In time of war- a prayer for use in church

 A Prayer of Praise and Petition in Time of War

Holy and sovereign LORD,
Commander of the armies of heaven,
you are pure in all your ways and righteous in all your judgments.
You are not swept up into the passions of nations,
nor do you bend to the pride of rulers.
You are zealous for justice,
steadfast in mercy,
and unchanging in holiness.

We praise you that you are not a tribal god,
not a mascot for our causes,
not a banner we wave to sanctify our ambitions.
When Joshua asked, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”
you answered, “Neither.”
You stand above every nation,
and yet you stand firmly against evil.

LORD, you hate oppression and the shedding of innocent blood.
You see the cruelty of tyrants and the suffering of the vulnerable.
You are not indifferent to violence or injustice.
You are the judge of all the earth,
and you will do what is right.

And so we pray in days of war and conflict:
Guard us from pride.
Keep us from assuming that our power equals your approval.
Forgive us when we invoke your name to sanctify our fears or justify our anger.

Teach us instead to seek your side—
to love what you love,
to oppose what you oppose,
to defend the vulnerable without self-righteousness,
to pursue justice without triumphalism.

Grant wisdom to leaders.
Restrain evil wherever it rises.
Protect the innocent from harm.
Comfort those who mourn.
And purify your church,
that we may bear witness not to one nation's glory or the virtues of 'The West'
but to your holy kingdom that has dawned in the Lord Jesus Christ's coming into the world, and his glorious sacrifice.

Commander of the LORD’s host,
make us a people who bow before you,
who remove our sandals in humility,
and who follow where you lead.

Through Jesus Christ,
the Prince of Peace and righteous Judge,
Amen.

Composed as a reflection on Joshua ch 5 and the current Iran-Israel-US war, in dialogue with ChatGPT (which is not 'AI' as such but really the workings of a machine speedily gathering and curating what humans have written in their prayers over the centuries).