Why Prayer Matters

I sit down to write and nothing is coming into my head and heart other than the painful remembrance of yet another horrifically tragic school shooting. How could anything else come into my mind? Roseburg, Oregon is the latest city and state to reel over such innocence lost. And our hearts are breaking for them – most especially the loved ones of the victims who woke up thinking it would be another normal day. The depth of their pain can’t be fathomed at this moment.

I guess it would be easy to remain silent about such matters.

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According to a few recently posted articles about the Oregon shooting, a female student and witness of the shootings reports that the young gunman stood in her classroom, asked his victims what their religion was and then allegedly responded with the harshest of treatment against the Christians. Any act of violence is evil. Persecuting Christians isn’t any more horrible than persecuting non-Christians. But this man’s words are haunting the articles surfacing right now because it is blatant his anger burned the fiercest for people who claim the God of the Bible to be their God.

This is my God.

And it appears that this man, who has caused unspeakable bloodshed and suffering, assumed this onslaught because of his hatred for my God and anyone who would claim Him.

How do we even begin to respond? What could we possibly say to make sense of this? How could we ever expect to convince people who aren’t sure of their beliefs that our God does in fact exist, even in a world that is riddled with cataclysmic affliction such as this.

For what it’s worth, here’s what I know.

I know we can live in a world of overwhelmingly great darkness. I also know we sometimes can’t expect anything but, especially when we routinely leave our Creator out.

I know that God could have created people that would obey Him perfectly but in an act of devout love, He chose to make us in His image. He chose to give us thoughts and opinions and feelings and choices. And because God didn’t create subservient machines but rather humans capable of experience and sensation and love, we make our own choices. Some of us don’t choose Him.

I know evil grows. I know it can start with the smallest act of thoughtlessness or disregard and grow into something as fury-filled and appalling as a shooting that takes multiple lives and leaves families devastated in the wake.

I know that people are hurting. People are confused. People struggle. And sometimes the smallest act of appreciation or care resides deeper in a broken heart than the person who offered it might fathom this side of heaven.

I know that people think this world is all there is or ever will be and they expect a lot of it. People are broken when they feel they’re not enough. Brokenness can send us running into God’s arms or make us soldiers in the Enemy’s army. We are daily fighting a spiritual battle that culminates in moments of great pain or great blessings. Our choices make a difference.

I know, because we were made in His image, we have an extraordinarily great capacity to love and intercede for the ones who are hurting. When we do, we combat acts of violence. Love has an unfathomable power to change, not just our small corner of the world, but the world as a whole.

I know God’s heart. I know it’s breaking. I know He longs to embrace us and bring us home. Because this is not our home. But I also believe that the reason He hasn’t yet is because He is waiting. He is waiting for more of His beloved children to choose Him. Because when they do, He can offer them nothing short of heaven.

Friends, we may not always feel equipped to stand up for our God with words. I barely had the strength to do so when I sat down to write this. But I’ll tell you what we can do. We can stand up for our God with actions of love. In moments like these, let’s choose not to surrender our thoughts to helplessness but to the One who gives us the power to overcome.

Our president made the following comment in response to the Oregon shooting:   “Our thoughts and prayers are not enough”. Well, Mr. President, I respectfully disagree. We serve a God of abundant love and power and as soon as we invite Him back into this country, things will change.

This begins with prayer.