“I will make peace your governor and well-being your ruler. No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.” Isa. 60:17-18
Lord Jesus, we come to you today with cries of lament and sighs of longing, craving the fullness of your Kingdom. How long, O Lord, until you return and put an end to all violence—whether it’s in Memphis, Ukraine, or in our own hearts?
When will the Day of no more kidnapping, murder, and orphaned-by-violence get here? How many more funerals before there are no more wars, abuse, and meanness? When will the dawn break on the morning of no more mourning—no more shootings or even shouting? When, Lord, when?
Jesus, we intensely yearn for the Day when “Peace will be our governor” and “Well-being our ruler.” Walls won’t be built of bricks and shards of glass, but of grace and stories of reconciliation. Gates won’t be locked to keep “others” out, but open, welcoming the nations into the new earth.
Lambs and wolves, hawks and doves, elephants and donkeys live together in perfect unity and the fullness of grace. Indeed, Jesus, when will the knowledge of your glory cover the earth as the waters cover the sea? Make it soon, please.
Until that Day, help us to live by the Gospel, not by the sword—by the way of your cross, not by the ways of mere men. Jesus, you are the Prince of Peace—sovereign over angels and disciples, kings and conflicts. Increase our trust and love. So Very Amen, we pray.