We have already learned that God will answer no prayer which is not in harmony with his will. In the greatest of all prayers, The Lord’s Prayer, this principle is clearly set forth. It asks God for blessings upon the people of earth – not any sort of supposedly good things which they may crave, but things in harmony with his will. ” Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”

What great latitude he has given us about things in harmony with his will! God’s will is done in heaven, and it is his purpose it shall be done in earth to the same degree. We do not know, of course, all the ways God’s will is done in heaven, but we can be reasonably sure that the evils which now exist on earth do not plague the lives of those in the spirit realm we call heaven.

There is no war in heaven. War is an evil which is not in harmony with the divine will. Should we, then, pray for peace? Certainly! Indeed, we could not pray for God’s will to be done in the earth as it is in heaven without praying for peace. But our prayers for peace should be in keeping with God’s plan to establish peace, and that is his kingdom plan. He has promised to set up a kingdom, to establish a government. Jesus will be the King in that government. “The government shall be upon his shoulder,” wrote Isaiah, and “of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end” – Isa. 9:6, 7

Doubtless God looks with sympathy upon the yearnings of mankind to abolish war. When international tension is at a high pitch and war seems inevitable, devout people on both sides feel compelled to pray for peace. The differences which threaten to precipitate war may be resolved or they may not be, but we know that ultimately there shall be universal and lasting peace. Not because the nations will at last find a workable formula for peace, but because “The Prince of Peace” will take over the rulership of earth and the prayer “Thy kingdom come,” will be answered.

Christ’s government is symbolized in the Scriptures as the “mountain of the Lord,” and in Micah 4:1-4 we read that the time will come when the people will say, “Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the Law shall go forth from Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.”

What a wonderful program for disarmament! It is God’s program, and when we pray for peace, and for the nations to disarm, let us do so with the assurance that God will hear, and that he will answer our prayers in harmony with his will, which will be the kingdom way. “He maketh wars to cease” prophesied David. – Ps. 46:9