How does God see it? And how should we pray?
I have been wrestling with what has been the hottest topic in the news for months but is now fading somewhat into the background as viewers get weary and want something else to be alarmed about. Of course, I’m talking about the Russia/Ukraine war.
How do I pray about it? What does God say about this phenomenon? What does the Bible say?
Here are my thoughts:
As a prelude, let’s look at the character of God.
THE CHARACTER OF GOD
Firstly,
God is loving.
He doesn’t enjoy seeing His creation suffer. Ezekiel 33:11 says, “’As surely as I live’ declares the sovereign Lord, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways.’”
Death is a consequence of sin, but it’s not what God wants for us.
Secondly,
God is just.
Isaiah 61 says, “I, the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong.”
And Deuteronomy 30:15-18 says, “See, I set before you today, life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God……by loving Him and keeping His commandments…. then you shall live and multiply…
But if your heart turns away and you will not hear but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, then…. You shall surely perish.”
War is not what God wants, but it is what He has ordained as a consequence of evildoing. Laws must have consequences, otherwise they are not laws. If you stepped out of a second story window and sometimes you fell to the ground and at other times you did not, the law of gravity would not be a true law. It’s the same with spiritual laws. There must be consequences. We instinctively know this. When you hear of a man raping a baby, doesn’t something inside you rise up and say, “He must be punished for that”?
Let’s apply that to Russia/Ukraine. Are any of them governed by God’s laws?
Russia is a corrupt, oppressive nation, we know that. The Russian Orthodox Church is sanctioned, but severe restrictions and fines are placed on evangelical Christians.
What about the Ukraine? It has been listed as the second most corrupt nation in Europe, is a popular prostitution and sex tourism destination and a world leader in surrogate pregnancies, where babies are sold as commodities.
Can we say, then, from God’s perspective, that war is a consequence of defying the laws of a just God? I think the answer is obvious.
Thirdly,
God is not authoritarian.
In Deuteronomy 30:15, He says, “See, I set before you, life and prosperity, death and destruction.” And He goes on to say, “Choose life!” The choice, and the consequences, are ours.
Fourthly,
God looks after His own.
Read Psalm 91 or Psalm 25:10
We’ve all heard testimonies of His miraculous provision coming out of this war.
Sometimes it’s physical, sometimes supernatural strength to overcome immense obstacles and sometimes His powerful presence, giving us courage even in the face of death, as in martyrdom.
Now, let’s look at THE NATURE OF WAR
THE NATURE OF WAR
There are two aspects I find in the Bible:
Aspect One
Firstly, war concentrates human misery into one place and time, yet it is the same human misery as all the others that result from sin.
The carnage in the Ukraine rightly horrifies us, but did you know that in South Africa there are 50 murders a day? That’s 18,000 murders every year. And 1,000 deaths from road accidents every month? And nearly 4,000 women raped every month? {and these are reported rapes, which, it is estimated are only a third of actual rapes).
When we understand that this is a small microcosm of what is happening world-wide, we realise that war is merely a distillation of what is happening all the time in a fallen world. It’s as though God is saying, “Here’s the fallen world in technicolor. Turn to Me. This is what it’s like without Me.”
Secondly, all these terrible things start from within.
A boy once asked, “Daddy, how do wars begin?”
“Well, take the First World War,” his dad replied. “It began when Germany invaded Belgium.”
Immediately his wife interrupted him, “Tell the boy the truth. It began because somebody was murdered.”
The husband yanked his head towards her, “Are you answering this question, or am I?”
She walked out of the room in a huff and slammed the door. The dad sat and sulked. The boy interrupted the silence, “Daddy, you don’t have to tell me how wars begin. I think I know now.”
James 4:1-3 says, “what causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
Thirdly, It is the war in our souls that initiates the physical manifestations. Let us see how this plays out in the Russia/Ukraine situation.
- Fear. Putin is reacting to the threat of NATO right on his borders.
- Greed. Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe, which was once a huge earner for Russia. Putin wants it back.
- Pride. Russia has fallen from a powerful union and Putin wants to restore its glory.
- Power. The Ukraine wants to join NATO. There is compelling evidence that it was running a lab similar to Wuhan in collaboration with the United States.
The Bible makes it clear that it is this war for our souls that is at the heart of all wars, whether it is a war in the home or a war between nations. That is where it all starts. The cause is the same.
Ephesians 6:12. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
It’s when we lose this battle for our souls that the physical battles are manifest.
Aspect Two.
In the Old Testament, God used people to wage war to inflict judgement on nations for their wickedness.
He used Israel to judge other nations (see 1Samuel 15:17,18)
He used the Assyrians and Babylonians against a disobedient Israel.
Jesus, however, brought a dispensation of grace. We live in an age of grace, and we, as Christians are to extend that grace. It is not our place to wage war as Christians, whether personally or as a nation. We are told to leave room for God’s wrath (Romans 12: 19)
And God will ultimately judge. He personally will wage war on disobedient nations.
Revelations 19:11-16. “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a White Horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire and on his head or many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, Riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God or mighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
We do not wage war on the disobedient, we extend grace. However, we should fear for those who reject him, and warn them. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.”
So, how should we pray for the Russia/Ukraine situation?
We need to understand that God is primarily interested in His children. His constant cry throughout the Bible is for people to come to Him, to trust him and to come under the protective umbrella of his laws and his grace. So, the way I pray is:
- That through this war, many will be drawn into his Kingdom. Often, it is as we are in a tragic situation where we can no longer help ourselves that we cry out to God. I pray for that to happen, so that they will not only experience his protection, but we’ll have the assurance that if the war kills them, they will be with him.
- For his children on both sides of the war. In Russia and in Ukraine, there are Christians who are suffering loss of loved ones, loss of livelihood and shelter. Let us pray for God’s powerful presence and his provision and comfort. God is close to the broken hearted. How many of His people are broken hearted? There was a triumphant sound in the voice of the commentator who reported that they estimate a third of Russia soldiers have been killed. My response was a deep sorrow for all those young lives lost and the mourning parents, wives, and children.
- War is a tragedy, but all around the world the same suffering is happening as people abandon God and try to run the world without Him. Let this war stir us to realise what the world is like when we leave God out and let it be a stimulus to call out to God for revival. Let us pray that God will take the initiative and make Himself known as He has done in the past.
