God of Peace,
We come before you with hopes and doubts, questions and longings,
Dreams and broken hearts,
For we know that there are many roadblocks on the way of peace and
We yearn for your peace to come.
Come Lord, Jesus,
You are our peace.
We see places in our world where blood has been spilled for centuries, often in the name of
“God” or “God and Country” —
For far too long weapons of death have captivated our imaginations.
Greed and vengeance have blinded our vision.
We pray for eyes to see your peace coming…
Come Lord, Jesus,
You are our peace.
We hear the cries of children in our world—from the hell they endure in Gaza or Ukraine or
other desolated places because adults refuse to listen to your peace.
If we listen closely enough, we may even hear the cries for peace in our own community,
In this church, in this city—
We pray for ears to hear your peace coming…
Come Lord, Jesus,
You are our peace.
We feel in our hearts a longing for what should be, what we know to be: that to be a child of God
is to be a peacemaker. Ignite our hearts in this season of darkest nights and light our path as we
seek to follow the call of Jesus—who comes to this world as a child of God in need, making a
way for peace within a world in need.
May we experience the fullness of your peace coming…
Come Lord, Jesus,
You are our peace.
We pray this in the name of the Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus who teaches us to pray saying:
Our Father,
Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.