Calm the flames of war

[Chrysostom]

We join you in lifting this burden to the Lord, and we thank you for bringing it before the church with such earnestness.

Your heart for peace is right and good. Scripture tells us that God is sovereign over the nations and that wars and rumors of wars will come, yet He remains on His throne. We pray with you that He would restrain the hands of those who would unleash terrible destruction, that He would de escalate the conflicts that threaten so many, and that He would in His mercy calm disputes and bring peace where there is now violence. As you prayed, we also ask Him to protect those who labor to feed the world, the farmers and their crops, and to preserve the food supply that all people depend upon. He is the one who gives rain and fruitful seasons and fills hearts with food and gladness.

You also asked how to get prepared and not to waste time as you see signs of the last days. This is the most important question. The true preparation the gospel calls for is not first outward but inward. The ancient observances taught that uncleanness was not in touching outward things but in sin itself, in malice and wickedness of heart. What God requires now is a clean heart, created anew in us. That is why the Apostle speaks of having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. That preparation is a virtuous life, a life made ready by being at peace with God through Jesus Christ alone. To be prepared for whatever comes, whether war or peace, hardship or abundance, is to be reconciled to God by faith in His Son, to turn from sin with confession and repentance, and to walk in holiness.

So do not fear as the world fears. Many fear outward dangers and wash themselves after touching what they think is unclean, yet they do not fear the blot of sin which only tears and confession before God can cleanse. Many tremble at the threat of war or famine, yet forget that earthly things, even the whole world many times over, cannot be compared with the least of the good things in heaven. Let us cut through the cords that entangle us with earthly anxieties and set our hope fully on Christ. If we are at war with the evil one through faith and obedience, we are at peace with God, and that peace is the good news that has already won the victory.

Here is how to spend your time and resources to get prepared.

First, be sure you are at peace with God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is the way of salvation, and continue in His word daily. Read the Scriptures, pray, and confess sin honestly, asking God to create in you a clean heart.

Second, live the gospel of peace. Pursue a holy life, love your neighbor, forgive, give generously, and use what God has entrusted to you with wisdom and stewardship, not with panic or hoarding. Practical provision for your household can be done prudently, but do not trust in storehouses. Trust in the Lord who preserves His people. He has shown that for the sake of His elect He restrains and shortens days of distress.

Third, redeem the time. Do not waste it in fear or endless speculation, but use it to grow in grace and to make Christ known. Speak the gospel to your family, your neighbors, and your church. Encourage your church to watch and be sober, to keep its feet ready to carry the good news, and to live as citizens of heaven while we are still on earth.

We pray now for you and for all who share this concern.

Father, in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, we ask You to restrain war and to hold back the use of weapons of great destruction. Bring de escalation among the nations, calm disputes, and in Your mercy end wars according to Your perfect will. Protect farmers, protect crops, and sustain the food supply for all people. Take away paralyzing fear and help us not to waste the time You have given. Grant wisdom to be truly prepared, with clean hearts, with faith in Christ, with lives made ready by Your gospel of peace. Wake us and wake our churches, that we may see clearly, repent, watch, and do Your work while it is day. We trust not in our own resources but in Your power and mercy. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your prayer reflects a sincere burden for a world that feels very fragile right now, and it is right to bring that burden to the Lord.

Scripture is honest that wars and rumors of wars will continue until Jesus returns. One prophet calls the nations to prepare for war, to beat plowshares into swords and pruning hooks into spears, and to let the weak say I am strong. Another prophet looks beyond that to a future day when under the reign of Christ we will beat swords into plowshares and study war no more. That day has not yet come, and no leader can usher it in prematurely. We can and should pray for mercy, for restraint on leaders, for disputes to be calmed and for bloodshed to be limited, and at the same time we rest in the truth that our lives are in God's hands. He keeps and sustains His people even when darkness lies ahead, and because He has shown us the light on the other side, we have hope where the world can only despair.

The Bible also traces war to its deeper root. Wars do not come only from politics or borders. They come from lusts that war within us. When the heart is at war with God there is inner turmoil, and that turmoil spills over into conflict with others. The wisdom of this world leads to strife, but the wisdom that comes from above is pure and peaceable. Lasting peace begins with peace with God, and that peace comes only through Jesus Christ. Though your sins are as scarlet they can be as white as snow when you are reconciled to God through Him. Jesus said if you try to find life apart from Him you will lose it, but if you lose your life for His sake you will find what real life is.

You mentioned signs that point to the last days and a desire not to be caught unaware. Jesus rebuked people who could read the face of the sky to predict weather but could not discern the signs of the times, because they were not rooted in the Scriptures. Many today are blind to His soon return for the same reason. The way to discern the times is not speculation but staying deeply in the Word of God, letting it shape your understanding of what He said would happen.

You asked how to get prepared and not waste time. True preparation is first spiritual. It begins with crying out as one who has come to the end of himself, who shall deliver me, and finding the answer in Christ who delivers us. From there preparation means walking with God daily, praying honestly whether with many words or with a silent cry of the heart, for volume does not determine whether God hears, seeking His guidance through Scripture and prayer with an obedient heart, living in the wisdom from above that brings peace, redeeming the time, and sharing the hope of the gospel while there is opportunity. Physical provision matters and it is right to pray for farmers, for crops, and for the food supply that God in His common grace provides, but our ultimate security is not in stockpiles but in the Lord who promises to keep His own.

You also carry a burden to wake others, including congregations that seem asleep to what is happening. That burden is loving. We can faithfully point people to the Word, warn gently, and live as examples of readiness and peace, praying that God will open eyes. Only He can awaken a heart, and He often does so through His Word and through the faithful witness of His people.

Do not let fear rule you. Fear grows when we look only at the threat before us. Peace grows when we remember who holds us. Bring your anxieties to Him in prayer, and as you do, you will often find anxiety replaced by assurance and even rejoicing because you have again entrusted yourself to His care and victory.

May the Lord grant you peace with Him through Christ, wisdom to discern the times through Scripture, grace to use your time and resources faithfully, and opportunities to help others see and prepare as well. We join you in asking Him to restrain evil, to have mercy on nations in conflict, to protect those who grow and harvest food, and to keep His people steadfast and hopeful as we wait for His return.