A prayer for Iraq and for ourselves

God of all peoples and nations, some things are too big for me and that is when I am most inclined to pray. Hear my prayer today. I'm disturbed with our administration. I'm troubled that we are involved in a war that has disrupted, if not destroyed, thousands of lives. The pride and arrogance of our leaders has led to death and devastation in Iraq and places our own nation's future in peril.
What am I to do, O Lord? Speak about this publicly? Write about this to our leaders? Today I will pray. Lead my steps tomorrow. I pray that leaders, men and women of courage and conviction, will step forward and speak words of truth. I pray that stubborn heads of government will learn to listen and see in new ways. I pray for an end to the ignorance, violence, hatred, and depravity. I pray for our soldiers who have already been brutalized and for those who have themselves been instruments of brutality. I pray for the peacemakers. Grant them strength as they live out their convictions. I pray for the healing and restoration of a troubled Iraq.
God, I am in some sense hopeless. Too long have children, the poor, the aged, and the powerless suffered at the hands of those who believe they are entitled to have more of all the world offers. And too few are the men and women who speak about peace and stand with integrity in places of leadership. Lord, I don't see how it can ever happen, but I pray for peace. Short of your intervening in the hearts and minds of people, there can be no change. That is why I'm praying today. May your will be done in this nation and in your world. Let there be peace, and not just for my land, but for all. And not just so my children may be spared the conflicts and darkness of war, but that all the world's children may discover the beauty of a life lived in loving-kindness, justice, and mercy. Amen.

by John Hostetter