Peace
Father, around the world especially this week we see so much anger, so much divisiveness. We see it in world leaders, in the leadership of government bodies including our own, and we see it in ourselves. We know Your heart is for community and not conflict and You have commended peacemakers in the scriptures. So we pray for a return from the polarized edges of animosity; we pray for a renewed desire for peace and a willingness to make sacrifices to get there. Yet Lord, when we see the angry faces in our media we all too often recognize ourselves.
Lord, create a renewed hunger for peace, but Lord, let it begin with me.
Fear
We watch, wringing our hands in frustration, as we see leaders sowing seeds of discord and fear. We have seen this movie all too often in history. But You have called us not to fear, but to love. We are explicitly told again and again in scripture, "Do not fear." And yet it is not just "them" who succumb to manipulative fear mongering, it is sometimes us. It is sometimes me.
Lord, reveal the fear mongering of unscrupulous leaders for what it is; like the servant of Elisha, please open our eyes to truth and Lord, let it begin with me.
Hatred
More and more, we see references to different classes of people as "the enemy." This again is something any casual student of history recognizes as a tactic of our real enemy. A tactic that splits humanity and treats others as sub-human even classing them as vermin is, simply put, evil. These are people You love intensely. These are people You died for. These are fellow image-bearers even if that image is marred or besmirched. And yet, many of us can call to mind someone we find absolutely reprehensible. However, as Christians, we have the opportunity even the mandate to surprise those who don't know You by loving those who might be called our enemies.
Lord as Your people, strengthen us to love all; and Lord, let it begin with me.
Everywhere we look, we see fractured relationships and disunity. To our shame, we recognize this not just as something happening in the political arena, but within Your Church. This is so antithetical to your teachings. Even as He was awaiting his betrayal, Jesus prayed for our unity. Paul admonished the churches to unity. He recognized the attacks on unity and wrote that we should "suit up" to fight against those attacks. But unity requires us to see value in others and in their ways of looking at things. Unity requires the humility to be open to being wrong.
Lord, cure us of a backfire mentality hardened against any change of viewpoint; restore us to a spirit of humility. And Lord, let it begin with me.
I cannot ask for these changes in others if I am unwilling for them to happen in me.
Lord, let peace begin with me.
Let courage being with me.
Let love begin with me.
Let humility begin with me.
Believing these things reflect the values of Your Kingdom, we ask them in Your name.
Amen.
— written by Tracy Petrie