive to be
peacemakers and peacekeepers in this world. Amen. |
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| Ministry of Music |
