This is a prayer for Afghanistan as that nation is in the midst of great turmoil and fear, in light of the US withdrawal after 20 years of occupation and war, and the return of the rule of the Taliban.
God, we remember to you those suffering in Afghanistan:
Non-combatants in fear for their lives and livelihoods,
Women and girls historically abused and oppressed by the Taliban,
Troops and workers watching the dissolution of decades of work,
Soldiers mourning lost comrades,
All who have worked and hoped for a better future for Afghanistan.
We don’t claim to understand everything about what’s happening there,
But we know pain and chaos when we see it.
The people of Afghanistan are our family;
When they hurt, we hurt.
God, bring peace and comfort to the Afghan people.
Let the land no longer be a place of war and conflict.
Bring just government and leaders who are fair and upright.
Let inequality and oppression be relics of the past.
Upend the cause of the unjust and destroy the plans of the wicked.
Restore the nation of Afghanistan to its truest beauty, it’s sacred home.
Forgive us for ways we, our government, our military, have been complicit in the chaos there.
Guide our government and military authorities in the path of insight (1).
May they learn to wield power in ways that help and not harm,
To prevent war rather than perpetuate it,
To know when to intervene on behalf of the vulnerable,
And when to mind their own business.
We pray, here and abroad, for people and governments
That act justly and love mercy,
That work persistently for the good of all,
That protect and serve the vulnerable,
That uplift the oppressed,
That root out injustice.
May God’s good community, your Kin-dom family,
Come on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen
1) Proverbs 9:6