Lord,
Grant us peace.
Not the superficial peace that we sometimes find in this world, the peace that comes over and then seems to disappear in a flash, broken by a distraction, broken by a sense of hurry, broken by the violence that comes crashing in through the door.
Grant us peace.
The peace that rests deep in the soul and cannot be dislodged. The peace that binds us together, rather than the shallow peace that calls us to build up walls in the hopes that separation might bring peace. Help us push through the hard conversations and mend the difficult relationships so that we might live in peace with our neighbor. Grant us hope and joy that comes with discovering that peace can be more than just environmental, but that it can penetrate the soul and that it can go out from us, too, existing between two people. Grant us the peace that gives us calm in the storm and confidence in the chaos. Grant us the peace that helps us speak in the face of violence and point to another path. Grant us peace, Lord, to know that this world is not all there is, and that the blood that flows is not your will but a symptom of the brokenness in the world.
Grant us peace, Lord, that we may rest and be renewed, and that we may go out into the world searching for that peace, bearing that peace, believing and trusting in your peace and your will.
This world doesn't have a lot of peace, Lord, but it has a promise from you that one day, peace will come, descending like a dove. Give us the courage to believe, and give us the eyes to see where that peace is already working, that we may sing a song of life in the valley of death.
Amen
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