Devotional | Prayer of Peace

By Jodie McCarthy

The start of a new year brings with it hope and new dreams and, after the epic marathon that was 2020, we are all in need of this.

Yet, barely weeks into 2021, already there have been lockdowns in a number of states of Australia, and let’s not talk about how Christmas looked for some. A good friend showed me a photo this season of her sister in England watching her kids and grandkids eating Christmas dinner from the window. The separation and worry is often overwhelming.

And that is just Covid. Maybe you are entering this year with a health battle ahead. Maybe there are family circumstances that have already brought sadness to your new year. Maybe it is ongoing work difficulties.

I don’t know your circumstances, but I do know that life is an interweaving of both beauty and pain, hope and hurt. So, today I want to share with you a prayer of peace from my new book Grace and Space. May the peace that surpasses understanding guard your heart and mind, no matter what 2021 brings.

Jodie

A Prayer of Peace

May you have peace in the midst of the hard days
May you have peace in the midst of the beautiful days

May you have peace on the days when despair colours your day
May you have peace on the days when hope is tangible

May you have peace as you celebrate new life
May you have peace in the unravelling of relationships

May you have peace as you walk to school
May you have peace in the breakdown of your body

May you have peace when life is going to plan
May you have peace when the future is no longer clear

May you have peace when grief floods your spirit
May you have peace when joy fills your soul

May you have peace as you walk away
May you have peace as you start something new

May you have peace when you are surrounded by love
May you have peace when you have been abandoned

May you have peace when you watch the sunrise
May you have peace as you settle to sleep

Amen