Praying for Our World

Consider all that’s happening in our world right now.

• Iran just attacked Israel directly last week.
• Israel is at war against Hamas in Gaza.
• Russia is intensifying its attacks on Ukraine, threatening Western Europe.
• China is stepping up aggressive action in the western Pacific.
• And the United States is affected or involved in all of these conflicts.

The world is a TENSE PLACE right now. And in each of these circumstances, a nuclear power is directly involved. We are stepping gingerly around these conflicts, and the breadth of this situation is greater than we understand. If ever there was a day when we need to intercede for peace, it’s today. Peace internationally is a function of peace interpersonally. So, our admonition is to seek to be peacemakers wherever we are. It’s a disciplined approach to do more than react. “Eye-for-an-eye” thinking is our most natural expression, but forging peace is not.

And yet, against every inclination for conflict, Jesus calls us to do something radical: to forgive in the face of our thirst for vengeance, power, or revenge. I find that the call of Jesus in this respect is HARD WORK! Friends, I ask you to do that kind of hard work. Work hard to pray for our leaders, pray for the people amid all this conflict, and pray for peace to be the new hunger that drives our world. Reflecting on the sentiment of a song I learned in childhood, perhaps we should pray those lyrics, too: “Let there be peace on earth, and LET IT BEGIN WITH ME!”