Along the Graybeard Trail

I apologize for the lateness of this.
My friend, and former colleague, the Rev. Greg Allen Pickett posted on Facebook that he will be praying for peace tonight at 7pm Central Time at a park in Hastings, NE where he serves as a pastor. Greg noted that, “Anyone is welcome to join me.”
I can’t make it to Hastings but I can pray in Albuquerque at 6:00pm Mountain Time.

I invite you to join Greg and me if you are so inclined at 8:00pm Eastern Time or the equivalent time where you are. If you see this after that time and you are so inclined, you are invited to say a prayer or two or ten whenever you are able and wherever you are. Unity in prayer transcends all space and time.

Thank you, Greg, for this idea and for providingthis prayer to use.

Gracious and merciful God,

You are the source of all peace, the One who brings order out of chaos, light out of darkness, and hope out of despair. We come before you today with heavy hearts, lifting up the people of Iran and all who live in regions marked by tension, uncertainty, and fear.

God of every nation and every people, we pray for those whose daily lives are shaped by instability: families longing for safety, children yearning for a future free from violence, communities seeking dignity and justice. Surround them with your protection. Strengthen their spirits. Let your peace take root even in the most fragile places.

We also pray for leaders around the world whose words and actions carry great weight. In a time when messages can travel instantly and inflame quickly, grant wisdom, restraint, and humility. Soften hearts where there is anger. Temper speech where there is division. Guide all leaders to seek not power or posturing, but the well-being of all people and the preservation of peace.

Holy Spirit, move among us. Move across borders, across ideologies, across every line that divides. Where there is misunderstanding, bring clarity. Where there is fear, bring courage. Where there is hostility, plant seeds of reconciliation.

Make us instruments of your peace in our own lives as well: quick to listen, slow to speak, and always grounded in love. Remind us that every person, in Iran and beyond, is created in your image and held in your care.

We long for the day when swords are beaten into plowshares, when nations learn war no more, and when your peace reigns in every corner of creation.

Until that day, O God, hold us fast in your grace.

In the name of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, we pray.

Amen.