These two are a sample of over 100 publicly-delivered prayers by American priests, ministers and rabbis during the time of war. All can be read on this website. Read for inspiration, or use all or part as a resource for your own prayers. Please scroll down a ways for links at WWII prayer paragraphs.
“Dear Father in Heaven, we come to Thee seeking peace amidst the sound of crashing empires; seeking certainty in the midst of a changing order. In our world there is so much hate and cruel ambition which spur men on to God-less greed; and nations to unholy conquest. Grant us that, through our confidence in Thee, we may find calmness of soul and courage to help bring in the brotherhood of man and a just and durable peace. In Jesus’ name. Amen”–offered by Rev. Cecil C. Carpenter, Central Christian Church, Peoria, IL, 1943.
MILITARY PRAYERS YOU CAN USE -- Written by Clif Moberg
1.) God of our liberties. You have given strength and know-how that permits us to be a champion of freedom where aberrant forces of evil can otherwise flourish. When such leaders invade or cause their own people to have unimaginable sufferings, You do not permit them a victory for their purpose. Angels you send to fight on our behalf, while we fight for human decency and liberty as our elected President directs. Wisdom for public officials and courage for us to be your continuing servants towards keeping hope alive is what we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
2.) Heavenly Father. Lighten this load from time to time when the hours for combat have ceased. Create again vivid memories for us of cherished times with dear ones and kind words of home. May we have the assurance of their prayers on our behalf and know that God permits loss of our lives only as it meets His purpose for America. Give to us trust that our service pleases you as we obey orders given, and speed that day when we can walk our streets again and those smiles of home be commonplace once more. Help us in honoring their love by giving to each soldier our devotion to duty. In God’s name we pray. Amen.
3.) Most merciful God. You are perfection, while we must struggle if without Your guidance. Identify what is the righteous cause for us and bring those to defeat who align with evil and the spirit of perversity. They will suffer consequences for fighting the army of heaven. Protect us as servants endowed with liberty, and make the days useful in preserving the hope of freedom as can be practiced throughout the world. In the name of the Lord this prayer is offered. Amen.
4.) Glorious God! When there is a clash of arms and the earth moves in explosion, You remain there. Your “right cause” has become our “orders from on high”; we seek to have the obedience as your angels have toward the securing of safe, happy lives for your children. O Lord, make our days replete with memories of Your blessings for us and our homeland loved so dearly! Guide these hands of ours and give our hearts the prayers and songs that uplift our sacrifice of effort that is to accompany Your mighty and enduring love for mankind. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
5.) Defying Presidential orders: "Father, beyond the clouds, yet within our heart, held most dear: Israel, that soverign nation, has had paraded around its borders a hateful procession of militant islamists who claim a right to that land long promised by God for the Jews! The citizens and government within have showed enduring patience and restraint when it comes to what may be considered proper retaliation for assailants' rockets and explosive worn vests/backpacks. Israel has the right to defend itself, and that is why we pray that should ever our own (U.S.) government disgrace itself by commanding that its troops and pilots take action on the land or in the sky over Israel, that you will give each individual soldier of ours the personal courage not to carry out such orders. To honor God and his love for his first people is not defiance, it is the fear of God. In Jesus holy name! Amen."
The above prayer is an aftermath of my having read over three hundred prayers offered on behalf of the military during wartime (WWII). These I wrote in the hope some readers may benefit and freely make use of them. But the question arises, How do we structure prayer itself? Although the list shown below is a "formula", not all the elements need or must be included in order that God hears a prayer and acts upon it. It's what comes from the heart that counts; however, He expects our learning better theology as we go along through life. To feed your soul is to see God as He really is, and not your imagination and human expectancy.-- Clif Moberg
HOW TO PRAY
Bless the Lord’s name. Praise Him for His divine character. Give general thanks to Him for the general blessings you’ve received.
State to God what you know of His character as it pertains to your problems. Use one or more of the many names of God that occur in the Bible so as to reflect a portion of his divine character (The Almighty, strong tower, chief bishop of our souls, etc.) – work this in and throughout this prayer.
If you need something material, recite that He is a God who provides. (Philippians 4:19) Specifically, this Old Testament name would be Jehovah-Jireh.
Recite how He helped certain Bible persons in similar circumstances of difficulty.
Tell God how He met your similar request previously, and thank Him again for that abiding faithful during the particular occasion or time interval.
Quote a promise that Jesus gave the disciples and followers–a Bible scripture.
Now get personal:
Tell how the adverse situation has come to be.
Tell what you’ve done to bring your own remedy.
Tell how you’ve had your faith during the time for your situation to improve or needs be met.
Tell how you have faith in your prayers in the past and now are waiting for God’s good timing to bring a resolution or meet a need.
Wait on God for answer at that point.
Pray for others you know, for the country and its leaders, and for Christians around the world.
Offer your time or possessions to the Lord for His work in the world in meeting the needs of
others.
Ask the Lord to reveal to you any sin that hinders your Christian walk and prayer time.
Make sure you are free of envy towards others or of any resentment you hold towards God for the “slow” or delayed deliverance from your present problems.
Wait on the Lord. Have a Bible ready if he should put a scripture into your mind. If he does,
then read it and have confidence that He shall work a work in your life. Claim the scripture as
one that is emphasized to you, realizing that all the promises of Scripture are for all Christians to
claim, everywhere.
Give thanks to the Lord and close your prayer. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Avoid sin of any kind, and as much as is possible the distracting advertisements on radio and television, because of their “creating” a lust in you that is materialistic. (The Bible teaches us to be thankful for such things as we already have.)
More Prayer -- From WWII
David had mighty, honored warriors–the USA can its fine soldiers too! WE are to win our battles! This website construction borrows proportionately from three published books that have to do with wartime prayer on the home front, sacrificial chaplains’ lives, and the spiritual life of our soldiers abroad during current military conflict. Containing the most pages here is the featuring of the 1943 book titled A Minute of Prayer: A Prayer for Every Day in the Year submitted by Protestant Ministers, Catholic Priests and Jewish Rabbis. These are 107 (best) selected prayers being written for the purpose of radio broadcast and read on air for a listening audience of perhaps a million. The invitation to contribute went out to all Christian denominations, Catholic and Jewish organizations: Prayer invitations were accepted by many ministers of varied Protestant denominations, among them being: the Methodist church, Presbyterian, Baptist, Christian, Episcopal, Lutheran, Evangelical, Reformed, United Brethren, Church of Christ, and Congregational, etc. Mutual Broadcasting System, Radio Station WOR in New York, broadcast these prayers on a regular basis for the year. Of interest will be the different opening salutations to God used by different groups and faiths. Few prayers, being but a year into the war, mentioned overtly “victory”; more brought themselves to pray that “peace” be established; and the rest were concerned about God’s ministering to the suffering and discouraged. But you can read the details that make for very interesting reading. Also, hopefully, they can be inspirational–I know they are to me–Clif Moberg.
How do chaplains act and pray with their troops, and what are the prayers that ministers can and have offered for them across the land? The USA helped to win WWII–the prayers of ours were acceptable unto God. To see these wartime prayers offered by hundreds of ministers, priests and rabbis for transmission over the radio airways during the war year of 1943, link here: Protestant ministers’ prayers.
Catholic priests’ prayers .
Rabbis’ prayers.
Of interest in these more than 350 prayers is the Opening Salutation used to address God. Read a listing of how these three groups address their God. Some of them are quite novel. Link here: Rabbis’ God salutation; Catholic God salutation ; Protestant God salutation
HOW CHRIST PREACHED
Our sister-site is www.MasterPreacher.com
It is an entire book written by the Baptist preacher and educator Albert Bond, and this book presents the manner in which Christ preached and reason for growth of his listeners as an audience. You're welcome to come visit this site!