Before learning early this morning about the President’s military strike involving Iran, I had spent time meditating on this verse from Scripture:

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”
—Colossians 4:2

It felt as though God had gently prepared my heart for the news of the day. Almost immediately, I sensed a clear call to prayer—not only for leaders and governments, but for people, families, children, and teenagers. We must pray for the people of Israel and Iran, and for all those who live throughout the Middle East. I also thought of military personnel from other nations who serve in this region, often far from their families, carrying heavy responsibility in dangerous circumstances. The possibilities of this involving other nation’s militaries is large.

My thoughts returned to earlier seasons of prayer, particularly during the late 1970s, when international tensions involving Iran deeply affected many nations. Since that time, the Iranian regime has repeatedly expressed hostility toward Israel, the United States, Western culture, and even other Islamic communities that do not share its interpretation of Shia Islam. These long-standing tensions continue to shape global concern today.

Once again, the eyes of the world are fixed on the Middle East. Nations across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas are watching closely, aware that conflict in this region has global consequences—political, economic, humanitarian, and spiritual.

My immediate response is prayer: prayer for national leaders, for military forces, and especially for ordinary people whose lives are disrupted by conflict. The words of Scripture continue to echo in my heart—“Devote yourselves to prayer.” I feel a particular burden to pray for the people of Iran. This moment may yet become a turning point—a season of hope born out of suffering.

Here is how we can pray together, across borders and cultures:

• Pray that many will hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and find new life and hope in Him.
• Pray for those in the Muslim world who are encountering Christ through dreams and visions, and that they may find safe, faithful Christian Churches.
• Pray for the protection of the most vulnerable—women, children, the elderly, refugees, and those displaced by violence.
• Pray for young people who are unemployed, discouraged, or searching for purpose and dignity in life.
• Pray for men to discover their true identity in Christ, becoming men of peace, integrity, and sacrificial love within their families and communities.
• Pray for the underground church and its leaders, asking God to grant wisdom, courage, and protection as they live out and share their faith.
• Pray for prisoners and detainees, that hope, comfort, and freedom in Christ would be theirs in the notoriously dangerous prisons of Iran.

I urge you never to underestimate the privilege and influence of prayer. God invites people from every nation to seek Him with alertness and gratitude. When we pray, hearts are softened, leaders are guided, and history can be shaped toward a more just, virtuous, and prosperous civilization.

Please join Becky and me tonight for our Saturday Prayer Service at 6:00 PM on Facebook, or pray with us wherever you are.

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”
—Colossians 4:2

Peace!