Many years ago, I learned to pray
the Lord’s Prayer specifically. That is, I discovered I could apply the prayer
to specific situations, whether that be some troublesome situation in my own
life, a crisis in the life of a friend, or something on a larger scale.
Sometimes, after watching the evening news, Hal and I take a situation
happening somewhere in the world and the bring the words Jesus taught directly
to bear on that situation.
For Example
This, then, is how you should pray—. —Matthew 6:9
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name
on the killing fields of Ukraine.
Be glorified, exalted, and acknowledged
in this bloody mess.
Your kingdom come
with its authority and power
to speak the ceasing of war,
the laying down of weapons,
the healing of wounds,
and the restoration of life.
Your will be done
in Ukraine and Russia
just as it is done in heaven.
Give ordinary people
what they need today—
food, shelter, a way to stay warm
in the winter nights,
comfort, hope.
Forgive the sins of the people
on both sides
and cause to rise up a mutual spirit
of repentance, forgiveness,
and reconciliation.
I struggle to pray that you keep
the people of Ukraine from testings
too hard to bear because it seems
they’re already there.
But please bind the wounds of war
and bring it all to an end.
Deliver the people of Ukraine and Russia
from the strategies, attacks, and hatred
of the evil one. Let his plans fail,
his bombs not go off,
military supply lines be broken—
whatever it takes.
Bring him down, Lord.
However and whenever you gain the victory,
yours is, and always will be,
the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Forever.
So be it.
[poem included in Before Our Very Eyes: Poems of the
Incarnation]
