The first is a combined effort from the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada:

God of peace and justice,
Our hearts weep as the rockets fall in Israel and Gaza,
As families are bereaved
As men, women and children are taken hostage,
As anger and hatred are fuelled again.

In the land you chose for your people and your Son we pray
for those bereaved by the violence,
For the wounded and injured,
For the hostages
That your love will surround and comfort them.

We pray for strength and compassion
for all offering medical care, especially our partners, the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital
and Augusta Victoria Hospital.

We pray for Bishop Sani Azar and Archbishop Hosam Naoum and all Christians in the Holy Land for their safety and their leadership in this time of crisis.

We pray for all leaders in Israel and Palestine that a just and lasting peace will be found.

In the midst of our grief and sorrow we trust in your unfailing love for all people, and
for your Land, and ask that your wisdom would prevail, for we ask in the name of

Jesus Christ, who brings the world eternal peace.

In contrast, here is Archbishop William Temple’s prayer during World War 2:

‘Lord bless our country and all who serve it. Uphold our courage through all that comes. Make us worthy of victory, and establish peace and good will: through Jesus Christ our Lord.’

The most obvious difference, other than the lengths, is that the latter prayer includes the idea of victory, country, service and courage. The archbishop doesn’t seem particularly interested in a lasting peace with the Nazi’s; I don’t think I am reading too much into this by concluding he is praying for them to be defeated.

All of this is absent from the first prayer because the ACoC is unwilling to take a side – unless the issue is climate change, of course. Perish the thought that we might pray for Hamas to be defeated.

There is more in a similar vein from William Temple here: