The folly of vindictive prayers is well shown in the following newspaper item: "It has been customary on Christmas day for the priests in the churches of St. Petersburg, during the celebration of High Mass, to say a prayer anathematizing the French for their invasion of Russia in 1812. This traditional prayer was, for the first time since that year, omitted this Christmas day by the direction of the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, as a mark of the appreciation in which the French demonstrations were regarded in Russia."
All these many years the priests have been commissioned by the State to pray the Lord to send destruction upon the French. But now the French have behaved so handsomely that they are to be let off.
This is done in the name of the religion of Christ, and yet could anything be more utterly pagan than such prayers? The avowed pagan calls on all his gods to curse his enemy; but the gods of the heathen are like unto themselves. When men call on God to curse and destroy their enemies they make Him such a one as themselves. But the Lord says: "Bless them that curse you, and pray for [not against] them which despitefully use you." (Matthew 5:44)
This is Christianity, and nothing less than this is. Of a piece with this Russian custom, is the very common one of blessing gunboats, and saying prayers over the immense cannons which are designed to slaughter men by the score.
Of course those who do these things are commissioned by the State authority to do them, and that is their business. But the Lord never commissions men, save to preach His Gospel.
The world talks of Christian nations, but there never will be Christian nations until the nations of the saved walk in the light of the city of God.
It is easy to see the paganism in such prayers as the Russian priests have been praying, but have we ourselves been guiltless? The paganism consists in making God a creature, a servant to carry out the selfish desires. Have we not often come to Him as the disciples did with the request, "Master, we would that you should do for us whatsoever we desire." (Mark 10:35)
We have desired the blessing of the Lord upon the way, but have pleaded with Him to bless our way. We would make the Lord our servant to grant us what we wanted. This is sheer paganism again. "Not my will but yours be done." (Luke 22:42)
This is the prayer of Christ. "Bend your will to my will," was really at the bottom of many of our prayers. This brings us again to the truth that "there is no difference."
The pagan hewed his god out of a tree, fashioning it according to his ideas of a god. We have thought of God as in heaven, and yet have clothed Him with our own ideas, and while professing to know Him that He might live His own life in us in His own way. And the life of self that we have lived we have professed to be His life, making Him just what we are.
When the Lord reveals himself to us in His saving fullness we find that we have to repent even of our prayers.--Present Truth, February 1, 1894.