For nearly five decades, a religious dictatorship in Iran has oppressed and murdered its own people, sponsored violence across the Middle East, and attacked Americans in the region as well as other nations, including Israel. Efforts through diplomacy and sanctions to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons were promising but remain inconclusive.

In June 2025, the United States and Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites. Subsequent diplomacy failed to achieve a lasting agreement. On February 28, 2026, while negotiations were still underway, the United States and Israel launched an expanded bombing campaign against Iran. Iran has retaliated against Israel and U.S. allies throughout the Middle East.

Thousands of civilians have been killed, and many more have been injured and displaced from their homes. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital international shipping lane, has been closed to most traffic, disrupting the global supply of the oil, gas and fertilizer.

The National Association of Evangelicals has long called for peaceful resolution of conflicts wherever possible. As stated in our widely used public policy document, “For the Health of the Nation”:

The peaceful and just settling of disputes is a gift of common grace that requires sustained human action. We urge governments to pursue domestic, foreign, and security policies that encourage justice and peace by preventing conflict. We urge governments to thoroughly pursue nonviolent paths to peace. If governments use military force, they should deploy it justly in the service of sustainable peace and not to serve narrow national interests.

Christians have a long tradition of ethical reflection on war. Most evangelicals affirm the wisdom of the just war tradition, while critiquing ways its principles are sometimes misused. In “Toward an Evangelical Public Policy,” the late evangelical ethicist Glen H. Stassen outlines eight conditions for the conduct of a just war. You are invited to draw on these principles as you pray for peace with Iran.

  1. Just Cause: “The causes that can override the presumption against killing are stopping the massacres of large numbers of people or stopping the systematic and long-term violation of the human rights of life, liberty and community.”

Pray for Iranians who have been denied their basic rights, especially Christians and other religious minorities who have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith, as well as for their advocacy for justice and human rights (Psalm 103:6).

2. Just Authority: “To commit a nation to make a war in which many will die and be maimed is an enormous responsibility. No one can do that without just authority. Constitutional processes must be followed so the people who will pay with their lives and resources will be represented in the decision.”

Pray for members of Congress to take seriously their responsibility to decide whether to authorize further war with Iran. Pray also for Iranian and Israeli leaders to listen to the voices of their people who long for peace and freedom (Proverbs 20:18).

3. Last Resort: “Means of negotiation, conflict resolution and prevention that reasonably look as if they might work must be tried before resorting to war…. What justifies the killing in war is that it is the only way to stop the great injustice that provides the just cause.”

Pray that even now, alternatives to continuing the war will be thoroughly explored. Pray that leaders in all affected countries, as well as regional and international bodies, will use their influence to prevent a further widening of the war (1 Timothy 2:1–4).

4. Just Intention: “The only legitimate intention is to secure a just peace for all involved. Neither revenge nor conquest nor economic gain nor ideological supremacy are justified…. Enemy states must be treated, morally as well as strategically, as future partners in some sort of international order.”

Pray that leaders in the United States, Israel and Iran will recognize their shared interest in a just peace in which the rights and freedoms of their citizens are respected (Isaiah 32:17–18).

5. Probability of Success: “It is wrong to enter into a war that will kill many people, depriving them of the right to life, liberty and community, in order to achieve a more important goal, if we will quite surely lose and not achieve that goal, and all those people will die in vain.”

Pray that leaders will soberly face the cost of continuing a conflict that produces grave losses not only for combatant nations, but also for civilians and the global community. Pray that even now they will turn toward peace (Psalm 72:12–14).

6. Proportionality of Cost: “Proportionality requires that the total good achieved by a victory will outweigh the total evil and suffering that the war will cause. No one should prescribe a cure that is worse than the disease.”

Pray that those prosecuting the war will refrain from needless destruction that increases the cost of rebuilding without hastening the end of the war (Deuteronomy 20:19–20).

7. Announcement: “The government should announce the intention to make war and the conditions for avoiding it…. Public announcement enables the people to exercise their conscientious responsibility to weigh the justice and importance of the cause versus the killing that will be involved. It provides transparency so the people may know what their government is doing in their name as it commits them to the horror of a war.”

Pray that citizens in whose name the fighting is taking place will take seriously their responsibility before God to make their voices heard and that leaders will listen attentively to the will of the people before taking steps to continue or widen the war (Proverbs 31:8–9).

8. Just Means: “All members of an enemy nation retain the sanctity of their lives, created in the image of God…. Once soldiers have surrendered, they may not be killed or tortured. Noncombatants are not fighting the war, so their right to life forbids them being intentionally killed. Any terrorist attack against civilians is ruled out.”

Pray for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. Pray also for those who are caring for the wounded, displaced and traumatized (2 Kings 6:21–23).

As we lift these prayers, we place our hope in the God who “makes wars cease,” defends the oppressed, and leads the nations toward peace (Psalm 46:9).

Resources