The Tragedy of War
And the Tragic Implications
Are you like me? The word, “Tragic,” in the context of “War” evokes heartbreaking pictures in my mind.
May I suggest some tragedies we might be missing? I pray that your heart will take these insights and apply them to your prayer life.
FEAR
As the death toll rises, would you pray that Ukraians would not fear man — but would realize the brevity of life and cause them to fear not knowing the Lord?
You may think the world is becoming unglued. First the Ukraine, and now possible sabre rattling in Taiwan. Would you remember though, God is in control. Are you fearing what you see? If you fear, perhaps your God is smaller than you think. Maybe you have put your trust in man rather than Him.
Do you know when Jesus will return? He said He would return when things are as bad on the earth as it was in Noah’s time (Matthew 24:37). If you are praying for Christ’s return, trust that God is manuevering nations to where He wants them for His purposes.
Trust Him to give you the strength to ENDURE IN THE TROUBLE (2 Timothy 2:3).
Pray for Christians in the Ukraine, that they would have no fear, because they trust God. And pray that those who are experiencing fear would prayerfully ask themselves, “Why?”
Sometimes fear may be telling us a lot more about ourselves than we realize.
Often, our fears are a wake-up call. Jesus said clearly, some who believe they are saved will hear the words, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23). Pray for those men and women who need to get saved, even though they already think they are saved.
FERVENT
Finally, as you watch what is going on, how are you being moved, motivated, inspired, and prompted? Let me tell you about a sweet woman who walked into her prayer meeting Wednesday night, just completely burdened for the children in Afghanistan and the children in the Ukraine.
I am so proud of her! She walked into church with a James 5, fervency. Do you know why she had that fervency? Because God knew her burden would cause her to pray for those children in a way that others could not.
This sweet sister reminds me of two tragedies around “fervent prayers” (James 5:16).
- The first is, how many people are no longer fervant? And, why are they no longer fervant? Perhaps it’s because God cannot trust them to pray for those issues anymore.
- The second tragedy is the evil one’s ability to “push your buttons.” I believe there are so many men and women who are yelling at people on the TV, they have completely missed a “fervancy-establishing,” moment of God, in their lives.
One more “finally.” If sataN is the liar of liars (John 8:44), doesn’t it make sense he would lie to us about his lies?
Are you letting the evil one’s lies distract you from praying the way God wants you to pray?
Let me help you be, “self-reflective” over this tragedy. And it’s simple.
BEFORE you tell Him your will, ask Him for His will. Start asking the Lord how He wants you to pray about these tragedies.
It will GREATLY impact ALL your prayers.
Thank you Mark for your wise reflection on how we should be praying during these “tragic” times.
No matter what comes from the Russian/Ukrainian conflict, we must pray that God will be glorified in a way that those who don’t know Him will be drawn to Him and those who barely know Him will know Him more intimately.
Thanks My Bro; Powerful and we’ll spoken
Thanks for the rich insight Mark. Helps me to focus my prayers.
Excellent, Wanda. Did this one help too: https://markmirza.com/their-plans-prompt-our-prayers/
Yes it did! Just prayed through it, tks!!
Es algo que he estado pensando en este tiempo. Orar por misericordia para este pais se me hace en mi corazón sin profundidad. He orado por fuerza para ellos, que su fe sea fortalecida y que Dios obre en los corazones de los politicos para que todo termine pronto. Sigo pidiéndole a Dios que me ayude a orar por esta situación.
Viani (thank goodness for google translate). I agree & my heart has hurt for them too. I trust these points are helpful.