If Ukrainian forces had not fought back against the invaders, this would not be a war at all, but simply an invasion. And if Ukraine had, without resistance, given Vladimir Putin whatever territorial gains he desired by crossing this independent nation's borders, it would have been even less than an invasion, and more of an annexation. But, when Russian military forces invaded Ukraine this past February, the latter took up arms and fought. So, we have two belligerents with two opposite reasons for armed violence.
I'm in favor of Ukraine's war, but not Russia's (or, more accurately, Putin's) - I wholeheartedly support a peaceful, sovereign, and democratic nation's right to defend itself against "a wicked and unjust invasion," as my pastor described it.
I have no doubt that a great a deal of Russian soldiers who've found themselves on the losing end (thus far) against Ukrainian troops fighting tooth and nail to protect their home don't want to be in Ukraine any more than frightened civilians want them there. I'm sure the same goes historically for just about any army ordered by its government to go to war under unjustifiable circumstances: there were obviously Germans soldiers who despised all the violence and Hitler's delusions, who just wanted to go home as much as a homesick American or Soviet soldier; there were no doubt Argentinian conscripts sent to invade the Falklands who hated the cold, miserable landscape, and knew themselves to be expendable pawns played by their dictator Galtieri to deflect from his military junta's dismal failings.
With all the complexities of war, it's no surprise that praying for a victor in a war is no easy task when you really think about it. When I pray for Ukraine to overcome Putin's evil aims, I'm essentially praying that they're successful in blowing up Russian soldiers - human beings - or at least sending them into retreat or surrender by use of fire and force. This is part of the reality of being a Christian: we trust in an all-powerful and merciful God in the midst of a world of weak flesh and merciless minds. This guarantees we'll find ourselves in situations where it seems there's no winning, no good or honorable way out, leaving us with no idea what to pray for. Fortunately for us, we serve a God who understands our predicament. He came to the earth in the flesh and suffered as we suffer, even to the point of death on a cross. When we go to Him in prayer, even when we don't know what to say, we have peace and confidence that we're talking to a God who understands.
It's easy to be morbidly amused at letters and speeches written by politicians and military personnel alike during various wars throughout history - almost invariably, each will claim God is on their side, that God is for right, therefore He will guarantee their armies' triumph. Of course, only one side "wins" (Clemenceau famously described war as "a series of catastrophes that results in a victory"). Thus, one side of the fight was obviously wrong when it declared they knew God to be on their side. Lincoln put it another way: "The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong [...] In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party [...] The contest began. And having begun, He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds."
Lincoln was being quite the realist in his assessment of the will and work of God in a war. And so too must a Christian be in their prayers when they bring to Him their petitions concerning this or any war. It's very much possible - even necessary - to be a realist as a Christian, as much of an oxymoron as that may seem to many. We know that we live in a fallen world, so we must work with things as they are, not as they ought to be. We retain the hope that things will someday be made new, and that hope gives us strength to endure things as they are. The Christians of the early Church who were being killed by Rome for proclaiming Christ did not pretend everything was fine. It was okay for them to acknowledge the misery and horror they were put through. Admitting a terrible thing to be terrible is not denying God to be powerful.
As Christians we sometimes equate labeling a situation as bleak with resigning to doubt. This is not the case. The Bible is full of passages that detail how dark and unjust this fallen world can be. In such a chaotic environment, we're bound to find ourselves facing situations where it seems any and all outcomes are attached to some terrible caveat. Just like my prayer that Ukraine will repel Putin's invasion: being a realist, I don't believe God will suddenly strike the Russians with sunshine-filled minds that cause them to drop their guns and return to their own country in peace; I don't believe each side will say "nuts to this," shake hands, and leave each other be; and I doubt Vladimir Putin will humbly acknowledge he was morally in the wrong and withdraw his troops without first suffering a string of military defeats (nor do I hope Volodymyr Zelenskyy sets a dangerous precedent for Eastern Europe by giving Putin what he wants if he'll just stop the attacks). This all certainly can happen, as God is capable of any such miracle, and I'd be delighted to eat my words if that were the end result. But until then, I must accept that my prayer for Ukraine's restored peace and the safety of its citizens includes a victory of firepower over another army of human beings, made as much in the similitude of God as anyone in this violence-ridden world.
In all of this, I'm abundantly grateful for the words the Holy Spirit speaks through the apostle Paul: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God" (Romans 8:26-27).
King David cries out to God in Psalm 139, but ultimately rests in His omnipotent power and knowledge: "You have searched me, LORD, and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. [...] Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:1-2, 23-24).
We say it so much that it can ring with cliché, but no matter how often something is repeated, it never loses its strength if it is the truth, spoken in sincerity: "God's will be done." No matter what we pray for, no matter how confused - or confident - we are when we go to Him, may we seek God's will and not our own. God's sovereignty outweighs that of any sovereign nation. A day is coming when all will be restored, and He will judge with righteous judgment.
