Pray for Christians to Be Peace-Makers

Devotional: "Pray for Christians to Be Peace-Makers"

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9

 It’s an extraordinary privilege to be called the sons of God.  Halfway through the apostle John’s first letter, he burst out – “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1).  Not merely did God save and redeem us, but He adopted us into the royal family; He didn’t just make us servants, but He called us sons and daughters.

By nature, children resemble the parents from whom they came into the world.  Physical attributes like height, complexion, and eye color, as well as personality traits like propensity to humor or desire for order, tend to show high correlation from generation to generation.

Our sacred privilege and duty, then, is to resemble as closely as possible the Father who loved us, and Jesus, the first-born among many brothers and sisters.  Jesus left His throne to come and preach peace to those who were far off and to those who were near.  Unto us that Son was given who is the Prince of Peace, and with Him our calling to bring peace wherever we go.

Christians should actively endeavor to produce peace. It’s not enough to prefer peace over strife; our calling is to bring peace forth in the world.  Peace does not come from callous indifference but from productive engagement.

Peace should never be sought at the expense of purity or truth. James reminds us that the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable (James 3:17).  Christians are not called to avoid conflict to the extent that we don’t speak the truth in love, or engage in moral compromise.

It’s much easier to guard peace proactively than to try to restore it reactively. King Solomon stated it this way in Proverbs 17:14:  “The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.”  During his reign, Solomon ordered the construction of large pools that flowed to Jerusalem via an aqueduct – once the water went downstream, it couldn’t be sent back up again.

We should pray for peace. David sang in Psalm 122:6:  “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they be secure who love you!”  Because enmity is the default state of fallen humanity, peace can only come through God’s hand.  We should earnestly pray that peace will come – to individuals as they are reconciled to God through Jesus, to families as they forgive each other, to the body of Christ at large, and to the world.  And we should faithfully serve as His ambassadors to bring reconciliation and peace. 

Our Father, we thank You for adopting us to be Your sons and daughters. We rejoice that You sent Jesus to preach peace to those near and those far away.  We embrace the high calling of being those who bring peace wherever we go.  Empower us, Holy Spirit, to be peacemakers, to embrace the heavenly wisdom that is pure and peaceable, and even to stop quarrels before they start. We join with our fellow believers around the world in praying for the peace of Jerusalem.  In the name of Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace, Amen.

Peter Ahlin
COO|CFO, Christian Union