John 1v 5: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it
When I woke up this morning, one of the first things I did was look at the news headlines.
Today is a dark day. The news reports were in this morning, describing how Russia has begun an invasion of Ukraine. There is talk from Governments and in the media of economic sanctions, there is talk of military support, there is talk of whether this could be the start of World War III.
The headlines were describing threats to our peace not seen since the second world war. I responded by doing the thing that I thought was best in this dark situation: I prayed.
But I didn’t really know what to pray and as a result, I quickly ran out of words.
And then, one of my friends posted in a group WhatsApp a prayer that has been circulated online by Archbishop Justin Welby and Archbishop Stephen Cottrell that I have quoted below:
“A Prayer for Ukraine
God of peace and justice,
We pray for the people of Ukraine today.
We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons.
We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow,
That your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them,
We pray for those with power over war or peace,
For wisdom, discernment and compassion
To guide their decisions.
Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at risk and in fear,
that you would hold and protect them.
We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace,
Amen”
I prayed this prayer, and God reminded me that despite the darkness that seems to be all around, He is light:
John 1v 5: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it
Jesus came into a dark world, and the darkness didn’t overcome, Jesus overcame. Jesus conquered the darkness, He conquered the grave. Sometimes, during dark times, we need to be reminded of this.
We need to remember who Jesus is and what He did. We need to remember who we pray to, we need to remember in whose name we pray, and whose power is in us.
To whom do we pray?
We do not worship and pray to a distant, uncaring God whose power is limited.
As in the prayer above, we pray to the God of peace and justice. We pray to God Almighty, we pray to the Creator, we pray to the great I Am. We pray to God created the universe with His words, we pray to God who parted the red sea, God who made the sun stand still.
Some biblical names of God (and their meaning):
Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace), Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts), Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide), Jehovah Raah (The Lord My Shepherd), Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals).
In whose name?
We pray in the name of Jesus. Philippians 2: 9-10:
There is power in the name of Jesus
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we are saved in His name, we can approach the throne of God in His name, we can pray in His name.
So, who is Jesus? Isaiah 9: 6:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
He is the Prince of Peace, how incredible that on a dark day such as this, we can pray in the name of the Prince of Peace.
Some biblical names of Jesus:
Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Horn of Salvation, King of Kings, Immanuel (God with us).
In whose power?
Holy Spirit empowers us, Acts 1: 8:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth
Holy Spirit empowers us. He is our comforter, helper, counsellor, teacher.
Some biblical names of Holy Spirit:
Spirit of God, Spirit of Truth, Paraclete (Advocate or Helper).
A focus for today
Rather than focusing on the darkness, let’s choose to focus on the light by reflecting on God today. I’ve listed some names of each person of the trinity in each section above. Today, as the situation unfolds in Ukraine and we hold the people of Ukraine and our world leaders in our thoughts and prayers, let’s remember who God is by reflecting on one of His names as we pray over this awful situation.
Let’s pray for comfort for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, and for those with friends and family affected, let’s pray for wisdom and discernment for world leaders, and let’s pray for peace across Ukraine and eastern Europe, and for peace in the hearts of all affected.