Prayer and world events

The Christian Science Monitor

Often many suffer as a result of the sins of a few—or even the tyranny of one individual. From the cruelty of a dictatorship to rampant crime in a community to the dishonesty and greed that would undermine an economy, we find that innocent people are often victimized.

The injustice is obvious. But what can we do about it? Sometimes the choices are painful, as when nations reluctantly take up arms in order to stop oppression. But there's a choice we can make to help lessen the occurrence of such tragedies. It's the choice to learn more of God as a sure defense and, even more important, to conform our own lives increasingly to divine law.

To talk about relying on God may seem unrealistic when criminal actions defy a community's— or even a world's—efforts to hold the evil in check. Yet because God is omnipotent, as the Bible indicates, our dependence on divine power has a beneficial effect. Why, then, if so many were praying to God for a peaceful resolution of the Persian Gulf crisis, did we find ourselves at war? Why didn't these prayers prevent this conflict? Such questions aren't easy. But maybe an appropriate response relates to the need for people throughout the world to understand God better, to realize that the might of God is omnipresent and well able to counteract destructive, materialistic influences. Referring to God, the Psalmist stated clearly, "He ruleth by his power for ever."

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