'Prayers for PEACE . . .'

"And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,

Let me now go to the field,

and glean ears of corn after him

In whose sight I shall find grace.

And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."

Ruth 2:2 KJV


I've just finished reading a document, attached to an email, sent to me by a Scouting Friend. This document, which was 21 pages long, included 582 'Prayers for PEACE.' These short prayers were written during the 2013 Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree, in July, mostly by Scouts and Venturers but a few by Scouters (adult Scout Leaders).

This was a piece done as an interactive portion of the Religious Emblems Display booth, in the Faith & Beliefs area at the Jamboree. In 2013 the Faith & Beliefs area had a 'PEACE' theme, which those of us in Friends Committee on Scouting thought was great - and went well with the Friends Peace Testimony, we had a 'SCOUTS FOR PEACE' banner at our booth.


The Scouts/Venturers who stopped by, the Religious Emblems Display booth, were asked to write a prayer on a 3x5 inch index card and place it in a basket. The prayers were later posted on display boards in the booth by the staff, as time permitted. Some of the prayers were written in a language other than English and had to be translated into English. At the end of the Jamboree, they photographed all the cards that were posted. This document, that I just read, was typed up by the staff member and sent out to the Jamboree Chaplains, for which Friends had two, which is where I got it.

As I read these prayers, some very short and some a bit longer . . . I smiled, I chuckled and I shed some tears. Several times I stopped and said a prayer for the Scout/Scouter who wrote a prayer that reached out and touched me deeply. Sometimes that prayer was for the person(s) they wrote about, sometimes for the writer.

Amazing what these Scouts, mostly from the US, but some from other countries, from so many different faiths prayed for:

Prayers for good health, for cures for cancer, for friends, for family, for food, for grace, for forgiveness, for life, for those suffering, for those who had recently died - for their families and friends, for wars and conflicts - for them to be over, for the safety of those fighting in the wars and their safe return home, for our soldiers and their families, for parents to not get divorced, for cooler weather at Jamboree, for the new friendships being made, for their Scout Troops, for the fun they were having, for safe travels and for PEACE for world PEACE! I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.


Most of the prayers mentioned God, Heavenly Father, Lord, Allah, my friend, Jesus and Jesus Christ. Some ended with 'Amen.' Some very simply written, while others a bit more complex. All touched my heart. All unselfish requests from our youth.

When I finished reading all these prayers, I just had to stop and send up a prayer myself - to all the Scouts, Venturers and Scouters who wrote the prayers I had just read, to their families and friends that they asked for prayers for and that all that they asked God for in their prayers came/comes true.

What a blessing this project was - not only to those who took the time to write down a prayer, but to the staff who manned the booth and to those that read and typed all these up and for sharing them.

I'm feeling overwhelmingly blessed! God bless these Scouts, Venturers and Scouters!