Saint Stuart
November 15, 2025

I’ve become overwhelmed recently about many events happening in the world. There are very tense situations dividing people, angering people, moving some to violence, hatred, despair, confusion and helplessness. It is very emotionally draining, having a great effect on my mental state. Every day I open my social media feeds, and am berated by negativity, culture wars, political absurdities, religious and moral confrontations, protestors yelling and harassing each other, crime footage, street fights, and many other forms of social intensity.

I have written on many of these topics, and doing that has been a way for me to process them and let others know about a perspective from someone who seeks God daily. Often, though, I feel my words don’t get much attention, and even sharing them online on some platforms can be a very negative experience. Now even threats of government censorship as seen in the UK are becoming something to consider. The goal of law is to prevent hate-speech, but unfortunately it has overstepped into punishing those who are simply critical of the government and other social issues, which is a line that crosses from justice toward fascism and authoritarianism. Any civilization that starts to jail people for their criticisms of government and society has failed miserably and has become a very dangerous thing. It is important to share our thoughts and feelings, and to be heard and acknowledged, so I encourage people to do that without fear.

Sharing opinions online is still important, and I will continue to do that, but lately I have been called to what I think will be a more effective strategy in the spiritual war of the day. I have been called to devote more time to serious prayer, addressing the issues of the day that affect me. I don’t feel called to block out all the negativity as some prefer to do (I do encourage that, though, if it will improve mental health), but I feel led to immerse myself in it for a time to see what is going on in the world—to stay informed and knowledgeable of what others are going through. From there, I will be affected by the negativity, and it will bother me for valid reasons, yet then my response will be divinely led. I will bring my concerns to God on my knees, expressing my feelings, asking what should be done, proclaiming what I should be doing, and then listening and waiting for any direction from the Holy Spirit.

Prayer can help us process issues very effectively when we set our perspective on God’s plan for the world. Then we can meditate on reasonable courses of action we can take or what to advise others to take. It can be very emotionally involved, too, when we pour our heart to God, sometimes requesting Him to use us to resolve the troubles we bring to Him. When we present issues to God, we can begin to understand them more, too, much like simply having a counselor or friend to talk to can help us solve problems on our own without their input. Yet, in prayer we are bringing it to our Divine Creator, our Heavenly Father, the sources of all love and wisdom. We should adopt a reverence that brings our mind toward a more serious consideration and resolution—toward an attitude of helping, healing and improving the world He provided us. That alone can help us solve the issues we bring before Him, yet prayer brings even more than that. It also connects us to God, and opens us to receiving direct instruction from the Holy Spirit, possibly giving us words to share with others and the right emotional state to convey them in. God can imbue us and form our spirit and attitude to enlighten others to His plan and purposes, and to spread His wisdom to those who ought to hear it.

As I have been led to dwell on the issues of the day, then bring my concerns to God, I have also been prompted by the Holy Spirit to then write out my prayers, or at least begin communicating with others what I have prayed about. The reason for doing so is not just to convey to close friends and other believers what resulted from my prayer, but to send it to the people in the world who have more of an effect on what goes on in the world. I am led to write to people in power such as politicians or people running businesses and tell them what I have been led to pray to God about the important issues they may be dealing with. I won’t write just to the ones I personally vote for and support, but to any along the complete political spectrum, especially those who hold positions of power. I may send to federal, provincial and municipal officials, depending on the issue, but the important thing is that I express when I have genuinely communicated to God about the issues they might have control and say over. It is crucial for them to understand what my concerns are, and what the effects of their decisions may be in light of considering God’s plan for this world.

Another avenue this strategy of prayer can take is to show how anyone can have a direct effect on any issue in the world. You don’t always need a lot of followers online to have an impact and have your concerns addressed. A strategy I have been led to practice is to communicate my thoughts and prayers to churches around the world, specifically where an event of concern has taken place. Many may feel helpless in communicating their feelings, opinions and ideas when something bad happens on the other part of the world. Now, giving through a connected relief charity with a message attached is a powerful way to express support and I hope many will feel led to do that. One other effective method is to say a prayer to God, bringing your heart to Him about what is or has happened, and then communicate whatever has resulted from that prayer to churches in the area. God may even lead you to give ideas or propose solutions to them; it can be hard to know what exactly they need to hear, but if you let the Holy Spirit lead your heart and message, good things will happen. The church members there may even be led to share your message of support with the congregations, and then those people might go out and share it with their friends, family and community.

It’s hard to know how far a heartfelt message may go, but it has to be sent in the first place to give it any chance. I encourage anyone reading this who is upset about what happens in the world today: your feelings and ideas can make a big difference; please share them. In the age of online gatekeeping, moderation, censorship and influencer power, don’t think your messages won’t be read and your ideas left unheard. Bring them to God first, then let God lead you in the next steps, because He often does, through the Holy Spirit, lead us to act and engage others with what He reveals to us in those moments. Take it upon yourself to practice this regularly. The voices, feelings, opinions and ideas of those close with God need to be heard in the world today. Get them out there! Amen.