What it should mean, what it doesn't mean
It's so eerie that this exact subject has been on my heart all morning…and mind you, this was hours before the latest shooting in Sante Fe High School in Houston, Texas happened. I pretty much woke up thinking about this. Call it coincidence, call it odd timing, call it whatever...I call it God preparing me for what was about to take place today.
And before we go any further, let me make one
thing clear...the purpose of this blog is NOT to talk about gun regulations, gun laws, what
has to be done, or what hasn't been done. That’s a subject for a different
debate, and one I have strong feelings on. So, in the interest of keeping the
subject on one thing, I will refrain from anything in regards to the whole gun debate.
What I want to talk about, is praying.
Yes, praying.
If you notice, any time anything tragic happens, most people's first inclination is to say, "Thoughts and prayers are with the families",
or something to that affect. And this goes for anybody, people who subscribe to a religious
faith, and even some people who don't.
There's only one problem.
Most people (and I'm gonna venture to say more
than half, so let's say 6 out of 10), when they say "thoughts and prayers", don't even pray. They just say
it, and pretty much move on, not even giving one thought to what that actually means. And then they
go about their day, get into their thoughts on gun laws, or whatever else. They put no thought
whatsoever behind the phrase "thoughts and prayers". And then
when people go off on them and tell them that their thoughts and prayers don't
help, or mean anything, they wonder why.
Newsflash: Those people are kinda right...in some ways, at least.
Let me clarify what I mean by
that. First of all, if you are not even really praying, that's a problem. And it is
my personal opinion that no one should EVER say "thoughts and
prayers" for anything, be it a public shooting, or the death of a loved
one, or a tragic accident, or whatever, if you're not really praying. Then it doesn’t mean anything, doesn’t help, and is (for all intents
and purposes) just mindless dribble. Now I can only speak for myself, and I am no
way trying to put myself up on some pedestal, but let me assure all of you,
ANY TIME I offer any situation thoughts and prayers for ANY REASON, I actually
take the time to do it, and actually put some thought into it. I don't just say
it, and then go about my day. I pray to God, and I pray earnestly for a number of
things involved with whatever the current situation is. As a Christian, that is my
duty when I am praying. Anything less than that is a slap in the face to the victims, to
the families, to the situation, and most importantly, to God.
Secondly, and this is (respectfully)
to all those who bash people that offer "thoughts and prayers", you need to
have any understanding of what we're actually praying for. We're not praying
for some "magic man in the clouds" to come down and save us, and stop
the madness. That's not how prayer works. To quote a recent Twitter post by
former Blaze.com and Faithwire.com writer, Billy Hallowell, "You pray for comfort for those afflicted. You
pray for the first responders. You pray for the families. You pray for our
culture to come to its senses." I couldn’t have said it better myself. If
you are honestly and earnestly praying for a tragic situation, such as the Santa
Fe High School shooting, we absolutely should be praying for all of those
things. Of course we also pray for a resolution, but just because one doesn't
come along doesn't mean that prayer is useless, or that "God has failed",
as I've seen many people say. God didn't fail. We, as a society, have failed. And
that's part of the problem. This is a sick, evil, BROKEN world. I think anyone,
believers or not, would agree on that.
For those who believe in
God, such as myself, I know things are going to get a lot worse before they ever get better. Jesus said it plainly in John 16:33 when He said, "In this
world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." I
DO take heart in those words. And that is why I have placed my faith and trust in
Jesus that one day He will put an end to ALL suffering. Public shootings, rape,
tragedies, natural disasters, ALL of it will one day come to an end. In Revelation
21:4 it says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain”. This
is the hope we have in the Christ Jesus. This is why we pray. THIS is why we
believe.
Now, does that mean I blow horrible
situations like this off when they happen? Of course not, I pray for many of the
things I quoted above, and in addition, I also pray for people to wake up, and understand
that we live in a broken world, and that all the regulations in the world will
not take away from the fact that evil exists, and will continue to exist. And I
also pray that if anything good comes out of a horrible situation such as the
Houston shooting, or the tragic Paramus school bus accident, that people will come
to faith in Jesus Christ. And put their trust in the one sure thing beyond this
temporary world. I pray that for the people affected, and even any person in
general who isn’t affected. THAT is what a Christian means (or at least they
should) when we say “thoughts and prayers for the victims and families”.
Anything less, and you might as well not even say anything.
Being a Christian (or
becoming one), doesn’t make life perfect. Earnestly praying for people affected
in a tragic situation isn’t going to magically make everything better. What it
DOES do is offer hope, and an eternal solution to a lost world.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We pray for the comfort of those affected in another horrible and senseless school shooting. We pray for the victims that they are now with You. We pray for their families, that they seek You for the answers, and that You provide them with a clear sign of Your love and existence. And finally Father, while we pray for an earthly solution to what is becoming all too common in our society, we also pray that if anything good comes out of this horrible situation, it is that it points people towards Jesus, and the love and saving grace and eternal solution that only HE can provide.
“And even when we have
nothing left to turn to,
With stronger faith, we’ll
see the answer,
And the lie becomes the
truth."