"There needs to be more action......We just can't spend all of our time praying.....We have to get up and do something......Hannah rose......She prayed, but she got up because she had to do something......There has to be more to it than just prayer.....We always just say pray for him/her...as if something is going to change or happen...."
The statements above are some statements I've heard over the years about prayer. These statements is comprised of an illustration of people's perspective and thoughts toward prayer. Ultimately, these are thoughts about our Savior Jesus Christ.
During my last year in seminary, in 2010, I was privy to travel to Nigeria and we were stationed in Jos. While we were there, Christian churches were bombed and Christians were killed by extremist Muslim groups. The entire Plateau State of Jos was spent in an uproar with Christian youth bombarding the streets to guard their parent's shops in the market place from other attacks. The Christian elders were disappointed with the Christian youths because they believed it was a time to stand committed to Christ during the face of persecution instead of fight with weapons.
Fortunately, my group was taken to Miango as refugees for safety. At the time, I did not know what it was like to be a refugee, but the people of Miango welcomed us by feeding us, housing us, and sharing stories with us. I never experienced such an immediate love from a stranger before because I was treated as if I was these strangers' children. My heart and prayers, to this day, remain with the loving people of Miango.
Some time later we had a group discussion about what we would do as church leaders if our city, town, village, and state experienced this violent upheaval. Many had their beliefs, but my belief was extremely awkward and misunderstood. My suggestion was to bring God's people to prayer at my church.
In this blog, I do not want to spend much time explaining my reasons for suggesting I would call for prayer for the state, but in this blog I want to tell you that during tragic times we must pray! Not only during tragedy, but even when times are peaceful we must pray because the devil is lurking and walking around seeking whom he may devour and prayer prepares us to overcome the attack of the enemy. Prayer gives us the solution and when we receive the solution, we fight as we pray.
We do not grab guns, swords, bombs, machetes, and the other weapons, but the weapons of our warfare is the weapon of God's Word which is the sword of the Spirit! When we pray God's Word, we win! But when we rely on our intelligence, man-made resources, humanistic abilities to fight, we lose this battle we are fighting.
What America is experiencing is a spiritual battle.....it is not a battle against a group. We must pray/fight against divorce, the collapse of families, abandonment of babies born and unborn, perversity, seduction, racism, capitalism, consumerism, sexism, and the other major strongholds brought about by the enemy planting hatred in the hearts and minds of humanity.
We must protest through prayer, not through arguing, debating, hating, and seeking revenge. Vengeance is Mine, says the Lord! He will vindicate on our behalf!
We must have faith! I do not care what sect, branch, and form of Christianity you practice, Jesus taught us, even on the cross, to pray to the Father! Even as he was dying, Jesus was in direct communication with the Father through prayer.
We must pray and not faint! We must pray and not give in! We must pray and not seek our way of resolving problems! We must pray! Because prayer causes miracles to happen!
PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!
