We live in an extremely chaotic and challenging time. Not only are there all sorts of complex problems and crises happening all over the world, but thanks to technology we are more aware of these realities than ever before in human history. We are able to hear about and in many cases watch live video footage of these dramatic events as they unfold. The sheer amount of awareness and information about global events is far beyond our natural ability to take in and mentally process.

We can be left with a sense of hopelessness and despair as well as frustration over our inability to do anything to help. Yet as Christians, there is something that can do and that is pray! The reality is that many Christians find it difficult to pray about some of these world events, such as wars, natural disasters, the environment, or national leadership. We know that we should pray for these issues and we we want to pray for them, but oftentimes we don’t do it as much as we might like. In this article, I would like to focus on three common hindrances to praying for world events.

You are likely familiar with the scripture, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8). What we will look at is the process, the idea of proximity and sensitivity to His presence. In particular here we are looking at the role of the Spirit in our relationship with the Godhead. Look at the following verse":

^“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV) 

Paul’s prayer here is that we would experience communion (Greek koinonia - fellowship, sharing, participation) with the Spirit. It is a relational word not a sterile religious concept. Thus, we will look at how we experience communion with the Spirit. 

First, I want to say that we all go through difficult seasons and these days it seems to be more often than not. This is partly because our global world seems to go from crisis to crisis and the earth groans. We feel it. Then, we also groan waiting for the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:23).

Finally, we are all, as believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, appointed to share in His sufferings. Importantly, no matter what the source and kind of difficulties we face, God has provided comfort for us.

Three sources of solace God prescribes for us are as follows: