Sentinel Watch January 30, 2012 Issue

A prayer offering at war's end in Iraq

Jeff Ward-Bailey

Tad Blake-Weber - Staff

By the time you read this article, the last American troops will be home from Iraq. About 1.5 million have rotated through the country since war began in 2003, but by the close of 2011 only a tiny contingent of a few hundred will remain to guard the American embassy in Baghdad. The war is over.

Among Iraqis, the United States exit has been met largely with ambivalence. Weary of war, most are pleased that full sovereignty is now back in the hands of the country, but cynical about the effectiveness of the Iraqi government. Khalid al-Asadi, a member of the ruling Dawa party, noted that “there is still soil for political conflict, and still not much common ground. This brings concern for the people . . . that political conflict could take Iraq back to Square 1, and to sectarian conflict” (see “Iraq after the US: Will it survive?” The Christian Science Monitor, December 10, 2011). The pervading fear is that the American exit creates a power vacuum which will allow bubbling sectarian tensions to boil over—or an unpredictable Iran to come to the fore.

Each of us can do much more than simply hope for an absence of violence in Iraq as the country assumes full responsibility for its own governance and security. Here’s where our humble prayers can make a real difference. Prayer dissolves fear and leads to lasting solutions. It replaces a scenario in which a power vacuum appears to be in danger of developing with the real picture: that God’s authority is in place, maintaining the safety and integrity of each of His ideas. In other words, stability, peace, and progress aren’t naive hopes—they’re present, active spiritual qualities, the outcome of the love of an all-powerful God. We can insist that the presence of God, divine Love, is felt by each individual the world over, casting out the fear and hatred that would try to give purpose to acts of terror.