Interesting. I would not have thought to frame the issue in this way.
I do pray for people of other faiths, and for people of no faith, that God will lead them into a fuller understanding of truth and a deeper experience of God's love. And I pray that for myself as well, since surely I do not yet understand God perfectly.
But I would not pray in the form you sketched out; I wouldn't pray for a reduction in the Muslim population, because there are other, terrible ways that a population can be reduced. If, for example, an ebola-like plague tore through Bangladesh and killed most of their citizens, I wouldn't say "Praise God"; I'd say "How awful, how can I help?"
Do you include such prayers in your devotional life? If so, what do you have in mind when you offer them? Do you just mean that you hope for all of them to convert to Christianity?
Your comments touch upon several important issues.
I was referring primarily to mass conversion within the Muslim population the world over. However, I was secondarily referring to God almighty using natural force--as He so determines. Force against individuals and whatever force that diminishes or prevents Islamic propaganda and proselyting (for example: what occurs in the US and in our Colleges where a college processor literally teaches that, historically Islam is more righteous than Christianity). The replacement of a liberal professor with a conservative professor of course involves the force of policy and law and whatever authority backs that up.
Your comments relate to the following questions:
1) Can and will God use force to minimize or negate the evil acts or devices of men in the world.
a) If so, is there a biblical sanction or admonition related to Christians praying for 1.
Do you pray for a strong and honest police force in your community? If you do, then you are necessarily supporting the use of force within a given society. Your prayers are literally effecting the use of force being brought against man and his wicked acts/ devices. Of course I am sure you are familiar with what Paul had to say abut God using the "sword" to maintain order and peace in the land. Can we pray for an honest and strong military? Same thing applies.
In addition, we must not try to impose certain Biblical standards to a nation, as a whole, that often is applied to individual Christians. (I discussed this in another post on this thread).
The Apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, smote the wicked man with blindness. Paul was being led by the Holy Spirit. This was spiritual force affecting the natural.
Act 13:10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Act 13:11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
Elsewhere, Paul exclaimed to the High Priest, "
Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? Act 23:3
These are some examples of God working through the saints to physically restrain the wickedness of man.
Now, is God only a "God of Love." Nope. He is also a killer. God can and will kill someone if they cross a certain line, under certain conditions determined by God almighty. Biblical history demonstrates this abundantly. Prophecy concerning events yet to come also demonstrates this abundantly. Shall we pray for God's will to be done in the future? Does this not necessarily relate to judgment that literally involves the death of millions?
Of course we should pray that, if possible, God will spirituality save a person--and thus negate his evil acts; however, we are justified in praying that if that person will not submit to God's will, and they will continue to persecute God's people and commit evil against humanity, that God will stop them using whatever means God has determined to use. Should we rejoice that the Allied Army stopped Hitler? Were there Christians praying for such to happen?
Once a person tried to basically kidnap a child relative of mine. Another relative prayed that God would stop that person even if it meant them dropping dead with a heart attack. Shortly thereafter, that person did drop dead with a heart attack and the child was recovered.
It is no lite matter when the children of the world persecute or try to harm God's people. It's is a very serious matter. It is made even more complicated with so many Christians teaching or preaching that God is only Love, Love, Love, and that praying Christians should never ever pray for the diminishing or stoppage of wicked men or their wicked devices through natural force as God would so determine.
In the O.T, when the enemey came against God's people, God Almighty would often bring force against such enemies. People would start dropping dead in mass numbers. Now however, in this New Testament era, God's word admonishes us to
primarily seek to destroy the enemy through spiritual conversion. Once a person is converted, then their "Old Man" (the enemy to the cross)--that is, the natural man that perishes in conversion as it is raised a new spiritual creature in Christ--dies. In that, the "enemy" truly perishes. This is the "more excellent way." Of course this reality sheds light on how we can apply to the New Testament era those O.T. promises that talk about how God will subdue/destroy the enemies of His people.
So what do we pray for, regeneration in Christ or natural force concerning the enemy? Well, we can certainly pray for both, in order of necessity based on the situation and the leading of the Holy Spirit. If someone is coming at you with a knife, then maybe all you have time to say is "Jesus"! (I have heard of
credible testimonies where an Angel or God's Spirit immediately intervened in such situations.)
If we have no definite answer as to which to pray for? Well, then we can simply pray that, if possible, God Almighty will spiritually save a person and change them; and then pray that if they will not come to God, that God will restrain, stop and/or remove them from causing trouble or damage to Christians and the Christian interest within a nation by whatsoever means God so determines, including the use of force. This is where "being led by the Spirit" comes in. God Almighty might just tell you or me that a certain person is in fact not going to repent. Of course the opposite can also happen.
We have certain covenant rights and privileges in Christ. These include victory over the enemy through conversion of the godless, but also through force--as God so determines.
Praying Christians everywhere had better start getting serious about praying for the diminishing of the growth and influence of Islam in the nations. Doing otherwise results, I believe, in Christians limiting themselves as relates to "weapons" which God has provided to His church to use against the works of the Enemy and the children of the world.
If anything good is going to come forth, then it will only come forth through the prayers of the saints because God Almighty has chosen to work through the prayers of the saints.
We are the 'Salt of the Earth." Salt affects the entirety of that to which it is applied.
