Peace Be With You

Prayed at Decatur First UMC
April 12, 2026

We pray for peace, dear Lord.  The deep and abiding peace that only you can give.  
Not just contentment, although that would be nice.  
Not just security, although we crave that.  
Not the absence of pain, although we would rather avoid that.  
And not the illusions of peace that the world offers.  
No, Lord.  We long for your peace -   
Peace that passes our understanding, but dwells deeply in our hearts.  
Peace that is more than the absence of conflict, but rather sustains us in the midst of it.  
Peace that cannot be taken away or lost, but is all too easily forgotten.  
We pray for your peace to meet us where we are this morning.  
Whatever weight is bearing down on us, grant us peace.  
Whatever fears are overwhelming us, grant us peace.  
Whatever grief is accompanying us, grant us peace. 
Whatever it is that seems impossible or insurmountable, grant us peace.  
Whatever doubts and questions we have, grant us peace.  

We ask this knowing that your peace does not necessarily change things, but it changes us.  
As you grant us peace, make us also people of peace.  
As you meet us where we are, help us also to meet others where they are, 
So that when we tell the story of what you have done for us and through us, 
We will begin and end with your peace.  
We ask all this in the name of Christ our Lord, the Prince of Peace.  Amen. 

Based on John 20: 19-31 -
19 It was still the first day of the week. That evening, while the disciples were behind closed doors because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you don’t forgive them, they aren’t forgiven.”
24 Thomas, the one called Didymus, one of the Twelve, wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.”
26 After eight days his disciples were again in a house and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus entered and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!”
28 Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.”
30 Then Jesus did many other miraculous signs in his disciples’ presence, signs that aren’t recorded in this scroll. 31 But these things are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, and that believing, you will have life in his name.