By Sheryl Holstein of Ellijay, Georgia USA

And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

Dear God,
We confess to times of insensitivity, ignorance, judgment, indifference, hatred, and greed. Help us tear down the walls that separate us from one another. Lord, let us see you in the faces of our brothers and sisters. Let us hear the cries of the frightened.

Living on every continent are those who are oppressed, hungry, and heavily burdened. As we merge in your love, help us unfold the red bud of passion as we become a people of compassion. Let us keep the lamp of life burning. Free us from our own limitations that we might free others. Renew in us your Spirit, that we might be faithful to one another in your love.

Together we can build your community, in our hearts, with our minds, words, and deeds. May our hands join, our minds unite, and our hearts beat as one.

This is our prayer for peace. We lay it at your feet that it might be acceptable, and we all might be healed in your love.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Prayer Phrase

“…he has given us a new birth into a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3).

Spiritual Practice

Weaving a Life

Hold, or imagine yourself holding, a piece of patterned cloth. Examine it carefully. Notice overlapping threads mingling colors that form the design. Write a journal entry or meditate about the threads and patterns of your life. What design do you see? How does the life pattern you are weaving create justice and wholeness in God’s world? What new pattern is God calling you to weave in 2025?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.