Ads Push For Middle Ground Amid Syrian Conflict
Each morning, I read through Common Prayer. I have the hard copy but here is an online copy at commonprayer.net. It is a daily Scripture and prayer guide put together by Shane Claiborne and some of his friends.
For the past several weeks under the heading of “Prayer for Others”, I’ve been listening to the daily global news podcast on National Public Radio. I may be a global citizen because of the internet but I have no idea that the world exists outside of my immediate geographical concerns. I have always enjoyed reading an actual newspaper and seeing where God is at work or where the church can be in prayer. I find that Saturday papers are the best days for this sort of reading. So when I found this daily global news story, I can now be more aware of global concerns and pray for God’s activity within these stories.
The link above is today’s story about some advertising professionals in Syria (I had no idea where Syria was) who are helping to bring peace to an internal conflict (of which I only know the smallest bits and pieces) between a majority group and a minority group (what else is new?). I listened and took notes. I don’t write the prayers down but wanted to do so today to share this idea with any of you in case you wanted to try this. While I will never meet the folks in this story nor will I ever visit Syria, after listening, you can easily hear that the peace of Christ is needed in their midst.
Prince of Peace, thank you for the creativity of Mr. Alani and Mr. Omran. May you grant them favor with those involved in the conflict and continue to foster other creative methods for peace in Syria. For the leadership of Syria, may that be moved to seek common ground in positive and non-destructive ways. For the citizens of Syria, may you strengthen the voice of the silent, encourage the hearts of the weary and give them hope that peace between the sides will become a reality. Amen.
