Prayer For The Armed Forces
Lord God, Almighty Father,
creator of mankind and author of peace,
as we are ever mindful of the cost paid for the liberty we possess,
we ask you to bless the members of our armed forces.
Give them courage, hope and strength.
May they ever experience your firm support, gentle love and compassionate healing.
Be their power and protector, leading them from darkness to light.
To you be all glory, honor and praise, now and forever.
Amen.
Almighty God,
in you alone we find safety and peace.
We commend to your gracious keeping
all the men and women who serve in the Navy, the Army, or the Air Force,
who face danger and put their lives at risk so that others might live in safety.
Defend them day by day by your heavenly power;
and help them to know that they can never pass beyond the reach of your care.
Keep alive in them and in us your vision of that peace
which alone we must seek and serve;
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Lord our God,
our sure stronghold,
hear the voice of our pleading
and deliver us from evil.
Strengthen us as we strive for the poor and oppressed,
and establish your justice in all the earth.
Amen
Almighty God,
stretch forth your mighty arm
to strengthen and protect the armed forces:
grant that meeting danger with courage
and all occasions with discipline and loyalty,
they may truly serve the cause of justice and peace;
to the honour of your holy name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
O Lord God of Hosts,
stretch forth, we pray, your almighty arm
to strengthen and protect our service men and women.
Support them in times of conflict,
and in their rest and training keep them safe from all evil;
endue them with courage and loyalty;
and grant that in all things they may serve without reproach;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Heavenly Father,
we commend to your gracious care and keeping
all the men and women in our Armed Forces at home and abroad.
Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace;
strengthen them in their trials and temptations;
and give them courage to face the perils that beset them;
and help them to know that nothing can separate them from your love;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Lord of the nations,
we honour the bravery and sacrifice of those who served.
Grant us similar courage to recognise and restrain evil in our own day,
and may those who lead the nations of the world
work together to defend human liberty,
that we may live peaceably one with another.
This we ask in the name of the Prince of Peace,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Almighty God, Lord of Hosts, we call out to you as the One who is sovereign over all. Watch over and protect our nation's military members and their families. Sustain them with your everlasting arms.
Take into your most gracious protection our service members currently deployed. May you be their comfort and their guide as they live and walk in a foreign land. Give them reassurance that you are a shield around them, an ever-present help in time of need. Grant our service members courage so that in all things they may serve without reproach. Encourage them while they also encourage one another.
As they serve around the world, we ask that you guard their families and loved ones back home. Provide them with peace and surround them with love as they mourn the absence of their loved one and long for their return. May they find hope and strength in you for the trials of each new day. Be with military children who endure the difficult burden of knowing their father or mother is in harm's way for months on end. Guard these children's hearts and minds despite the loneliness and uncertainty of having a parent deployed.
Lord God, be with marriages in the military. Preserve the bonds of husband and wife despite the stress that military life brings, stress only compounded by the decade of war our nation is in. Help military chaplains in their efforts to equip military marriages with ways to stay connected and communicate effectively despite the challenge of frequent deployments. Give husbands and wives strength and resilience to endure separations, frequent moves, and all the uncertainty military life brings.
For some, Lord, service takes their toll permanently in physical and emotional damage. For those wounded in battle, we pray you would come beside them.. Sustain and strengthen them amidst treatment, pain, and adjustments to life with an injury. Help them to find competent care and support, and to not be afraid to reach out for a helping hand or a listening ear. Be with their caregivers in the demanding role they have. Give caregivers renewed energy to offer support and love as they tend to the needs of the injured. Strengthen them as they both monitor and advocate for their loved one.
We know that war is very costly. Some have made the ultimate sacrifice, laying down their precious lives in service to our nation. Each one of them was a son or daughter, perhaps a husband or wife, father or mother. For all those who feel the pain and the toll of this war in the loss of their loved one, comfort them. Be a father to the fatherless and defender of widows. As they cast their cares on you, may they know the consolation of your love. We thank you for the freedoms these service members fought for which we enjoy today.
For each and every veteran who has served our country through the years, we thank you for their sacrifice. Comfort those who struggle in life after war. Help us to honor and care for those who have given so much for us.
Be with our nation's leaders as well, and all those who make decisions for our military. Give them wisdom and discernment in everything they do.
Father God, we long for the day when swords will be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. We long for your peace, for your shalom.
In Christ's name we pray, Amen.