navigate: home -> peacebuilding -> pray
|
| Peacebuilding in Afghanistan: PRAY |
|
A peacemaker prays. Prayer is the beginning and the end, the source and the fruit, the core and the content, the basis and the goal for all peacemaking... peace is a divine gift, a gift we receive in prayer.
—Henri Nouwen, from The Road to Peace
Prayer and worship are a key part of seeking God's justice and peace—in our own lives, and around the world. With that in mind, CCG offers these few worship and prayer points for your use.
- The people of Afghanistan have struggled with a cycle of conflict and instability for the last 30 years. Lament this brokenness and pray and work for peace and justice for our neighbours living in Afghanistan.
- Remember and rejoice in the promise that Christ is coming to make ALL things new—this is a promise for a broken world.
- In so many years of conflict most ethnic groups in Afghanistan have tasted bitter oppression. Pray for reconciliation to break out among the peoples of Afghanistan.
- Pray for just governance that respects and cares for the needs of all people in Afghanistan.
- Agriculture is the livelihood for most of the people of Afghanistan. Pray that the pressures of corruption and the opium poppy economy will be overcome in new development projects among Afghan farmers.
- Pray for Canadian and international troops and for aid workers in Afghanistan: that their efforts to build peace with justice will bear fruit, and for their safety. Pray for the families of peacebuilders.
- Sing songs of justice and peace: The CRC's Sing! A New Creation has songs of beauty and power focusing on our call to be peacemakers. The Iona Community (Scotland) also has excellent worship resources in the ecumenical justice and peace tradition.
- "Afghanistan Prayer for Peace", by Rev. Bruce Adema, Canadian Ministries Director, CRCNA:
Father,
We know that it was not for war that we were created. Conflict, fear and pain is not your desire for us or the people of this world. It was for joy, harmony and peace that you called the universe into being, and it was for reconciliation that you sent your Son to be our Saviour and Lord. Through the indwelling blessing of your Holy Spirit we sense and even begin to see your intention and our future of Shalom.
But for many, the peace which flows from your divine vision seems impossible to experience or even to imagine. Father, we lift up before your throne of grace the nation and the people of Afghanistan. We remember those caught in the crosshairs of this conflict—the people of that land, the troops sent by the United Nations from our country and others. We hear the reports of violence, desperation, death. We long to celebrate the outbreak of Shalom, the return of laughter and security.
Lord, what is too hard for you? What is beyond your power and sovereignty? Your Word tells us that with you nothing is impossible. So, we beseech you, shower your grace and blessing on Afghanistan. Bring stability to that tortured land. Let hope return and the celebration of peace break forth.
We ask this humbly and fervently, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Prince of Peace.
Amen.
- Prayers for Peace
 from ploughshares.ca
Litanies and Resources
|
|
Committee for Contact with the Government | (800)730-3490 | CCG@crcna.ca | Contact Us
3475 Mainway | Burlington, Ontario, Canada | L7R 3Y8
 |
|
|
