Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all. 2 Thess. 3:16 (NLT)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:17 (NIV)
O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. Isa. 26:12 (ESV)
Heavenly Father, I praise, bless, and adore you for many reasons. Today, in particular, I rejoice in your commitment to give us peace—to center, settle, and encourage our hearts. You never pressure us just to ‘”get over it, buck up, and be strong”. You welcome us in our weakness, confusion, and frailties.
In Paul’s words, you promise peace “at all times and in every situation.” To know that you are with us and for us, to know that you love us and are in control of all things—that is what we need, more than anything else. Father, here is one of the “every situations” for which we ask you to “ordain” a good measure of your peace.
Grant us peace as our country (and world) reels in response to the results of the 2016 presidential election. Many are gleeful and many are fearful; many are hopeful and many are rage-full; many are ready to love our country, once again, and many are ready to leave our country, once and for all. And those are responses your children are feeling, not to mention the rest of our citizenship.
Father, help us to love and respect one another, in these coming weeks and months. Help us to listen to each other, understand one another, be patient with each other, and pray for one another. We feel things so deeply, because we’re made in your image. We see things so differently, because we’ve yet to be remade completely in the image of Jesus.
Grant us grace and peace, wisdom and kindness as we seek first your kingdom and your righteousness. Our hope is in you, not in any man. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ strong and tender name.
