Loving God,
The burden of war is a heavy burden to carry;
we pray for those weighed down by warfare.
We pray for those caught up in the turmoil,
in the fear, in the danger, and in the stress.
We pray for parents and children sheltering.
We pray for people in the heat of combat.
We pray for the vulnerable and marginalized.
We pray for those without the medication essential to their health
and for those denied food.
We pray for all who, exposed to the horrors of war, suffer in mind and body.
The burden of war is a heavy burden to carry.
We pray for those weighed down by warfare;
we pray for those who must leave home and family
to escape the conflict.
We pray for those who travel to family or friends abroad.
We pray for those who find a welcoming place to stay for a while.
We pray for refugees, for those who will never be able to return to their home,
in all the loss, in all the pain, in all the heartache.
We pray for those separated from their loved ones, and for those
who do not know where their loved ones are.
The burden of war is a heavy burden to carry;
we pray for those weighed down by warfare.
We pray for those who search for peace.
We pray for national leaders in whose hands are life and death,
that the loss suffered by so many may be
measured against any powerful gains.
We pray for the peacemakers as they struggle to get parties
to the conflict to listen to one another and to talk to each other.
We acknowledge that by contacting power persons,
by demonstrating, and by prayer, we may hasten the way of peace.
The burden of war is a heavy burden to carry.
Loving God,
In your strength we face the reality of war with courage,
with your patience we help the war-torn compassionately,
through your peace we witness old conflicts ended
and new beginnings bud and bloom,
through your peace we envision an end to all wars. Amen

―David Sparks