Lord of Peace, as we come before you today we focus our prayers on lasting, meaningful peace and an end to hostility, violence and warfare in the Middle East.
We pray that real faith changes the way Christians live and treat one another. And we ask God to show us how to live in love, compassion and wisdom, so that the ripples of our faith flow out into the world and touch other lives with a message of peace.
As our screens show scenes of hope and joy, as the world anticipates and longs for peace, we prayerfully focus on the glimmer of light shining from the Middle East. We pray that it might grow ever brighter, until the world is irradiated by the peace of the Lord.
We stand in prayer alongside the people of Gaza, who still live and move among the wreckage of war. We pray for the hostages who have endured two years of captivity, and for the families welcoming them home. We ask God to pour healing love and patience into lives undergoing such huge changes.
We ask the Holy Spirit to draw alongside to comfort and console those who are grieving or wounded, and those who have been displaced and traumatised. We pray for the families whose loved ones will not come home alive. May they know peace even in their sadness and suffering.
We pray for those who are working tirelessly to bring about peace, and for those who are waiting to start the process of rebuilding lives and communities.
We take a moment for personal prayer…
Hear our prayers, Lord, and teach us how to be people of peace. Amen.