WORLD WATCH March 1, 1999 Issue

Prayer for global security

"How do we pray for arms reduction when the problem seems so big?"

By Lois R. Marquardt

We all breathe more easily when a war is over. There are times, though, when the end of a war does not mean the elimination of power struggles or the effects of war. Today we hear of storehouses filled with chemical weapons, vast areas covered with active land mines, and stockpiles of nuclear weapons. Many well-trained and thoughtful people are working to find answers as to what should be done with such materials, but this doesn't mean we can ignore these conditions. Instead, we have an active role to play in the achievement of world peace—and we can help fulfill this role through prayer.

How do we pray for arms reduction when the problem seems so big? Perhaps we need to have a new concept of prayer—one that is more than a simple human pleading with a distant God. The book of Hebrews in the Bible assures readers, "The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword" (4:12). Prayer empowered by an omnipotent God would surely be effective in dealing with any human arsenal.

The essence of such prayer includes a conviction that everyone—friends and foes alike—is truly governed by the the all-presence of God, Love. Since God is infinite, there isn't a place in His universe for the domination of weaponry.

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