POLICY-MAKING AND PRAYING

I Was Just Thinking About - - -

What are your thoughts regarding Prayer? Do you confidently pray as a means of being in communication with a living and eternal God? Do you believe there is a God who hears all of your prayers that you offer? How would you feel if you were told by the Media and Government that Prayer is a waste of time? Would you continue to pray anyway?

This question and issue surfaced when the San Bernardino, CA shootings were taking place on Thursday, December 04, 2015. The Huffington Post was among those pushing against the insignificance of thoughts and prayers, calling them "useless." They mockingly and sarcastically wrote: "Another Mass Shooting, Another Deluge Of Tweeted Prayers," read its headline. The subhead: "Seems to have been an ineffective strategy so far." Other sources chimed in with their secular viewpoints: The New York Daily News dismissal

of Republican politicians' calls for prayers in the wake of the mass shooting that has left at least 14 people dead echoes a sentiment that emerged on Twitter in the wake of the incident Wednesday afternoon.” The Atlantic's Emma Green wrote: “There’s a clear claim being made here, and one with an edge: Democrats care about doing something and taking action while Republicans waste time offering meaningless prayers. These two reactions, policy-making and praying, are portrayed as mutually exclusive, coming from totally contrasting world-views.”

A culture that has been spiraling into the abyss of unbelief, atheism and agnosticism offers little resistance to such blatant secular statements. The mindsets are clear. POTUS uses the occasion once again to promote his views on gun-control. Part of the unbelief of a secular society was obvious following the flight of the first man into space, Yuri Gargarin, on April 12, 1961. After his successful flight and orbit of the earth, Nikita Krushhchev’s speech about the state’s anti-religion campaign included: “Gagarin flew into space, but didn't see any god there.” This was not the first time in human history when such blatant anti-God sentiments became the cultural trend. In I Kings 18:2-6, a desperate situation within a godless culture indicates: “Now the famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) Ahab had said to Obadiah, Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals. So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.” This last phrase is descriptive of the spiritual direction of the nation and could be paraphrased: Ahab went in a godless direction and Obadiah remained steadfast in his faith-based worldview.

I Kings 18:22-39 describes the contest between the 450 prophets of Baal and the 1 prophet of God. Elijah sets the stage for a miraculous event to transpire. He taunts the prophets of Baal to vigorously seek their god to bring rain to the drought-laden nation. They try but fail. Then Elijah takes over and has the altar of sacrifice saturated with water. The impossible becomes possible when Elijah fervently calls upon the only true and living God to send fire and consume the sacrifice. Amid all of this, Elijah stood alone and the people “said not a word.” But when the miracle occurs, the entire nation proclaimed, “The Lord, He is God.” God’s people are long-overdue to speak up and to identify with The Living God and His Word. Spiritual platitudes are useless unless and until they are accompanied by meaningful response and action. God’s people need to refrain from being silent, inconsistent and marginalized. Stand up and speak up for the Lord. Consider these things with me.