KUWAIT (BP)–I’d like to think I’m not a foxhole Christian, but I’ll have to admit that I pray a lot more during war than peace.
My mother started my brothers and me early in life with prayer and reading Bible stories to us. If you’re not doing that with your kids, start tonight. The Bible stories often were about the wars of the Israelites. I don’t remember the details of their wars, but two things stand out. When God was for the Israelites, they won. And when God wanted to punish them for turning their backs on Him, they lost. It’s a simple principle. God chooses sides. He’s on the side of righteousness, and He hates evil. But when God’s side wins, He wants the credit for the victory.
As our country edged closer to war with Saddam Hussein, I, as well as many other Christian people, began to pray. Prayer is not just a one-sided conversation. He began to direct my prayer. A great evil arose which threatened the peace and freedom of the world. I am not talking about the overwhelming majority of peaceful Muslims. The only force strong enough to confront this force of evil is the United States of America.
God has richly blessed our nation and has chosen to do so because of our Christian heritage. But to whom much is given, much is required. I believe God truly called our nation to confront this evil.
Although we are the only superpower left on Earth, with B-2 bombers, precision-guided munitions and all the other modern technology of warfare, God wants to bring us a victory though the prayers and faithfulness of our people. It’s easy to place your faith in the military might that you can see. But God can make the difference between an “easy” victory and a “costly” victory.
In World War II, the Nazis couldn’t subdue Yugoslavia with 26 divisions in five years of fighting. The entire Russian army couldn’t conquer Afghanistan. And the Iranians fought with the Iraqis to a deadly standoff in which hundreds of thousands of people died over a period of eight years. But it can hardly be said that the aggressors in those conflicts were fighting with righteous motives or had the blessings of God upon them.
When the United States recently intervened in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and in the first Desert Storm, we won spectacular victories with only a handful of servicemen and women killed. Although each and every American casualty is a tragic loss, our nation has been blessed with military victories not seen in history since God was directing the battles of the ancient Israelites (with the exception of some of the recent wars of modern Israelis).
God wants to bring victory in this war to rid Iraq of the evil that has plagued it for decades with the prayer of His people. As a Marine reservist now mobilized and stationed in Kuwait, I am pleased and humbled by the overwhelming outpouring of prayer and support we received from churches back home.
Shortly before it happened, it was announced to us that our forces would soon cross the line of departure. I was deeply saddened that our nation would soon be at war and many people would soon die, although I believe this is a course God has set before us. I am also concerned for the Iraqi people, most of whom are innocent pawns.
That night I got on my knees facing north to intercede both for our troops and the people of Iraq. God allayed my fear for innocent destruction by directing me to pray that His Spirit go forth to slay those who should be slain and to spare those who should be spared. I certainly do not mean to imply that God’s Spirit has slain our brave troops who have now lost their lives, for even in God’s mighty victories for the children of Israel, they still suffered a price as well. Freedom is never free. It is indeed paid for with the blood of our patriots.
Some may claim that all this sounds like another medieval crusade or a Christian jihad. They would have said the same about Elijah’s challenging the prophets of Baal. If some people today witnessed Elijah’s contest with evil that day on Mount Carmel, they would be in the crowd demanding to know what gave him the right to claim his God was any better than anybody else’s god, etc., etc., etc.
The answer was the same then as it is now. God is only on one side, and He hates evil.
May the one true God, Who created the universe and Who governs the affairs of men, bless our nation and our allies as we face the challenges of the world, and as we seek to bring freedom to those who have never known its blessing.
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Lt. Col. John M. Young is a Marine reservist on duty in Kuwait.
