Eternal God and Everlasting Father,
We give you all glory, honor, and praise as our Creator, the Sustainer of our lives, the Savior of our souls, and the Giver of every good and perfect gift and blessing that we enjoy in this life. We thank you for the redemption and reconciliation that we possess through the atoning sacrifice of your Son Jesus Christ as an offering for our sins, for our guilt, and for our shame. We praise you for your goodness, your grace, your mercy, and your might. We thank you for the peace and comfort of your divine presence through your indwelling Spirit who lives and abides within us every moment of every day and everywhere.
Father, from the comfort and prosperity of our homes, and from the peace and tranquility in which we are so richly blessed to live, it burns our eyes with tears and sears our hearts with pain to see the images and read the reports of war, violence, bloodshed, death, and destruction that are raging in other parts of the world. As we live each day and sleep each night in safety, it is beyond our ability to comprehend that others are constantly living in fear and dread, and are daily enduring a struggle for survival.
And, once again, Father, the quietness and calm of the morning has been shattered with the heart-sickening news of another mass shooting in our own nation. How long, O Lord? How long? We are weary of saying, “once again.”
As we enwrap our children in our arms and draw them near, we grieve and weep with the mothers and fathers who are mourning the deaths of their infants and young sons and daughters. The only comfort to which we can cling, Father, in this senseless slaughter of innocents in the madness of war, is that their souls and spirits have returned to you, their Creator, whether Israeli, Palestinian, Ukrainian, Russian, Lebanese, Syrian, Somalian, or American. They are all your children by creation; imprinted with your own image and likeness; pure and free from sin. May they find comfort, peace, rest, and freedom from any memory of pain and suffering within the warmth and the light of your presence.
Father, may your righteous and holy will be done on earth, and may your kingdom reign. May the message of your Prince of Peace melt the hearts and transform the minds of men and women in positions of power and authority. May human dignity and life be valued above land and possessions. May your compassion, mercy, and love be embraced so that hatred will be displaced from human hearts and violence removed from their hands. Lord, make these wars to cease; break the bow, shatter the spear, and burn the shields with fire. Uphold the righteous, bring justice and vindication to the oppressed, and protect the innocent. Thwart the ways of evil doers and confound the schemes of the wicked.
In you, O God, we trust. In you we believe. Help our unbelief. Calm our fears, bring clarity to our confusion, comfort our sorrows, and dispel our darkness by the light of your love.
Hear our cries and answer our call, we humbly ask in the name of your blessed Son and our eternal Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.