Christ is greater than chaos.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light  that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.” Genesis 1:1-4

Initiated and fulfilled by God Himself to create an ordered, harmonious whole—from chaos to cosmos! The description, “without form, and void; and darkness”, is tohu wa bohu. Tohu means vanity, confusion, formlessness, wasteland, a place of chaos. Bohu means emptiness, waste, an undistinguishable ruin; in Jeremiah 4:23, of earth under judgment; and in Isaiah, it is destroying contrasted to building walls. Since ancient times, chaos has been recognized as the fundamental force in the battle between darkness and light, order and disorder. The Holy Spirit broods over this state of affairs and the cosmos forms at the Word of the Lord. From Washington to Los Angeles, New York to Seattle, in Congress and on campus, in the courts and on the public square, tohu wa bohu is a fit description of the dissolution of the foundations God initiated as the underpinning of American society.
 
These last two weeks, many of our nation’s campuses have been in turmoil with pro-Hamas protests involving thousands of students. The police have arrested nearly 2000 people across the United States.
 
Pray for peace to return to our campuses. Pray also for the safety of all the students. May Jewish students feel safe once again and be able to return to their classes without threats of violence.
 
The police have blamed hired outside agitators hired by Hamas sympathizers and Soros-supported organizers. The campus agitators were shouting for the end of the Israel-Gaza war.
 
Pray also for peace to return to Israel and the end to the war in Gaza. May the Lord hear our cry for peace to return to Jerusalem and the land of Israel and the Middle East.
 
The Watch of the Lord was born on the National Day of Prayer, 1986, as Mahesh led members from both houses of Congress in DC and God simultaneously sparked an outpouring in our church in Florida that lasted for weeks in church wide angelic visitation, corporate prayer, repentance, and transformation of families. That ember was carried to Mecklenburg County and the Carolinas when we relocated in 1994, and the Watch flared into our Friday night prayer now in its 29th year. 
 
Paul says, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is,” (Eph. 4:17). This week we observed our National Day of Prayer for America. The watch focus this week is exercising the authority in prayer to confront and restrain the raging force of chaos seeking control of American society. In Haggai God says, “‘I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts…‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts,” (Haggai 2:6-9). God shakes! A people respond. God fills the response with His glory and His peace! From chaos to cosmos, an ordered, harmonious whole. We join together with the Father’s will and invoke the Holy Spirit to come flood the darkness with His glory. We raise our prayers:
 
With Daniel who prayed, "O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name," Daniel 9:19.
 
With Jehoshaphat who prayed, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not the God in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hands are power and might, and there is no one who can withstand you…we shall stand before this temple that bears your name and call out to you in our distress, and you will hear our cries and save us. See how these people repay us by coming forth to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. O God will you not pass judgment against them? For we are powerless against this vast horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are turned toward you,” 2 Chron. 20:5-12.

With Hezekiah who prayed, “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words this Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God…the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands…Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God,” 2 Kings 19:15-19.
With Elisha who prayed, “‘Strike this army with blindness.’ So he struck them with blindness, and Elisha told them, ‘This is not the road and this is not the city.’ And he brought them to captivity,”  2 Kings 6:18-19.

With David who prayed, “Now, O Lord God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever,” 1 Chron. 17:23-27.

With Hannah who prayed, “The bows of the mighty men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and the hungry have ceased to hunger. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness…For by strength no man shall prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; from heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed,” 1 Samuel 2:1-10
 
With the psalmist who prayed, “O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. Who makes the clouds His chariot, who walks on the wings of the wind, who makes His angels spirits, his ministers a flame of fire. You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the Lord endure forever. May the Lord rejoice in His works. He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the hills, and they smoke. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. May my meditation be sweet to Him;
I will be glad in the Lord. May sinners be consumed from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!” Psalm 104.

With Jesus’ prayer, “Our Father in heaven, holy is your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” Matt. 6:9-10

“I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly,” Psalm 85:8.
 
“The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.” Psalm 29:11
 
“I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety,” Psalm 4:8.

“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men,” Romans 12:18.
 
“Lord, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us,” Isaiah 26:12.
 
“Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it,” 1 Peter 3:11
 
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” Isaiah 52:7
 
“Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but counselors of peace have joy,” Proverbs 12:20.
 
“Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you,” 2 Corinthians 13:11.
 
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all,” 2 Thessalonians 3:16.