Prayer for peace

This day marks the 10th anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan, our nation's longest war.

Afghanistan War Children, photographer unknown

O God, war rends your creation and multiplies suffering and poverty. Let us cry out in response to war's devastation. Be with all affected by warfare: those who wage it, those caught in its crossfire, and those who fund and enable it. Call forth peacemakers and healers, that the wounds of war and the ills which provoke war might be the subject of your care, your healing, your transformation. Help us to see the many victims of war: the precious lives killed, the beautiful bodies maimed, the spirits afflicted by violence committed, inflicted upon, and witnessed. Have mercy, and heal us.

O God, it is your will to hold both heaven and earth in a single peace. Let the design of your great love shine on the waste of our wraths and sorrows, and give peace to your church, peace among nations, peace in our homes, and peace in our hearts; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The second paragraph is from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p.72.
 

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