My Prayer for Syria

I join with other Christians today in praying for peace both within Syria and also between Syria and other nations.


Lord Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, Reconciler of humanity, in your life, death and resurrection you have proclaimed peace to those who are near and those who are far away.  You have destroyed the dividing wall of enmity.  You have formed one new humanity and you have reconciled that one new humanity to God.  Hear my prayer, merciful savior. 

I confess that I harbor a hostile attitude within my own mind and attitude toward others.  I confess that too quickly I enjoy the stories of violence and hostility with what I watch and what I imagine.  I am a man of unclean lips, heart and mind.  I humbly ask you to forgive me and cleanse me from the hostility to which I cling.  

When violence is done, we want to respond with violence.  When people injure other people, we want to punish them.  It is our impulse to treat others unlike the way you have treated us.  Today, I pray that you will intervene in our world.  "Cure thy children's warring madness."  Cleanse the world today, dear Lord.  Both within Syria and between Syria and the nations of the world, bring peace.Help us to see that in your cross you absorbed the world's hostility, took it to the grave with you so that there it might die.  Help us to be cleansed in the baptismal waters of your death so that we might rise to live in newness of life.

We pray as you taught us that God's will would be done on Earth as it is in heaven.  There are neither chemical weapons nor attack drones in heaven and so we pray that it would be the same on Earth.  Reshape our swords into plowshares.  Make us more passionate about feeding one another than we are to destroy one another.

Form us now into a new people, fellow citizens with those whom we now label enemies.  Bring us together as members within God's household built on the foundations of the apostles and prophets with you, Lord Jesus Christ, our chief cornerstone.  Amen