For Nation Shall Rise Against Nation

This Sunday's Gospel reading was Mark 13:1-8,

"And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:  for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.  And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows." Authorized (King James) Version 

How many wars has mankind endured since Jesus spoke those words?  No one knows the answer to that one, but I expect they are too numerous to count, and these are just the beginnings of sorrows.
Most of those wars were local or regional conflicts and only two have been so big that they earned the name of "World War."

I believe that WWIII has recently been openly declared in Paris even though we have been in this war for many years already. This world war is with radical Islam, and if history tells us anything, this war will have to be fought differently than the last one. I can only pray that the battles will be smaller in scale, and it does look like they might be as bombings and shootouts in which casualties are measured in the dozens or hundreds will be the manner of war that will be brought to us (as long as our enemies do no acquire weapons of mass destruction).

How do we defend ourselves in these times of sorrows? I have heard voices calling for violence and voices calling for prayer, and yes prayer is what we should do at all times and at all places, but what should we pray for?

Psalm 21 came up in my Bible study today, and I suggest that this is a good place to start (with emphasis on verses 8-13).

1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord;
and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire,
and hast not withholden the request of his lips.
3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness:
thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him,
even length of days for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great in thy salvation:
honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever:
thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
7 For the king trusteth in the Lord,
and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved. 

8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies:
thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger:
the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath,
and the fire shall devour them.
10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth,
and their seed from among the children of men.
11 For they intended evil against thee:
they imagined a mischievous device,
which they are not able to perform.
12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back,
when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
13 Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength:
so will we sing and praise thy power.

WWIII is going to be as much a spiritual war as a physical one.

Pray for Divine Justice, and in the meantime, consider how best we might defend our families, our nation, and our freedom.