A Prayer for Peace

We pray for peace, and in our prayer we know
That only Christ can give it — To him we go,
To him we point when others moan and sigh
And want the world to cease its conflicts, try
As it might in human councils. Lord, it takes
Conversion — how well we know — to put the brakes
On man’s agression. Use us as your agents
Of reconciliation, give us patience
To speak and point to Jesus as the way —
To call for our repentance, for comes the day
Of judgment, when every soul’s deep thought is bared
For your appraisal — when only the saints prepared
For the end will enter that city’s calm to share,
When we’ll experience the peace of answered prayer.