Three prayers written by the Church Policy paper Steering Committee praying for Hong Kong amidst social unrest.
May the Lord grant us peace.
We pray that,
One day, “Blue camp and “Yellow Camp” can work together to build up economic and social moral ethos in Hong Kong.
“Police Brass Band“ and “Youth orchestra” may perform Beethoven’s Symphony 9 in one joint orchestra. All audiences join the music by singing “Joyful, Joyful, we adore thee”.
“Employers“ and ”employees” can join hands to provide professional service to citizens and tourists.
Prayers can make impossible become possible.
“The wolf shall live with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the kids,
The calf and the lion and the fatling together,
And a little child can lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
Their young shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
And the weaned child put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain;
For the earth will be full of the knowledge
of the Lord as the water cover the sea”
(Isaiah 11.6~9)
O most gracious and merciful Father:
You are the origin and essence of perfect love.
You alone, by nature,
are the fulfilment of what you desire for us to embody.
We ask you to heal the physically and emotionally injured,
we also ask you to change the hearts
and minds of those who reach out to inflict injury on others,
and direct their spirit to recognise that violence will destroy our world.
Your love is not a figment of imagination nor an ethereal abstraction. Through your Son, you initiated reconciliation.
We have made peace with you through Christ upon the cross.
You are the prime mover of all that is good and righteous.
Coming into our darkness, you transport us into your light of truth,
and you carried us home to yourself.
You, Lord Jesus, are the peacemaker,
the reconciliator and the restorer of hope.
Looking around us in Hong Kong,
enmity, distrust, hate, anger, mistrust and violence have filled our city—government authorities are in conflict with those who have wreaked violence for ideological and political justification.
Confusion and distortion of truth in our society
is fast becoming the new norm.
And yet we are the ones who have been reconciled,
we are called to be peacemakers
and menders of broken lives in a broken society.
Move within our hearts, most blessed Holy Spirit:
release us from the need to cling onto comfort zones we build for ourselves, free us so we can venture forth in faith,
remove us from self-fashioned excuses
in order to avoid risks necessary
to be the light of peace and salt of the righteous,
and strengthen us to be the just influence amongst our community.
We have many failures, Father God, have mercy on us.
Cleanse us of our self-protective inaction and renew in us the courage
and strength to be instruments of your peace in your city.
May your kingdom come among us, O Lord.
In the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we implore you. Amen.
Most Holy God and King of the Universe:
Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy upon us here in Hong Kong.
We bow before You realising we are powerless;
but all power and authority belong to You.
HAVE MERCY ON HONG KONG!
We drift in the midst of social confusion and instability;
but lead us by the calm waters where we can drink
and be refreshed with Your peace.
HAVE MERCY ON HONG KONG!
We rely on our own wayward impulses to bring about justice
and thus arrogance and violence entrench our daily lives;
but You are the Prince of Peace and Healer of the Nations.
You alone can bring about true and lasting peace,
harmony and justice in our community.
HAVE MERCY ON HONG KONG!
We have become accusers and condemners of others.
We refuse to listen to other viewpoints or solutions;
we have closed our eyes and refuse to see
and consider the various perspectives of solving our problems
because we insist in our own insecurities and pride
that we alone have all the correct solutions for our city;
but You have created in us a yearning for a place of love, security and hope in the midst of unity within the diversity of thinking and opinion.
We acknowledge that only Your kingdom rule;
first in our hearts,
and then in our relationships,
can we bring about this dynamic in our community.
HAVE MERCY ON HONG KONG!
Lastly, enable us to yearn to be a community
which receives Your Holy Spirit
so that our hearts of Stone be broken into pliable flesh
where we can reflect Your Vision
and righteous purposes for Hong Kong in these days.
LORD GOD, HAVE MERCY ON US YOUR NEW COVENANT COMMUNITY AND TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG FOR YOUR GLORY. AMEN.