The Scriptures call followers of Christ to pray for those in deep distress as if we ourselves are suffering – to keep on loving one another and showing hospitality to all – no matter if the bombs are falling. (Heb. 13:1-3)
My encouragement to you is to personalize prayers for war-torn areas by keeping in mind several things learned in conversation with individuals in the suffering church around the world…
Our focus in prayer is on individual hearts needing reconciliation with God.
It is far less about political entities being restrained or corrected – except when that blessing impacts individuals and their homes and families. And so, as we pray for nations to lay down their swords, our desire and our expectation in prayer is that Christ, the Light of the World, will be magnified and individuals and their communities drawn to faith and peace of heart in Him.
We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves, not nations as ourselves.[1] Yes, we are called to honor authority and be thankful for any goodness we find in a nation, but the man or woman who bears that authority and the people of that nation are the focus of our love in prayer. Nations will come and go, but the human heart redeemed by Christ will live forever!
“Jesus said there will be conflict and wars until he returns (Mark 13:7–8). What should our response be, living as followers of Christ in a world in conflict? Humanly speaking, we often think that conflict should pause our ministries. We may pause our strategies, but we should not pause our heart to serve. Because God does not stop working, we, his body, must not stop. Our hearts and minds must submit to God’s sovereignty even in the most difficult situations, seeing gospel opportunities when the world sees conflict.” (Lausanne Movement [2])
Pray by name for individuals, families, mission and helping agencies, and churches.
The Apostle Paul models for us “continually” “remembering” in prayer those who were in the scattered church of his day.[3] There is great power in naming individuals in prayer, even if no other specific needs are addressed.
If those fleeing for their lives could hear their name presented at the Throne of God, would they not be filled with fresh courage?
Our names represent us as individuals. When someone says our name, we are shown respect and recognized or even valued in our uniqueness.
Some of the deepest grief in war is reserved for the “missing in action,” or, “the unknown soldier.” If that is true for the warrior, it’s also true for the one at home they represent.
Our names are “intrinsically tied to our sense of self, our place in the world, and our relationships with others. From the moment we’re born, our names become a fundamental part of our identity, shaping how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us.”[4]
So, as we would love to be mentioned, as often as we can let’s pray by name for those being torn by war. If you know of only one person in the conflict, pray for that person by name and all in his or her war-torn circle will be included in God’s all sufficient grace. If you see a picture that burdens your heart, clip it out, give it a name and post it somewhere you’ll see it often.
God knows the names of those we lift up in prayer and when He hears that name from your caring lips, His loving heart is warmed. This sets in motion God’s help in ways that we can’t begin to know or imagine. [5]
Pray as you would pray for yourself if suddenly your life or family were threatened by war’s violence and loss.
When praying for those caught in war, remember they face the same daily challenges that you do — before and after being oppressed by war. We can’t pray if we don’t recognize how vulnerable EVERYONE is to daily difficulties and sinful hearts, no matter where they live.
So, if you have arthritis, some in war do also. If you have a troubled, broken family, some in war do also. If you have trouble financially, many there already are in bankruptcy, living day to day. If you need medicine to heal, many in war do also. If you have a family to feed, so do they. If you have difficult neighbors, so do they.
As we reach for a pill, or turn on the hot water, or get up to a quiet morning without the warning of a missile or a bullet’s destruction, let’s take a moment to remember those who are robbed of those blessings.
War exposes their daily, common need to much greater, compounded difficulty.
You have a need, so do they, but in war that need can become an exceedingly heavy burden. Ongoing war exposes communities to the death and injury of dear family members, internal displacements (loss of homes), migration, rape, food scarcity, severe poverty, famine and more.
The hot water you shower in, the pharmacy from which you get your meds, the grocery store stocked with food, the power grid that runs your A/C, the mechanic that fixes your car can, and often do, disappear overnight. What would happen to your daily troubles if today you had to run for shelter from a bomb or missile, load your family into the care and flee for your lives?
The power of our prayers is the power of God.
Let’s remember and depend on the fact that our Lord is Almighty God and can do anything.[6] He is the source of every good and perfect gift[7] in joy or grief, quiet or the booming cacophony of war. God’s comfort is the only comfort that soothes the deeply troubled soul. And faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus, is the only way to freedom from sin and eternal death.
Perhaps you can’t do much to help, but GOD can and will, as we pray.
Prayers that matter with God are prayers that lead us to actions of love and faith.
If we let them, our prayers will put are feet in motion to serve; open our bank accounts to give in partnership with God’s people addressing the needs; give voice to encouraging, comforting words and prayers in letters or notes on the worldwide internet; and whenever possible, open our arms and homes wide to personally shelter the suffering.[8]
Remember, God is sovereign.
Recently I heard an amazing story about a missionary family that gave sanctuary to 80 of their neighbors in the midst of a war-torn village in Mozambique, many in the village bleeding from the violence and 100 homes smoldering on the ground. The physical sanctuary for those 80 people was a flimsy bamboo fence that couldn’t possibly stop a flying bullet, but their spiritual sanctuary was prayer.
The powerful result? All who took sanctuary at that missionary home lived, and when those 80 returned home, their houses still stood! All who took santuary in prayer witnessed a powerful move of God.[9]
To hear the following 6 minute recording, “Wrestling with God’s Sovereignty,” click anywhere on this paragraph. In this story, the missionary is sharing how he wrestled with God’s sovereignty after having to suddenly leave by “hot landings” from a village caught in the crossfire of war in CAR (Central African Republic). His family and team had only been there six months before having to flee. (Source: Inlander Podcast – #12 Steve: Risk, Resolve, Repeat)
[2] Living the Gospel in Conflict Zones
[3] Colossians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 2:13
[4] The Neuroscience behind name recognition
[5] Romans 8:26-39; cf. Isaiah 43:1; Revelation 2:17
[6] God Can Do All Things – Openbible.info
[9] Inlander Podcast – #12 Steve: Risk, Resolve, Repeat
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