Thank you for inviting me to pray at today’s Veterans Day memorial service. I’d like to base today’s opening prayer on a passage from the prophet Isaiah. He speaks of the Lord’s promise of peace at the end of days.
Isaiah 2:4
[the Lord] shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore. (ESV)
What this passage tells us is that one day the Lord is going to end all conflicts and bring peace on earth. Now I have never served in the military, but what I sense from many good servicemen and servicewomen is that you don’t join the military for war, but rather, for peace. You join to bring peace not only to the United States but to the furthest reaches of this world, which sometimes lack peace.
I learned recently that the military is one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the world, bringing food and supplies to peoples in need all across the globe. That is message of peace, and the prophet Isaiah promises that one day God will fulfill the mission of peace. On the last day there will be no more war or weapons of war, but eternal peace. Let me pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you that you are the perfect judge. And one day you are going to bring peace to every conflict. You are going to decide all matters and because we know you are perfectly fair and good, the outcome will be truly just.
We pray for our Veterans today Father. Would you bless them? Would you honor the sacrifices they have made and the hardships they have undergone for us? Would we never forget the steep cost they have paid for our country.
We pray you would use Veterans to encourage and care for the servicemen and servicewomen that follow in their footsteps. Please protect those who are still active duty as well as those who are home or retired.
We pray that you would use our military to spread peace throughout the world. Would you fulfill their mission to bring peace on earth? We thank you that your Son Jesus, through his death and resurrection, makes peace with God and each other possible.
Thank you for our Veterans. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Jonathan Romig wrote this prayer for the November 11th, 2018 Veterans Day memorial service at Veterans Memorial Park in Chelmsford. You can visit the park at CHEL-38-117, 1st St, Chelmsford, MA 01824.