Praying for those in a war . . .

 

 

READ: Psalm 31-35

In my comfortable home thousands of miles from any military conflict, I’ve no right to tell anyone how any battle should be won or what to do concerning the millions of ordinary citizens that are targets and trying to flee to safety. Yet I know that God is sovereign and that prayer is also a battle — and it has a powerful overlapping effect on the physical world.

Today’s reading gives me hope for God’s people who are suffering under the guns of an uncaring enemy. The writer of these Psalms was unjustly attacked and had to flee his home. He knew what it was like to be overwhelmed by a foe who sought his life. What did David do? He prayed. And what did God do? Read on . . .

Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help. (Psalm 31:21–22)

Because of God’s faithfulness, this man could offer advice to others in similar situations. He said this, and God verified it:

Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. (Psalm 32:6–9)

David had learned that “the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host” and he could say, “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.” (Psalm 33:4–11)

David also knew that “The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.” (Psalm 33:13–19) Because of these truths, David could also say:

I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them . . . . Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (Psalm 34:4–7; 19–22)

This may not sound practical to those who do not know God, but David’s prayer was answered!

Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help! Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers! Say to my soul, “I am your salvation!” Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life! Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me! Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away! Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them! (Psalm 35:1–6)

At times, David wondered how long it would take, but he knew that he would eventually “rejoice in the Lord, exulting in his salvation” because God would deliver him from all who were “too strong for him,” and he would thank and praise God for that deliverance.

Again, I cannot speak to or for those under attack in our world, but these verses tell me how to pray for them, and to ask God to “put to shame and disappoint altogether” those who rejoice in the calamity they have caused and “Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor” at what they have done.