“He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4,NIV)
In the history of humanity, the madness of murder has gone beyond individuals to groups, tribes, nations, and states, producing what we call “war, ”which is the violent outbreak of the most extreme conflicts rooted in hatred and hostility. It brings with it death and destruction, as well as far-reaching effects on economics, society, and politics. History shows repeated cycles of nations killing and plundering one another, seeking territorial expansion and power, only to be conquered and destroyed by stronger nations through war.
According to the Encyclopedia of 21st Century Political Science, the number of those killed in war during the 20th century exceeded the total number of war deaths from the beginning of history up to the end of the 19th century. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), which collects data on global conflicts, reported that in 2021 alone, more than 120,000 people were murdered in conflicts.
The University of Michigan’s academic project Correlates of War (COW), which began in 1963, shows that since the end of World War II in 1945—which itself claimed tens of millions of lives—there has not been a single year without war somewhere in the world. Over the past 77 years, there have been 38 interstate wars and 195 civil wars. Since the 1990s, large-scale wars between states have mostly disappeared, but civil wars have continued without end.
In 2022, there were conflicts in about 26 countries or regions worldwide. Afghanistan has remained in civil war following the Taliban takeover, while Myanmar has been embroiled in conflict between the military regime that seized power in a coup and the anti-junta resistance forces. Yemen, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have also been locked in civil wars for years. Korea itself remains in a state of armistice, with the Korean War still formally unresolved.
In addition, 2022 saw the outbreak of another interstate war, something not seen since the Iraq War of 2003: the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine has suffered immense destruction, with one-third of its infrastructure destroyed, production and exports halted, nearly 29 percent of its population displaced as refugees, and mass atrocities resulting in countless deaths. The prolonged conflict has deepened global instability and poses a grave long-term threat to international security and the world economy.
》Prayer Point
1. Let us pray for the nations that are at war today, in a history where stronger powers rise and fall by consuming one another. Let us pray that the Lord, who judges among the nations where there has never been a moment of lasting peace, would proclaim the gospel of peace so that all conflicts may come to an end and war may never be practiced again.
》Scripture Prayer
Judges 7:2–9 (NIV)
2 The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’
3 Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
4 But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.”
6 Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
7 The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”
8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others. Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.
9 During that night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.”
Matthew 24:6–8 (NIV)
6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. The war between Israel and Midian may have appeared to be a battle between earthly nations, but in reality, Satan was attacking God’s people Israel with the power of sin and death. The Lord taught Gideon and Israel the battle of faith, fighting for His people and bringing them salvation. Let us proclaim with steadfast faith that today as well, the Lord will give victory to His Church, His body, and that all wars belong to God.
2. God’s will is to save sinners and make them His people. Let us pray for the salvation of souls perishing in the unceasing wars and civil conflicts around the world. Let us also pray against Satan, who drives people into mass death through war. Let us ask that the sins of group and ethnic selfishness, and the greed of nations that lead nations to war to satisfy their desires, be destroyed.
3. Jesus Christ already foretold that as the day of His return draws near, nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Let us pray that when the Church hears of wars and rumors of wars, it will not be afraid, but prepare for the day of the Lord’s coming, faithfully proclaiming the gospel to the ends of the earth.
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