This past week has been one filled with sorrow. We mourn the loss of so many lives, both
Jewish and Palestinian.
The trust we all know and understand is that the vast majority of people, of all races and creeds, want to live in peace. It is a tragic dynamic of the human race that it only takes a few people to create chaos and tragedy.
So we pray for those affected by these acts of a few. We pray for their loved ones and friends impacted by the horrors we have seen this week. We cannot explain the reason human beings can treat other human beings this way, except to say the fruit of sin. And while we have no further explanation we do have a task before us; we pray.
There are some who see prayer as futile. In truth, it often doesn’t bring immediate change. But it does bring change. And the change prayer brings is often the change no other methods can bring. Prayer changes the human heart.
Usually when we pray our goal is to move God, to move His heart or His hands. In truth,
prayer's greatest influence is when it changes us. Prayer always changes the person praying. And it may change the person we are praying for.
So as we pray for the people of Israel and Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, Egypt and Iran, let us pray confidently that hearts will indeed be changed and peace will be made. We pray not simply for the cessation of hostility but for the development of human relationships, friendships, common understanding, and respect. The Jew says shalom. The Arab says salam. They are so close.
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