THE RELIGIOUS OUTLOOK

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 11 September 1937, Page 7

THE RELIGIOUS OUTLOOK

(Contributed > The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that prayer docs shape the history of the wot Id, that it is a spiritual force which chages things and men; that. God has given this ministry ol intercession to 11 is Church. If we really believe this and as a nation arc prepared to pay the price of honest prayer then the issues ol peace or war aic in oui hands. We base our faith in the efficacy of prayer upon the fact that God reigns, and prayer is the aligning of ourselves, our Church, our nation, and Empire to the will ol God, our ruling, reigning Sovereign. The trouble is that prayer in national life is so frequently vitiated of selffish aims, For !instance, it is a mockery to expect that by prayer God will g've us an unfair advantage over other races or that by prayer we can gain divine sanction to some quite selfish ambition in our im-

perial policy, ff the nation is to re- 1 turn to God, and we all seek that the j Archbishop’s recall to religion may be the beginning of revival, then in prayei . we must be personally honest with , ourselves. As a Church we must face , our failings and be prepared to put ; right what is wrong in the present, divided stale of Chrislendonm. As a nation we are summoned to do justly, j to love mercy, and to walk humbly I take it we are agreed that we j ought to pray. But what ought we to pray for”

I suggest first of all, as St. Haul puts it, that we pray for Kings and all in high places. If we study the European situation we shall soon sec the wisdom of this. Europe is divided, broadly speaking, into two armed j camps, the democratic countries and j the dictatorships. In recent years reli-1 gion has sull'ered a grievous defeat in ■ the West. Russia has gloried in its: anti-God policy, and opinion is grow-1 ing in England that Russia is really managing very well without God. Germany is busy making a new religion of race and blood with new gods of Nordic origin. Italy becomes increasingly a tool of the Vatican for Roman Catholic imperial and ecclesiastical ambitions in Abyssinia. Spain and elsewhere.

We are summoned therefore to pray for Christians in Europe, for a revival of true religion and a real return to God, and by Europe I include England, too, for we need to turn to God in repentance as much as any othci latrom In England a return to God would" 1 surely involve r courageous facing of the social evils of our time. Slum clearance and unemployment are being tackled, but there is not much to show that root causes of these evils are affected. The selfish greed of property owners who want big returns or their capital regardless of the con- j ditions of life of their tenants; the j lehumanising of labour by large com- j panies demanding big dividends with-, out serious consideration of the labour conditions and homes of their employees; the terrible example set today of immorality, easy divorce, and uncontrolled passions by the wealthier: classes. These are only a few of many matters in our national life calling for j a deep repentance. A return to God must mean a new relationship between employer and j employee; a new purity in the homt life of England; a new youth movement where young people will come right out into the open and lead the way in i self-discipline and service which has God at the centre of all. We are agreed that the purification of national life can only come as God breathes upon us His life-giving Spirit and as we humbly acknowledge God and our real dependence upon Him. As we ourselves repent and seek God with all our hearts, prayer will immediately take on a new meaning, and with stronger fqith we shall acknowledge God the Eternal in our nation and Empire life. Repentance will iberate undreamed of potential forces for prayer throughout the nation. We to-day are in desperate need of that prayer help, and the future of the nation is actually imperilled for lack of it. Because of the danger of a world war we are summoned to prayer. A repentant nation, seeking God’s help and protection, can honestly pray for peace.

What do we expect our prayers may accomplish? God works through human personalities and the future of the world —peace or war, co-operation or conflict—depends in its final analysis, not upon laws and treaties, but upon individual men in whose hands lies the responsibility of decision. It is much easier to pray for men we read about than for vague things like governments and leagues. In prayer we can seek that God will create in such men as Hitler, Mussolini, and others, the will to peace, and that He will raise up in all nations men of goodwill. In prayer we can seek that our own leaders may rightly interpret to other nations our united desire for peace, that our statesmen may be given wisdom and understanding and thus enabled to win the confidence of other national leaders.

Let us remember that in prayer we are wrestling against strong forces, men who believe permanent peace is a myth and who would not scruple to plunge the world into war to-morrow if they were certain of victory. But we are summoned to pray simply because God reigns, and if we sincerely seek His help now we shall yet 'see how He can frustrate the designs of those who plan evil.—Dr Wilson Cash.