On this Epiphany day, please join Red Letter Christians today in a prayer vigil at 6pm (in your timezone). If you can’t attend a larger gathering, grab whomever you live with or nearby, light a candle, share a moment of silence and #prayforpeace. This litany may be used (with attribution, please) in any prayer gathering focused on peace. Please share and pray. #nowarwithiran

We must cultivate peace in our own hearts first, allowing the Peace of Christ to root there. This is our work as we pray for peace in the whole earth.

God, we come now to cultivate peace in our hearts
That it may reverberate outward.
We ask that the Peace of Christ,
The peace beyond understanding,
The peace that blesses enemies,
The peace that turns the other cheek,
The peace that leaves vengeance in your hands,
The peace that seeks empathy,
The peace that practices justice and compassion,
The peace that dissolves ego –

This baffling and impossible possibility,
This radical peace,
Would rest upon the whole world now,
At home in our hearts, and abroad.

We do not want to witness more loss of life,
More destruction of homes and livelihoods,
More degradation of land and waterways,
More human suffering.

We do not come to peace lightly.
We know that true peace disrupts violent patterns.
We are not expecting convenience or ease.
And still, we want true peace;
That our nation may know no more war,
And our children inherit no more suffering. 

Oh God, put a stop to war [with Iran] before it begins.
Raise up peace in the hearts of war-mongers,
Let the egos of the violent be silenced,
And let us move into a more beautiful future;
Our feet firm and confident on the Path of Peace (1),
Our words and actions rooted in the Peace of Christ.

Amen

 
Fran is an Author, Pastor, Litanist, and Christian mystic. Visit her website at www.franpratt.com.Vist Rev. Pratt’s website here.