There are people from every religion who believe in peace. There are prayers that are part of every culture, every religion that are lifted up for the cause of peace.

Zorastrrian prayer for peace:
“We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the world; that understanding triumph over ignorance, that generosity triumph over indifference, that trust triumph over contempt and that truth triumph over falsehood.”

A Jewish prayer for peace
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that we may walk the paths of the Most High, and we shall beat our swords into ploughshares, and our spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall we learn war anymore. And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.”

A Baha’l Prayer for Peace
“Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness and a home for a stranger. Be eyes unto the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart, and a fruit upon the tree of humility.”

A Sikh Prayer for Peace
“God adjudges us according to our deeds, not the coat that we wear; that Truth is above everything, but higher still is truthful living. Know that we attain God when we love and only that victory endures in consequence of which no one is defeated.”

A Hindu Prayer for Peace

O God, lead us from the unreal into the real.

O God, lead us from darkness into light.

O God, lead us from death to immorality.

Peace, peace, peace unto all.”

A Buddhist Prayer for Peace
” May all being everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind quickly be freed from their illnesses. May those frightened cease to be afraid. and may those bound be free. May the powerless find power, and may people find themselves in trackless, fearful wilderness- the children, the aged, the unprotected, be guarded by beneficent celestials. And may they swiftly attain Buddhahood..

A Sufi Prayer For Peace

“Send Thy peace, O Lord, which is perfect and everlasting, that our souls may radiate peace.
Send Thy peace, O Lord, that we may think, act, and speak harmoniously.
Send They peace, O Lord, that we may be contented and thankful for They bountiful gifts.
Send Thy peace, O Lord, that amidst our worldly strife we may enjoy Thy bliss.
Send Thy peace, O Lord, that we may endure all, tolerate all in the thought of Thy grace and mercy.
Send Thy peace, O Lord,that our lives may become a divine vision, and in Thy light all darkness may vanish.
Send Thy peace, O Lord, Our Father and Mother; that we Thy children on earth may all unite in our personhood.”

Each spiritual path leads us to the Divinity. A different facet of Divinity. Does it have to look like the people around us, is Divinity energy, is it all-powerful, does it love us and want to experience life through us? Wherever in this great big world we live in, let us understand that there is One World, One Life and One Love. Let us each do all we can to remember this each day; that we all want the same peaceful world. And may that peace come to all countries and religions and races. May we learn to love the way we are loved by Divinity. May we not see anything besides Divinity within each other and may we build a peaceful world where love is all.

Photo by Barbara Mattio