Then afterward
I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
– Joel 2:28
God of our hearts,
We give thanks for the dreams you place in our lives. Dreams of safer spaces and places to call home. Hope for people to come together and work towards creating communities that heal rather than hurt. Visions of making change and putting love before anything else.
We pray for the places around our world where dreams of peace, hope, and love feel like a distant memory.
In particular, we lift up to you those affected by the deadly school shooting in Graz, Austria, where a former student opened fire in a high school, killing 11. We dream of days when murder does not exist.
We lift to you those in the Los Angeles, California, U.S. protests over U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids as they escalate. We dream of moments where conflicts will not be harbored and grow, and people from all places will be safe.
We pray for those at the Israel-Syria cross-border as hostilities intensify, with rockets having been launched from Syria and Yemen into Israel, and the Israeli navy having struck Yemen’s Hodeidah port. We dream of seasons where anger will be unheard of.
We lift up those who were in the mass killings near Gaza aid distribution centers where shooting attacks left at least 80 dead and hundreds wounded. We dream of days when we will no longer have to mourn unnecessary deaths.
We pray for those affected by the Mexico drug‑war ambush that killed five police officers on a highway near Frontera Comalapa, in retaliation against cartel arrests. We dream of a world where people no longer fall into the temptations of drug use and the power battles over control of drug distribution.
We lift up those who died in the crash of a London-bound Air India flight shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India. Only one of the 242 people on board survived. We dream of a time when our knowledge of engineering will make all travel safe.
God, we envision a world where lives will never again be lost, where suffering is limited, and where aid and support get to the places and people who so desperately need it. We lift to you in particular Somalia, Sudan, Ukraine, and Gaza.
We pray for a world where political change is made for the better and where everyone is treated with dignity and love. We lift up to you all leaders who are trying their best to make a difference and who are seeking peaceful solutions and seek wisdom. In particular, we lift to you Poland, Mongolia, Ukraine, Gaza, and NATO.
We dream of a day when restoration and hope will be all that we seek, as we lean into a more loving way of life. We pray for the healing of our Earth, the protection of vulnerable communities, and the care of all.
God, we know our vision for the future may be big and often feel unreachable, but we know that you still walk with us. You, too, dream alongside us as we hope for a more beautiful and loving world, striving to be the leaders, doers, pray-ers, and children you have always called us to be.
We pray this in your loving name.
Amen.
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