Desk of Dennis Piller
Fearlessly Courageous
9 12 2025
A prayer for Charlie Kirk’s family and those lost in mass shootings.
America lost a great voice for the youth yesterday. Charlie Kirk. Yet I heard parts of Congress not even wanting to pray for his family. What has happened to our America?
What has happened to people agreeing to disagree over any matter?
I pray this will start a revival of peace and civility among the opposing political views. We must bring Jesus and prayer into America’s divide. I pray his martyrdom sparks a flame that rages in all our hearts. We must begin by looking in the mirror and not pointing a finger. I keep mentioning prayer because it is the only thing that will turn the tide of anger and hate for an opposing view. Anger is running rampant in our nation and our world. Let’s pray together for his family, those lost in mass shootings, and 911.
A Prayer for Reconciliation
Heavenly Father,
We come to You broken-hearted, shocked, and burdened by grief. We mourn the loss of Charlie Kirk, whose voice among the young was bold, whose words stirred our debates, whose life was cut down in a clear political assassination. A moment that should never have come.
Lord, we are horrified at the anger, the division, the rush to condemn even before truth is known. We’ve seen people rejoice at this tragedy, voices saying he deserved it. We’ve heard calls for silence when there should be compassion, disdain where there should be understanding.
God of mercy, soften our hearts.
Where there is hatred, bring love.
Where there is fear, bring courage and trust.
Where there is bitterness, bring forgiveness and healing.
We pray for Charlie’s family and friends—comfort their sorrow, hold them close. May they feel Your presence in every tear, and Your peace in every moment of despair.
We pray for our nation.
May this grievous day not deepen our divides, but awaken in us the peace of the Holy Spirit.
May we remember that even in the fiercest disagreements, we are bound by our shared humanity.
Please give us the humility to look in the mirror.
Please help us to cease pointing fingers and instead reach out with open hands.
Let our anger not become our identity; let our convictions not justify contempt.
Jesus, Prince of Peace, come into our brokenness.
May Your example humble us: to speak truth with love, to protest injustice with respect, to defend the voiceless without demeaning others.
Lord, if ever there was a time for revival in civility, for a new stirring of kindness, for a reclaiming of common decency… it is now. From ashes of grief, sow seeds of unity. From the noise of outrage, raise a song of reconciliation.
May the memory of these mass shootings, along with Charlie’s voice, silenced by violence, echo now in hearts across every aisle, calling us back to what is right: compassion, understanding, kindness. May his memory spur us to build bridges instead of walls, to listen more deeply, to love more fully.
In Your name we pray, Amen.
I read this psalm this morning that I thought was most fitting, for those lost in mass shootings, on 911, and the assassination of another human being.
Psalm 35
1 Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take up shield and armor;
arise and come to my aid.
3 Brandish spear and javelin[a]
against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
“I am your salvation.”
4 May those who seek my life
be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
be turned back in dismay.
5 May they be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away;
6 may their path be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 Since they hid their net for me without cause
and without cause dug a pit for me,
8 may ruin overtake them by surprise—
may the net they hid entangle them,
may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
9 Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord
and delight in his salvation.
10 My whole being will exclaim,
“Who is like you, Lord?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
11 Ruthless witnesses come forward;
they question me on things I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good
and leave me like one bereaved.
13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
14 I went about mourning
as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
as though weeping for my mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
They slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;[b]
they gnashed their teeth at me.
17 How long, Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages,
my precious life from these lions.
18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among the throngs I will praise you.
19 Do not let those gloat over me
who are my enemies without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason
maliciously wink the eye.
20 They do not speak peaceably,
but devise false accusations
against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha!
With our own eyes we have seen it.”
22 Lord, you have seen this; do not be silent.
Do not be far from me, Lord.
23 Awake, and rise to my defense!
Contend for me, my God and Lord.
24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God;
do not let them gloat over me.
25 Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!”
or say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26 May all who gloat over my distress
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and disgrace.
27 May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “The Lord be exalted,
who delights in the well-being of his servant.”
28 My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
your praises all day long.
I will be hosting an Online Discovering Jesus class starting on Tuesday night
Sept. 16th, at 7pm ONLINE for people of all ages. Our topic this week is the Two Baptisms.
Please send me a note if you would like to attend or know someone who would like to grow their faith. If you have a big screen at home, you can create a time to invite friends or neighbors who would like to join you in a Home Group for 5 weeks. Let’s get creative. Here is your link to join us on Tuesday. If you desire to invite someone send them this email and just have them join us. https://meet.google.com/cfm-udos-iks
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Steve Green Broken and Spilled Out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pklUAB4E4nA
