Pray for Peace

Greetings in the Name of our Lord,

As your pastor, I felt compelled to speak to the crisis that has come to a head in the Middle East. For the past few days, I watched the news reports of the U.S. and Israel attack on Iran. Questions that were once theoretical are now immediate. Will this escalate further? What will the human cost be? How will Iran respond? Will there be regime change? How will this affect our safety? 

These questions and others will dominate the news. As Christians we must dig deeper than the politics that will further divide our nation. Lives hang in the balance of what comes next. Our focus is not to get caught in the blame game of what could or should have happened but to join in prayer for all God’s people. 

What we are witnessing is not merely a political problem. It is a spiritual tragedy that has been burning for generations. Now that war has begun, we must pray with renewed urgency.

First, let us pray for our own nation and for those who serve in uniform. Let us pray for our leaders - praying for wisdom, restraint, courage, and righteousness in the use of force. War is always tragic, even when entered for just cause. We do not glorify it. We ask God to govern it.

Second, let us pray that evil will be restrained. The Psalms often plead that God would scatter God’s enemies and frustrate violent intent. We pray that bloodshed would be minimized, that civilians would be protected, and that those who wield power unjustly would be restrained.

Third, let us pray for believers inside Iran. War heightens their vulnerability, at least in the short term. Christians who already live under suspicion may now face intensified scrutiny. House churches that have operated quietly may be exposed to greater risk. Pray for courage, wisdom, and protection for the Christians who live under the thumb of religious radicalism. 

I am not wise or informed enough to know the policy or political answers. I am sure that faithful believers will disagree about what has brought us to this point and what comes next. But let us be united in our prayers for peace. We grieve the suffering that war brings. We pray for unity in our own nation. We ask God to guide leaders, protect the innocent, and restrain evil. We fix our hope not on the triumph of one regime over another, but on the advance of Christ’s Kingdom.

This is not a moment for fear. It is a moment for boldness, hope, and love. Boldness, because Christ reigns. Hope, because God’s Kingdom cannot be shaken. Love, because even in war, we remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood.

As we pray for our military and for the leaders of our nation, let us also pray that the Iranian people would be free. Not merely politically, but spiritually. Free to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Free to respond without fear. Free in the deepest sense of the word.

God is good! Jesus is alive! We are the Church!

When we are together in Christ, we can face anything. 

Pastor John Allen