Praying for Peace

Courtesy of patheos.com

I'm sure you've noticed that the world is a wreck. By all accounts things are spiraling out of control, with hatred and violence on the rise. Whether it's racialized violence in the US, vitriolic anger expressed towards the elder population in the UK over the #Brexit vote, or the continued genocide against Christians in the middle east, the world is steadily growing darker.

For Christians of all denominations the answer is to pray for peace. Yes, we must work for peace in the world through whatever means is appropriate but our work must be built on a foundation of solid prayer. Our prayer life is the foundation for everything we do in life. If we are not people of prayer than our work is in vain.

The Christian recognizes that we are people of prayer. In the Bible Jesus is seen beginning or ending important things in prayer. A great example of this is both the difficult teaching of the Last Supper and at the start of the Lord's Passion in the Garden. If we are to live Christ-like lives then prayer is an every day activity, and it should be our first course of action when the world turns to darkness.

The secular world mocks us for our prayers. My Facebook feed was filled with mockery of Christians who offered prayers after the tragedy in Orlando. That mockery quickly turned to blaming Christians for standing on belief and principal against the secularizing of our society. Our belief is our greatest way to stand up against evil forces in the world, and for this the secular world mocks us because they are afraid. They fear what belief means. They fear that we are right. If they didn't then their mockery wouldn't be rooted in anger

Non-believers want us to doubt the existence of God. We must never give into this temptation, for it is rooted in despair. Archbishop Fulton Sheen describes this best:

“The evil in the world must not make me doubt the existence of God. There could be no evil if there were no God. Before there can be a hole in a uniform, there must be a uniform; before there is death, there must be life; before there is error, there must be truth; before there is a crime, there must be liberty and law; before there is a war, there must be peace; before there is a devil, there must be a God, rebellion against whom made the devil.” 

Peace is rooted in God and His holy presence in society. Our secular society has created the violence it now despairs over by eliminating God from the public square. Prayer, in private and in public (in a manner that is not rooted in vanity) is our best way to bring God back into the public square. As Christians we are commanded to be brave people of prayer. In light of the tragedies in Dallas, Orlando, and the ongoing tragedies in the Middle East I challenge you as a Christian to prayerfully ask God for what we as Christians should do and advocate for to address the root causes of tragedy. Be open to what He tells you. It just might change your life.