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“We Pray For When Wars End”
Categories: In the News, prayer, Sunday Family Report articles
After a somewhat brief ceasefire, the conflict between the terrorist organization, Hamas, and the sovereign nation of Israel is back in full swing. The conflict, which started with a terrorism attack on a peacetime population in October of ’23, has resulted in massive loss of life and incredible unrest for the populations living closest to it. This past week, it had gotten bad enough that the residents of the Gaza Strip (Hamas’ home territory) took to the streets in mass protest of the terrorist organization. This sort of behavior is largely unprecedented in the Islamic-ruled Middle East, which shows just how bad things are on the ground there.
As believers, we ought to have extreme compassion on those who suffer under such regimes, even though they share no semblance of our faith in Jesus. The Lord himself showed great compassion to those who were ‘not of the house of Israel’ when he saw their needs in this life (cf. Mt. 15:21-28). Our job is to be the salt of the earth (Mt. 5:13)—to be a source of goodness and compassion wherever we come in contact with the world. If we cannot muster even a small amount of compassion when we see suffering in another part of the world, how will we accomplish true compassion with real impact when we see suffering close to home?
I pray that this particular conflict will be resolved soon. I pray the same for the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. And I pray for the day to come when all of the leaders and the citizens of the nations will move toward Zion—the spiritual mountain of God; the seat of his power; the center of his authority and his goodness (cf. Isa. 2:1-3). I pray for the day when Christ will be enthroned as king in all men’s hearts, and all the conflicts of this world will vanish, along with the suffering they cause.
- Dan Lankford, minister
