O God, we weep for Afghanistan.
We recognize the bravery of those who died to help others be free.
We recognize the bravery of those who died, desperate to save themselves in these days.
We recognize that bravery has not saved us, and we grieve the lives lost these twenty years. We honor their memory and sacrifice not by losing ourselves in despair, but by remembering that the only way forward is to learn.
To love and not to hate.
To remember that our anger is grief.
To understand in our powerlessness right now, we have the capacity to love and give.
To show kindness and compassion.
O God, we see the images from the streets, and we weep.
We see the images from the crowded planes, and we weep.
We see the images of those who were so desperate to escape, and we weep.
For what can we do, besides mourn and pray, but to love, and in our love, grieve?
May we never turn to hate:
May we never hate another for their religion.
May we never hate another for their differences in appearance.
May we never hate another for the land they come from.
May we never hate another.
May we be filled with Your love and compassion, for soldiers and civilians, who have given everything and lost so much. May we care for the families in mourning.
And may we learn. May we learn and change our ways, and work to change the world from violence to restoration.
In the name of Christ, we pray.
Amen.
Thank you for this prayer! My heart is so heavy, thinking of the people of Afghanistan — particularly women and girls — right now. I appreciate how you draw the boundaries of grief so wide as we ask God into the midst of our lives.