Head versus Heart...

Something I read over the past few months really made me stop, think and to dig deeper. For those of us who believe in God the question becomes this, do we really believe that He is all powerful, all knowing, just and sovereign? A few months back I would've said without a doubt yes. And like so many other Christians who believe in our heads things about God to be true, we have yet to let it sink into our hearts. You know REALLY believe it. I was faced with my head versus heart a while back when the war started. Now before I continue, I don't care to debate the War in Iraq because I think one can make a case for either side. When the war started I was all for it. I mean, the oppressed people, living conditions that are far beyond what I can imagine and senseless killing of men,women and children. Who wouldn't want to go save the day and help those people. And the little I saw in India with the impoverished families, I had a tiny glimpse into what the conditions where there.
It wasn't until as of late that I read something by Brennan Manning that tugged at my heart. The questions raised in my mind and by others warranted some bible quest and a one on one with God. Some of the things raised were, do you ever notice that there are no wars in the New testament? I for one never noticed that. Then I wondered, why is that? Then reading the New testament over and over I realized that the emphasis is on prayer, letting go of pride, our agendas, loving others and understanding that He provided us power over our sin and our enemies. He shows us that it's not by our strength but by His strength. It's not by our grace but by His grace given to us.
So my quest led me to thinking not so much whether the war was right or wrong but did we as Christians miss a great opportunity to let our God's power be shown. What would it say to the world if the president of the United States of America went on national television and said, "We as a nation will be praying and fasting for Iraq so that our God can display His will and power, not ours." vengeance is His says the Lord. I kind of feel like God sat up there and was saying, "hey you guys, why don't you ask me to help. I mean I really have a great plan for all this that will bring about the gospel and will glorify me. I mean the whole world is watching, this is a great opportunity to spread the gospel to all the nations." And in sense I felt like we said, that's ok God we got it. You step aside and we'll handle it our way. Prayer is highly undervalued in the Christian world today and looking back also in my own life, but it's never to late to change that.

Just a thought.....