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\u2019m talking about the Russia\/Ukraine war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How do I pray about it? What does God say about this phenomenon? What does the Bible say?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are my thoughts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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As a prelude, let\u2019s look at the character of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Firstly, <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n God is loving.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He doesn\u2019t enjoy seeing His creation suffer. Ezekiel 33:11 says, \u201c\u2019As surely as I live\u2019 declares the sovereign Lord, \u2018I 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.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Death is a consequence of sin, but it\u2019s not what God wants for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Secondly, <\/p>\n\n\n\n God is just.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Isaiah 61 says, \u201cI, the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And Deuteronomy 30:15-18 says, \u201cSee, I set before you today, life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God\u2026…by loving Him and keeping His commandments\u2026. then you shall live and multiply\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But if your heart turns away and you will not hear but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, then\u2026. You shall surely perish.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s the same with spiritual laws. There must be consequences. We instinctively know this. When you hear of a man raping a baby, doesn\u2019t something inside you rise up and say, \u201cHe must be punished for that\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s apply that to Russia\/Ukraine. Are any of them governed by God\u2019s laws?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can we say, then, from God\u2019s perspective, that war is a consequence of defying the laws of a just God? I think the answer is obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thirdly, <\/p>\n\n\n\n God is not authoritarian.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In Deuteronomy 30:15, He says, \u201cSee, I set before you, life and prosperity, death and destruction.\u201d <\/em>And He goes on to say, \u201cChoose life!\u201d<\/em> The choice, and the consequences, are ours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fourthly, <\/p>\n\n\n\n God looks after His own<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read Psalm 91 or Psalm 25:10<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve all heard testimonies of His miraculous provision coming out of this war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, let\u2019s look at THE NATURE OF WAR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two aspects I find in the Bible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aspect One<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Firstly, war concentrates human misery into one place and time,<\/strong> yet it is the same human misery as all the others that result from sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The carnage in the Ukraine rightly horrifies us, but did you know that in South Africa there are 50 murders a day? That\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s as though God is saying, \u201cHere\u2019s the fallen world in technicolor. Turn to Me. This is what it\u2019s like without Me.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Secondly, all these terrible things start from within.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A boy once asked, \u201cDaddy, how do wars begin?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, take the First World War,\u201d his dad replied. \u201cIt began when Germany invaded Belgium.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Immediately his wife interrupted him, \u201cTell the boy the truth. It began because somebody was murdered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The husband yanked his head towards her, \u201cAre you answering this question, or am I?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She walked out of the room in a huff and slammed the door. The dad sat and sulked. The boy interrupted the silence, \u201cDaddy, you don’t have to tell me how wars begin. I think I know now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n James 4:1-3 <\/strong>says, \u201cwhat 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thirdly, It is the war in our souls that initiates the physical manifestations.<\/strong> Let us see how this plays out in the Russia\/Ukraine situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ephesians 6:12. <\/strong>\u201cFor 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s when we lose this battle for our souls that the physical battles are manifest.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aspect Two.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Old Testament, God used people to wage war to inflict judgement on nations for their wickedness.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He used Israel to judge other nations (see 1Samuel 15:17,18)<\/p>\n\n\n\n He used the Assyrians and Babylonians against a disobedient Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus, however, brought a dispensation of grace. <\/strong>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)<\/p>\n\n\n\n And God will ultimately judge. He personally will wage war on disobedient nations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Revelations 19:11-16.<\/strong> \u201cI 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<\/u>. 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,<\/u> 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.<\/u> 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We do not wage war on the disobedient, we extend grace. However, we should fear for those who reject him, and warn them. \u201cIt is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n So, how should we pray for the Russia\/Ukraine situation?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE NATURE OF WAR<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n