Wartime prayers

If you or your church prays for Ukraine, here are some suggestions. Thank God for who he is (holy, sovereign, good, righteous, just). While this is a good way to start any prayer, it is particularly important when faced with national trials, such as war and persecution. For example, in Acts 4:24 as the disciples were facing the church’s first persecution, they began by praying:

“Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘ Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’- for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.  And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness…”

Acts 4:24-29

There are other examples of this as well. The martyrs in Revelation 6 began their prayer with “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true…” (Revelation 6:10). There are dozens of other biblical examples of prayer during war and persecution that begin this way.

2. Pray that God would guard us from worry

It is good, right, and expected that Christians would “have a concern” for their families during the war. But because of point #1 (God is holy, sovereign, and good), Jesus forbids us from worrying (Matthew 6:31-34).

A great example of this is seen in Jeremiah 17:7-8. There, Jeremiah is facing national collapse. The Babylonians will conquer Jerusalem, and the city will fall to invaders. In the midst of that, Yahweh commends the one who “is not anxious” in the face of defeat.

For me, considering this point, it is helpful to look at 1 Corinthians 7:32-34. There, Paul contrasts the unmarried who has no worry with the married, who is naturally concerned for his spouse. There are dozens of points that can be drawn from that contrast in 1 Corinthians 7, but a bare minimum observation is that worry is worse than not worrying. So pray for people in the face of war, that they would fight the battle in their heart to hold fast to Philippians 4:6-7.

3. Pray That the church would remain trusting in the Lord and that their faithfulness to God and sharing the gospel will prevail strongly during conflict.

The natural result of #1 and #2 would be a church that shines like a light in a dark place (Matthew 5:14-16). Pray that believers, even in wartime, would be ready to share the gospel (Ephesians 6:15-16). That God would give them opportunities for their hope in heaven to be contrasted with the crooked and depraved nations of the earth (Philippians 2:15).

Pray that in the face of persecution, the word of God would not be bound (2 Timothy 2:9). Christians can be arrested, pastors can be martyred, but pray that the word of God would not be taken captive. As long as the church gathers, her light shines.

4. Pray that believers would smile at the future—even in devastation—because of who God is

Proverbs 31:25 describes snow in Jerusalem—an uncommon scene—but the so-called Proverbs 31 woman is not afraid. While she has made mittens for her family, that is not the source of her confidence. She can smile at the future because she knows the God who holds the future.

Likewise, Habakkuk ends his book marveling at the destruction that will come upon Judah. The entire book is an example of how to pray for conflict, because unlike other wartime prophets, Habakkuk doesn’t have oracles to Israel or Judah. Instead, the book consists of Habakkuk’s prayer in the face of war, and God’s response to those prayers. But 3:16-18 is the critical passage. There Habakkuk comes to terms with the reality that Judah will lose, and yet God can still be glorified.

5. Finally, pray for peace in our nation (Ukraine), and peace between people and their God

God obviously uses war and conflict to check nations and hold back evil. Nevertheless, there are examples in the Bible of people praying for national peace and deliverance from war. For example, Psalm 122 is a Psalm of ascent, for prayer on the sojourn from the exile to Jerusalem. Those singing it would be from many nations, yet they all raised their voice to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). In the New Testament, Jesus says that it is axiomatic that kings want peace, not war (Luke 14:32). Later he will lament over Jerusalem, saying “if only you knew the things that would make for peace” (Luke 19:42). A few decades later, Jerusalem would be overrun by Romans.

Paul gives a church-based example of this kind of prayer: “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

So this Sunday—or anytime really, but 1 Timothy 2 is particularly describing the gathered church—take an opportunity to pray with those in your fellowship groups, or those you sit next to, or as a congregation, or by yourself, and use these headings to pray for the church in Ukraine.