Do you ever get so consumed in a catastrophe that you forget to pray?
Heads up for those of you who read these posts for business insights, you won’t find them this week. But I want to share something I’ve been grappling with these last several days.
Over the last week, I have been engrossed in the news.
Watching the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been heartbreaking.
We hear counts of heroic actions and we also see truly tragic events.
President Zelensky. Elon Musk and Starlink. Sanctions. What will Putin do next?
There is no doubt that what’s happening will have far-reaching geopolitical ramifications and consequences that will shape foreign policy for years to come.
And although these events and responses will have long-lasting impact, many realities will remain the same. Even after this current conflict ends, there will still be people around the world who need more opportunities for employment. There will still be children who need a loving home. There will continue to be persistent poverty and real people who need hope and help. There is very real evil in the world that threatens us. As a country, the United States must defend ourselves just like others around the world.
I think it’s important for us to know what’s going on in the world, but we can often feel helpless that we can’t “do more” to make a difference.
What can we do? We can learn. We can advocate for others. We can donate to worthy causes. But something else we can do, that I often overlook, is that we can pray.
Here’s a question: Do you truly believe that God is still active in our world and in the affairs of men? If you don’t, then praying probably won’t seem very important. But if you do believe that to be true, shouldn’t we be looking to Him for wisdom, grace, and guidance?
As an American, I’m struck that the words delivered by Abraham Lincoln more than 150 years ago seem every bit as pertinent today.
“We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!” – Abraham Lincoln
Today is a day to pay attention to the news, but today is also a day to pray.
Pray for peace.
Pray for the people of Ukraine.
Pray for the people of Russia.
Pray for our leaders.
No matter the outcome, we still need to pray.
So, my question today: Have you prayed?
Take the time to be informed and take the time to pray. I know I need to do more of that.
