But Father does delight his children sometimes.
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
And if you desire him, if he is your desire, he gives you himself.
He can delight in us, too.
He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me. Psalm 18:19
It’s effective because it demonstrates faith, hope and charity. Against hope, and caring despite being able to do absolutely, helplessly nothing in our futile privilege; just like God if He’s there. It demonstrates belief regardless of fully warranted unbelief. I want to pray that Putin has a road to Damascus conversion. I want to pray that a tsunami of revival rolls down upon the roads clogged with tanks and the crews walk away without any weapons and beg the Ukrainians forgiveness. I read that out loud now, the title, your response Wayne. Father. In Jesus name. Amen. In hot tears. Martin
He is there and he is powerfully sovereign over time and place, timing and placing. We have objective evidence of his providential interventions into the lives of his children, with meaning, mercy and grace grace infused into entire sets of otherwise disjunct events, and not infrequently associated with prayer.
This puts my thoughts together.
Putin could seek to regain more parts of Russia’s former empire by sending troops into ex-Soviet republics like Moldova and Georgia, that are not part of Nato… Putin could declare Western arms supplies to Ukrainian forces are an act of aggression that warrant retaliation . He could threaten to send troops into the Baltic states - which are members of Nato - such as Lithuania, to establish a land corridor with the Russian coastal exclave of Kaliningrad. (after Moldova, first)
This would be hugely dangerous and risk war with Nato. Under Article 5 of the military alliance’s charter, an attack on one member is an attack on all. (America will not attack Russia under any circumstances except an attack on America, US forces in NATO would defend in NATO territory) … Putin might take the risk if he felt it was the only way of saving his leadership. If he was, perhaps, facing defeat (or won) in Ukraine, he might be tempted to escalate further (the Soviets weren’t this mad dog) . We now know the Russian leader is willing to break long-standing international norms. This same logic can be applied to the use of nuclear weapons. This week, … Putin put his nuclear forces on a higher level of alert. Most analysts doubt this means their use is likely or imminent. But it was a reminder that Russian doctrine allows for the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield (any NATO encroachment on former Soviet Union territory, including Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, Moldova, whether occupied or not, would be met with tactical nuclear weapons on their borders) .
He just attacked the biggest nuclear power station in Ukraine.
It’s all part of brute, gangster tactics, the propaganda of the deed, done by perfectly sane men from time immemorial. Power does not exist unless you demonstrate it. And demonstrate your adversary’s powerlessness at the same time. It’s win, win, win. Win. You deny it, blame your adversary and everyone knows you did it and says so. Win. What aren’t you capable of? We have a new class of alpha male in the postmodern world in Trump and Putin. They know, like Butch Cassidy, that there are no rules in a knife fight.
Next he’s going to cut off the gas to Europe and declare martial law at home.
All of this is the ultimate, proper, rational, amoral, inevitable use of nuclear deterrence.
Putin is the Foundation Mule. The Soviet empire was the first iteration. Welcome to the second foundation. No one, not even Putin, saw this coming. Until Covid.
Hard to “heart” this. But I will “give assent” to it here.
Tangent again:
I wish I had enjoyed Azimov’s writing enough to endure his Foundation world. So, now I rely on reference materials. However, The Mule seems like a very good comparison to Putin.
This is all i can think of in regards to putin.
I’m having flash backs to the pre 1989 music I loved so much and which I enjoyed feeling I could live without clutching for the last few decades. For example The Split Enz “Small World” and U2’s “Seconds”.
We were so used to the idea that nuclear war could happen any time, we trained ourselves to not think about it, or pretend not to care about it. When the vaneer wore too thin some of us (middle class blue-collar white-bread kids) needed a dose of cathartic vinegar in the form of new wave or rock. It’s been good not to feel the need of it as medication. But here we are again.
Let us pray.
Putin is an interesting case. Neuroscientist Ian Robertson has studied how being in power changes the brain. He published a book ‘The winner effect’ in the year 2012. He has not studied Putin but Putin has been in power 20+ years and much of that time as a dictator who has almost unlimited power within Russia.
In an interview, Robertson told that being in power for more than ten years causes changes in the brain. The brains turn more like those of an addicted gambler or user of cocaine. Such a person underestimates risks and overestimates the probability to win. He becomes blind to some things that are selfevident to a rational outsider, especially if it is something related to his own person.
Robertson told that the behavior of Putin fits the description of a person who have had too much power for too long time. The behavior has also changed towards a more alarming direction during the last years. If Putin also uses steroids, as some have speculated, his behavior may lead towards a more dangerous direction.
There are multiple reasons to pray. The suffering of people calls for prayer but there is also a need to pray that Putin would not cause wider damage in the near future. He controls a huge amount of tactical nuclear weapons and the military doctrine of Russia accepts the use of these weapons if the leader estimates that the situation threatens Russia. No need for a nuclear threat from another country, tactical weapons may be used in a conventional war that is somehow threatening Russia.
The lesson we should learn: never give too much power for a person for a too long time. 12 years should be a maximum to save us from leaders that are gambling with the fate of nations.
Russell Moore had a good post looking at Putin. One of his points is that a little frightening is that a narcissistic personality like him is most dangerous and unpredictable when humiliated.
Moore also has some good comments on Roberson’s comments.
Yes, that is scary. If he should use tactical nukes, what is the west’s response.
No good answers.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/03/putin-has-tactical-nuclear-advantage/
Pray is important -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 people’s 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 against 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 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…that why!
Hi all. A very gentle reminder to keep topics on the public boards away from politics, please. Feel free to take those discussion to private messages.
Thanks, your friendly neighbourhood moderators.
Are you ready for global famine? Energy and food prices doubling and doubling again?
Why do you say that? Gas (petrol) prices sure but food shortage?
Russia and Ukraine are major grain suppliers.
Russia is a major fertilizer manufacturer.
Fertilizer needs energy. Natural gas.
Electricity is generated in natural gas power stations.
Start here.
Last year 100,000,000 = one hundred million - more people went hungry.
What do you think this year will bring?
I’m always amazed how people seem to think that resource demand is just a matter of a bad attitude and lack of goodwill and imagination. They have no idea of the vast industrial requirement not just to sustain a lifestyle, but to live at all.
I don’t deny God his sovereign right to do whatever He deems fit whenever He deems appropriate but based on my knowledge and experience in the world, I fall firmly into the camp of: “Prayer doesn’t stop bullets.” I’m not sure how some can just dismiss billions unanswered prayers in the face of war and evil and claim “it just wasn’t God’s will to help the helpless.” God kind of lets things role to me. He may be working things towards bigger purposes and for all we know this is a part of that. But I subscribe to libertarian free will and open-view theism.
There is nothing wrong with praying for peace, the people of Russia and Ukraine. I think that is healthy and proper. I expect that to be done by compassionate and empathetic Christians. We are all God’s children. Expecting God to stop this war is silly to me however. He is not a cosmic vending machine and plenty of people are being tortured at this moment all around the world, children are being raped etc. Lots of bad stuff constantly happens that he doesn’t stop as far as we know. In the grand scheme of themes, I don’t wish to undermine the suffering anyway, but this is just another war in many thousands, if not millions, that have happened throughout human history. I don’t think prayer helps the situation supernaturally. Prayer helps the person praying and maybe that can call you to action to help others.
I think the Bible just attributes everything to God unilaterally. Part of the worldview and the accommodation process. Hard for me to believe everything attributed to God in scripture was actually specially caused or desired by Him. Lots of problems with prayer, especially since Jesus seems to tell us we can have whatever we ask for. I think people are convinced of the efficacy of petitionary prayer for the same reason people think psychics work. Focus on a few vague hits while the brain ignores all the misses.
I also wouldn’t know which side to pray for because I have lost all faith in the media.
Vinnie
That does not cover all of us.
Not sure the article I had previously posted here contributed what I had hoped. Sorry if it made any people uncomfortable or even angry.
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” -Colossians 4:6
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