If you are mad, sad, frustrated, hopeless to the point of despair or verging on numb, this is a post for you.
If you've ever been tempted to stay out of politics because politics are so complicated, entangled, hard to parse and even talk about, keep reading.
I am writing this post for those of us who will never be policy wonks. We will never be on CNN debating the issues, will never be on Meet the Press dishing hot inside gossip, will never help run a successful or even unsuccessful campaign of any sort and might even shy away from "Man on the Street" style interviews.
I am also writing for talented, civic-minded geniuses. I'm writing for you if politics are your bread and butter. I'm writing for staunch supporters of democracy and freedom on both sides of the aisle, and side-aisles besides-- passionate supporters of every sort of political party and persuasion.
I write to implore you to pray.
Prayer, when things go wrong-- when things go maddeningly, suddenly, horrifically wrong either personally or globally-- is not my first reaction. My first reaction is to run, either towards or away. I am hard-wired to move, to act, to speak, fix, shove away, or cry-- anything but talk to God. I am working to change that, but it's slow going.
It is especially difficult when the wrong thing has a recognizable flavor. When it's a case of oh, no: here we go again, and again, and again, the situation as fraught and repeating as a hamster on its wheel.
A helpless pounding out of a changeless tune.
What can be done when it comes to Syria? What can change seemingly preordained disaster? What can possibly make any sort of real-time, on the ground sort of difference?
There are as many opinions about that as there are dead bodies, which is one of so many factors in this mess making sticking one's head in the sand an attractive option.
But my friends, if you are believers-- if you are followers of Christ, the beloved children of God's hand and his own Son's sacrifice, then is imperative to claim and claim whole-heartedly the responsibility and privilege of prayer.
Prayer is the practice of belief-- its most essential building block. It is the glue that binds both us to the Source of Life and to each other, and in a global moment when it feels as if we are about to be shaken to pieces-- so permanently fragmented that nothing can ever breach the divide-- prayer refuses to let go. It refuses to shut down, to close eyes, to tune out, to shake heads sadly and focus on the busyness of our own narrow spheres, as if they were somehow unconnected to the spheres of those dead and dying our about to face their death.
As if such a divide were even possible for the body of Christ.
Gather, with me, patience and courage.
Gather insecurities and perceived inability to sit or focus and let us reach, together, for that space where God waits and yearns as much for us as for every single person who is alone or afraid anywhere, but especially in war zones.
For too long I've just read about the need to pray for Syria. For too long I've remained on the sidelines, feeling lost and dismayed and pessimistic about what it is that my words, my thoughts, or my love could possibly do to stop this freight train.
But in this case, prayer is action. To truly believe in a God who is living and active and loving in this broken world means participating somehow in that love. Prayer is the entry point. It is a holy command and ordinance and is both welcome and entirely acceptable when it is fumbling, uncertain, and inarticulate.
If you have been locked in confusion, in anger, in passiveness or lassitude, make with me the choice to let go of everything but the burning necessity to reach for God's love, holding every single person affected by Syrian conflict in its light.
Make with me the choice to plead for God's presence, God's will, God's mercy, and God's peace.
Make with me the choice to pray for Syria.
No comments:
Post a Comment