“O God of Love, O King of Peace,” LBW 414
1 O God of love, O King of peace,
make wars throughout the world to cease;
our greed and sinful wrath restrain.
Give peace, O God, give peace again.
2 Remember, Lord, your works of old,
the wonders that our elders told;
remember not our sins’ deep stain.
Give peace, O God, give peace again.
3 Whom shall we trust but you, O Lord?
Where rest but on your faithful word?
None ever called on you in vain.
Give peace, O God, give peace again.
4 Where saints and angels dwell above
all hearts are knit in holy love;
oh, bind us in that heav’nly chain.
Give peace, O God, give peace again.
Devotion
I have this on-going conversation with my 5-year-old daughter. When I ask her to put on her shoes (or clean up her toys, or come to the dinner table), she seems to ignore me. She continues to play or read without responding. I ask again. No visible response. Frustrated, I say “Did you hear what I said?” And often she has heard – she just wants to comply on her own timetable, not mine.
Often we want to yell to God, “Did you hear what I said?” Intellectually we know that “none ever called on you in vain” and that God hears our cries of woe. But in the midst of chaos we yearn for concrete signs of God’s presence. Perhaps in the midst of this prayer, our eyes will be opened to the ways that God is at work in our lives. For God is at work ... may we be open to noticing.
Prayer
O God, open my eyes to see your workings within your creation. Amen.