A Prayer for Hope and Peace
Dear Listening on the Journey … friends,
I am interrupting my sabbatical with a message I believe is vitally important. I hope you will take a few minutes to read my words.
Sunday morning, March 15th, my husband Ron and I took a few minutes to enter the spiritual practice of our “couple devotional.” We’ve established a liturgy (format of worship) for our morning devo that includes a variety of written prayers, individual prayers, and scriptural inspiration. We oftentimes use the free app sponsored by 24-7 Prayer called Lectio 365.
This morning’s Lectio focused on praying for peace globally. The commentary included an invitation to “recognize the mix of emotions within me” concerning this world’s instability. I pay attention to these types of invitations, and the words that came to mind were:
HURT – My heart aches for the millions of suffering souls impacted by the horrors of war.
HELPLESS – I often wonder, what difference can a grandmother in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, make?
Despite my hurt and helplessness, though, I sensed the flicker of HOPE I frequently feel. Psalm 46:1 in The Message says, God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. For sure, the hope I feel is grounded in God, our “safe place to hide.”
Finally, all these complicated and conflicting thoughts led me to a fourth word, HUMBLE, which reminded me of 2 Chronicles 7:14. Written when a nation was experiencing devastating circumstances, God’s people were instructed to humble themselves and pray. These words serve to remind me I don’t need to take a partisan position. I don’t need to find fault. I don’t need to feel fearful. I don’t need to express anger and hatred.
Instead, this Coeur d’Alene granny can be still and keep clinging to the hope that God is God—all knowing, all seeing, all powerful. And, perhaps, she can communicate gentle words while submitting humble prayers that cry out to God for grace, mercy, and divine intervention, which just might bring some measure of healing to this broken, hurting world.
Today’s Lectio 365 devotional included an invitation to believers from around the world to lock arms of faith and join in a prayer. I’ve written it out below, but it can also be downloaded here.
A Prayer for the Global Call to Pray for Peace (from 24-7 Prayer)
Lord, Jesus, we dare to believe that you are still the Prince of Peace. Faced with the horror of war, we are confident that you still reign and are in control. You are the only answer to the turmoil of the nations.
Forgive those of us who have lived in comfort and not turned our ears to the cries of the suffering.
Your people are suffering globally; when one of us suffers, we all suffer, and in the midst of this suffering we cry out to you, our great Hope and great Peace. We pray, come Lord Jesus, come and reign in peace at this time.
We pray for your protection and your security to prevail and that death and destruction would end.
We pray for your protection and your security to prevail and that death and destruction would end.
We pray for those who want to escalate violence, that your Holy Spirit would move them to de-escalate; for those who seek to kill, steal and destroy, that they would be inspired to seek peace and adopt a posture of love.
Lord, we pray that in nations where conflict abounds you would raise up righteous leadership; leaders who care for all the people they serve and who are willing to pursue peace over power.
Lord, we pray that you would meet with our brothers and sisters in these conflict-ridden zones; filling them with your peace, comforting them with your presence, giving them strength and compassion to be Christlike within the storms of war.
Lord, your kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven is what we yearn for; we pray that at this time, in this hour, your Kingdom would come. That guns would be laid down, that weapons would be turned away, and that your love would reign supreme in a world so quickly moving towards hatred.
Lord Jesus, we dare to believe that you are the Prince of Peace. Lord have mercy, bring peace to our world, and be glorified throughout the globe.
In the name of the Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit,
Amen
If you feel so directed, I am inviting you to join with me and a multitude of other believers from all over the world in this—or another—prayer for global peace from March 16-22.
Blessings on your journey and for the millions in this world living in war weary lands!
