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The text in this book was first published by Watkins Publishing Limited in Prayer for the Day in 2014.

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World War I became known as ‘The war to end all wars’. Alas, this statement proved to be somewhat optimistic, as just 21 years after the armistice, World War II was declared. Since the end of that conflict in 1945 there has been a series of wars throughout the world and thousands of people, both combatants and unarmed civilians, have lost their lives. Today, some would argue, we have entered World War III, which presents a very different way of fighting. Instead of massive armies facing each other on the battlefield, we witness all over the globe relatively small groups of people causing death and destruction around them. Peace in the world appears to be as elusive today as it ever was.

Yet peace means more than the absence of conflict between warring parties. It also refers to a state of harmony within individuals. Human beings live with the conflicting forces around them and also with those within. The major religions of the world describe in their own ways the inner struggle between light and darkness, positive and negative, good and evil. Many would also teach that, in searching for peace in the world, one must first of all strive for inner harmony.

The road to building peace in our lives is complex, involving at one level a deeply personal inner journey and, at another, grappling with social, economic, cultural and religious differences in order to experience social harmony. It implies a lifelong process at both levels.

One of the purposes of prayer and meditation is to calm and focus hearts and minds. This collection of reflections illustrates how people from different backgrounds have attempted to do just that through the use of language. In common with music, language has the capacity to breathe harmony into the soul.

The contemporary composer Karl Jenkins has utilized both words and music to express the horrors of warfare in his work The Armed Man, and the search for reconciliation in a subsequent composition, The Peacemakers. The following words, which I wrote for The Peacemakers, are an attempt to capture in a concise form something of the elusive nature of peace.

Peace is a reconciling
Of opposites.
Peace is rooted in love,
It lies in the heart,
Waiting to be nourished,
Blossom
And flourish,
Until it embraces the world.

May we know the harmony of peace,
May we sing the harmony of peace,
Until in the last of days,
We rest in peace.

Unity between the various faith traditions has a long way to go but, as this volume shows, each has a desire to experience peace in its fullness. It is essential for the wellbeing of all that these desires are made known and hopefully realized.

Terry Waite CBE became known as a peacemaker in the 1980s for the service he performed as hostage negotiator in the Middle East, while envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was himself taken prisoner in Lebanon in 1987 and endured 1,763 days of captivity. Since that time he has dedicated himself to writing, lecturing and humanitarian work on behalf of a number of charities.

We don’t always appreciate just how blessed we are. Distracted by the day-to-day demands of life, it’s easy to slip into a spiritual daze, missing the wonders of creation and the love that’s offered to us by others and by God. Or we might be so overwhelmed by life’s struggles, especially at times of sorrow and hardship, that we neglect the inner resources of courage and patience to which faith can open our hearts. The following prayers help awaken us to the immense privilege of being alive, to the relationships we so often take for granted, and to all the good things the world has to offer.

Bishop Angaelos was consecrated a monk in 1990 and served as Papal Secretary until 1995. He is General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK. Active ecumenically, he works extensively in inter-religious relations, youth, advocacy and development work in Britain and internationally.

Many Christians struggle to seize opportunities to make the love of God tangible in their lives and the lives of those around them. We look at ourselves and sometimes see only weakness, feeling we have nothing to give. Orthodox Christians, of course, can feel especially powerless when we think of family and friends caught up in parts of the Middle East. Yet if we look closely, we have an abundance of gifts that we can share with others, here and far away.

In chapter 6 of the Gospel of St John, the Lord prays for his disciples, saying: ‘I have made you known to those You have given Me out of the world . . .’ As Christ reveals the Father to humanity, we too are called to do the same with one another. This can be realized in the way that we interact, and how we react to each other’s pain and celebration.

How often do we ask about each other, how interested are we in others’ lives and experiences? Do we give others love, importance and priority? Do we have time for one another in our fast-paced and ever-changing world, or do we get caught up in the daily routine and social networks that have now almost become our primary means of communication?

As Orthodox Christians, we believe that setting aside time in our busy schedules to sanctify our thoughts, actions and selves through contemplation and interaction with God will lead us to share the love and joy that we have freely received from Him.

Lord, may we bring joy to
Your heart in sharing Your presence
and love, giving freely to one another
as we have received from You,
expecting nothing in return.
Amen.

George Craig

On looking toward the wider horizon

BROADCAST: FRIDAY 11 JANUARY 2008

George Craig is a retired senior civil servant, and a Methodist local preacher in Cardiff.

The first time we took my younger son to a beach, the walk from the car park took a very long time. The trouble was that he was terribly excited about using his new bucket and spade and every patch of sand we came to on the path seemed to him like journey’s end. We told him there was more to come, but he was pretty happy where he was and didn’t see any need to move on. Left to himself he’d have spent a happy afternoon digging on a grubby path, never seeing the real beach, and not have minded in the least.

Many of us who have embarked on the journey of faith have very similar experiences. I’m sure I’m not the only person who has been reluctant to accept that the experience of God that I’ve been comfortable with for years may not be the whole story.

We may experience a particular form of faith and we settle down to enjoy it, oblivious of the fact that there is much more, further on – and sometimes deeply suspicious and resentful of those who try to tell us about it. It can feel as if they’re questioning the reality of our faith. So we don’t listen.

And that’s a pity, because God does not call us to a life spent sitting comfortably where we first met Him. He constantly calls us on to bigger and better things. He always has more for us to discover about Him, more for us to do for Him, but, above all, more for us to enjoy in Him.