The imPossible Prayer Movement

Seven Last Words. Seven ImPossible Prayers.

From the cross, Jesus spoke seven final words—words of forgiveness, belonging, suffering, love, longing, completion, and surrender.

We receive these words as seven invitations to pray for a world without gender-based violence.

Each invitation is represented by a colored bead, a tangible reminder that our prayers are not empty words. They are acts of remembrance, resistance, and hope.

As we move through the seven prayers, we are invited to name the violence, honor those who have survived it, lament those whose lives have been lost, and imagine a world transformed by love.

Seven words. Seven beads. One imPossible prayer: Let violence end.

Praying with the Seven Last Words

From the cross, Jesus spoke seven final words—words of forgiveness, belonging, suffering, love, longing, completion, and surrender.

We receive these words as seven invitations to pray for a world without gender-based violence.

Each invitation is represented by a colored bead, a tangible reminder that our prayers are not empty words. They are acts of remembrance, resistance, and hope.

As we move through the seven prayers, we are invited to name the violence, honor those who have survived it, lament those whose lives have been lost, and imagine a world transformed by love.

Seven words. Seven beads. One imPossible prayer: Let violence end.

You need nothing more than your willingness to pray.

Each of the seven last words of Jesus offers an invitation to confront violence and imagine a different world.

We have suggested colors to accompany each prayer. You may use beads, stones, ribbons, or other objects as tangible reminders of your prayers—or simply pause, breathe, speak, and remember.

The colors are symbols, not prescriptions. They carry no special power, and no particular color or object is necessary for prayer.

Pray with what you have. Pray where you are. Pray as you are.

What matters is not what you hold in your hands, but what we dare to hold together in hope.

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” — Luke 23:34
The Invitation
Pray for the transformation of hearts, relationships, and systems that perpetuate gender-based violence.
Our imPossible Prayer
God of compassion, interrupt the cycles of violence that wound bodies, silence voices, and destroy lives. Transform those who cause harm, protect those who are harmed, and give us courage to confront the systems that sustain violence.
May forgiveness never become an excuse for injustice, nor compassion a substitute for accountability.
Amen.
“Woman, behold your son ... Behold your mother.” — John 19:26–27
The Invitation
Pray for communities where those harmed by gender-based violence are welcomed, believed, protected, and embraced. From the cross, Jesus creates a new relationship of care and belonging.
Our imPossible Prayer
God of belonging, where violence has isolated, restore community. Where families have failed to protect, raise up people who will love without controlling and embrace without possessing.
May every survivor and every child know the safety of being believed, the dignity of being respected, and the freedom to belong without fear.
Make our homes, churches, and communities places of refuge rather than places of silence.
Amen.
“I thirst.” —“It is finished.” — John 19:30
The Invitation
Pray for the courage to surrender our acceptance of violence as inevitable. Dare to imagine its end.
Our imPossible Prayer
God of resurrection, we surrender the lie that gender-based violence will always be with us.
Let it be finished.
The violence that turns homes into places of fear.
The silence that protects those who harm.
The systems that excuse abuse and deny justice.
The indifference that allows suffering to continue.
Let it be finished.
And until it is, may we never surrender our commitment to the work of justice, healing, and liberation.
Amen.
The Invitation
Pray for the unmet needs and unspoken longings of those whose lives have been shaped by violence. Hear the thirst for safety, justice, tenderness, and peace.
Our imPossible Prayer
God who knows our thirst, hear the longing of those who cry out for safety, shelter, dignity, and love.
Let no one be forced to beg for what should already be theirs: the right to live without violence.
Make us thirsty for justice, hungry for righteousness, and unwilling to be satisfied while others suffer.
Amen.
“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” — Luke 23:43
The Invitation
Pray for the faithfulness that refuses to abandon those who suffer. Jesus offers the promise of presence even in the midst of death.
Our imPossible Prayer
God of steadfast love, teach us to remain present when suffering is difficult to witness and justice is slow to come.
May our promises of solidarity become acts of fidelity. Keep us from offering words of comfort without the commitment to stand beside those seeking freedom.
Let survivors encounter people and communities whose love does not disappear when the journey toward healing becomes difficult.
Amen.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” — Matthew 27:46
The Invitation
Pray with those who feel abandoned by families, communities, institutions, and the Church. Make room for grief, anger, and the questions that suffering raises.
Our imPossible Prayer
God who hears the forsaken, receive the cries of those whose suffering has been dismissed, denied, or silenced.
Forgive our indifference and our complicity in systems that protect reputations rather than people.
Teach us to listen without judgment, lament without rushing toward easy answers, and stand with those who have been left alone in their suffering.
May no survivor's cry go unheard.
Amen.
“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” — Luke 23:46
The Invitation
Pray for the restoration of trust where violence has betrayed it. Pray for safe relationships, restored agency, and the freedom to choose one's own future.
Our imPossible Prayer
God of refuge, we commend into Your care those whose trust has been violated.
Restore the possibility of safety without demanding that survivors trust those who have harmed them.
Give us trustworthy hands, courageous hearts, and communities where protection never becomes possession and love never becomes control.
May those who have experienced violence reclaim their voices, their choices, and their futures.
Amen.
“It is finished.” — John 19:30
The Invitation
Pray for the courage to surrender our acceptance of violence as inevitable. Dare to imagine its end.
Our imPossible Prayer
God of resurrection, we surrender the lie that gender-based violence will always be with us.
Let it be finished.
The violence that turns homes into places of fear.
The silence that protects those who harm.
The systems that excuse abuse and deny justice.
The indifference that allows suffering to continue.
Let it be finished.
And until it is, may we never surrender our commitment to the work of justice, healing, and liberation.
Amen.

Seven Last Words. Seven ImPossible Prayers.

Praying to end Gender Based Violence.

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What is GBV?

Gender-based violence (GBV) is an umbrella term for harmful acts of abuse perpetrated against a person's will and rooted in a system of unequal power between women and men.

THE CALL