Blog
“Praying Beyond the Headlines”
Categories: Bulletin Articles, Clay Gentry
As Christians, our hearts are moved by the suffering and conflict we witness globally, rightly encouraging prayers for places like Israel and Ukraine, lands of strife and loss. Yet, we must ask Why our intercession often focuses on certain nations while others, such as Palestine and Russia, remain outside our petitions? Have political currents dictated our compassion and communion with God? It’s time to broaden our prayers, seeking God's expansive will in these troubled regions.
Let us pray that Hamas and Russia relent from evil and turn to the Lord. Do we prioritize our allies’ military victory over the “enemy’s” salvation? Can we envision praying for their transformation, where hatred yields to love and reconciliation? Our ultimate hope rests not only in the absence of earthly conflict but in the eternal peace and reconciliation offered through Christ, when “nation shall not lift up sword against nation” (Isaiah 2:4).
Let us pray that God executes His judgments on Hamas and Russia for their evil slaughter of innocents. The cry for justice is natural. But too often, Christians view God solely as a benevolent Father, not as a sword-wielding Judge. This limited view fails to grapple with pervasive evil and suffering beyond our comfort. As Paul reminds us, “Note then the kindness and the severity of God” (Rom 11:22). Our prayers concerning war should shatter comfortable theologies, compelling us to grapple with God’s whole character, from compassion to fierce opposition to evil.
Let us also turn our hearts in prayer to all war victims, including Palestinians in Gaza. Witnessing Gaza's devastation – leveled buildings, crumbling infrastructure, lack of sanitation, and a scarcity of food – should move us. Rationalizing their plight by citing Hamas’ control of the region diminishes their humanity. Are Palestinians less worthy of our prayers due to geographical location, governance, religion, or skin color? God’s compassion transcends men’s artificial boundaries; we are to “be merciful, even as [our] Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).
Finally, let us pray humbly, acknowledging potential wrongdoing on all sides. Shall we presume our allies, like Israel or Ukraine, are exempt from atrocities? Are we blind to their actions, or do we reserve God’s justice only for enemies? Christian prayer in conflict requires evenly recognizing human fallibility and consistently pleading for universal repentance, trusting God’s impartial justice, for with Him “there is no partiality” (Rom 2:11).
Instead of allowing our prayers to be shaped by the shifting sands of political alliances, where we fervently seek the defeat of one group and the military victory of another, could our intercessions be better focused on the overarching and eternal principles of God’s Kingdom: justice that restores, peace that endures, reconciliation that heals, and the holistic flourishing of all of humanity, created in His image? Yes they can. So, may our prayers encompass not only a yearning for an end to war and the establishment of earthly justice and peace, but also the deeper and more profound hope for the universal salvation and spiritual healing of all of God’s children. Let us place our unwavering trust in His sovereign will and His boundless and universal love for all of His creation.
