Prayer for Justice and Peace – Jeremiah 29: 1, 4 -7
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Israel plants gardens in Babylon
29:1These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
29:4Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
29:5Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce.
29:6Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.
29:7But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
God of power and justice,
like Jeremiah you weep over those
who wander from you,
turn aside to other gods,
and enter into chaos and destruction.
Many are weeping today.
Their loved ones are missing,
and their lives have been thrown into confusion.
They face the future with fear and uncertainty,
their path ahead is shadowed and unknown.
Justice and peace seem lost in the fog of chaos.
Yet many step forward, calling for justice to return,
seeking to clear a pathway toward peace.
At times, their voices seem muffled—
but with each passing day, more voices rise, growing stronger together.
By your tears and through your mercy,
teach us your ways to justice and peace
and write them on our hearts
so that we may follow faithfully
the path you show us.
Amen.
Adapted from the Revised Lectionary Common PrayersÂ
