When God delivered the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt and defeated Pharaoh’s army, Moses responded with a song, recorded in Exodus 15. He declares, “The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is His name.”
That description is revealing. Scripture repeatedly presents God as one who defends His people, upholds justice, and ultimately triumphs over evil. He is not a distant observer of human conflict, but a righteous judge who acts in history.
And this imagery is not confined to the Old Testament. In Revelation 19, Jesus Himself is depicted as a warrior riding a white horse, bringing judgment against the nations, with a sword proceeding from His mouth. The biblical witness is consistent: God is both Redeemer and Righteous Judge.
War, therefore, is a tragic but real feature of a fallen world. The Bible does not ignore it — it regulates it. From these biblical principles, Augustine of Hippo articulated what would become known as Just War Theory, later refined by Thomas Aquinas. This framework has guided much of Western moral reasoning about war for centuries, recognizing that while war is never ideal, it may at times be necessary to restrain evil and protect the innocent.
Which is why recent comments from Pope Leo XIV in a Palm Sunday homily are both puzzling and concerning. He stated, in part, that Jesus “rejects war” and does not listen to the prayers of those who wage it.
Was the Allied effort in World War II — undertaken to stop Adolf Hitler and the atrocities of the Third Reich — contrary to the will of God? Were the prayers of leaders and soldiers, offered in humility and desperation, somehow rejected?
On June 6, 1944, as American troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, Franklin D. Roosevelt led the nation in prayer. He asked God’s blessing on those risking their lives to defeat tyranny and secure freedom. It was not a prayer for conquest — it was a prayer for justice, for deliverance, and for peace.
Likewise, during the brutal winter of the Battle of the Bulge, George Patton called for prayer. Facing impossible conditions, he urged his troops to seek God’s intervention. Two hundred and fifty thousand copies of that prayer were distributed to the soldiers of the Third Army.
And when the weather broke and the tide of battle turned, Patton famously remarked to his chaplain, “Well, Padre, our prayers worked.”
And thank God they did.
Scripture gives us confidence in this very truth. As the Apostle John writes in 1 John 5, if we ask anything according to God’s will, He hears us — and if He hears us, we have what we have asked of Him.
That is the key: according to His will.
Not every war is just. Not every cause is righteous. But when those entrusted with authority act to restrain evil, defend the innocent, and pursue a just peace, they do not stand counter to God, they stand within the very purposes of His justice.
And in those moments, prayer is not rejected — it is heard.
The question is not whether God hears the prayers of those in battle.
The question is whether those who lead — and those who fight — are aligned with the will of the One who is both Prince of Peace and the righteous defender of the innocent.
When they are, they can pray with confidence.
And history suggests — He answers.
