{"id":2446,"date":"2019-03-29T16:33:58","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T16:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theundergroundchurch.net\/blog\/?p=2446"},"modified":"2019-04-20T12:25:21","modified_gmt":"2019-04-20T12:25:21","slug":"get-your-stinking-prayers-off-of-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/theundergroundchurch.net\/blog\/2019\/03\/29\/get-your-stinking-prayers-off-of-me\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cGet Your Stinking Prayers Off of Me\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walk through one of our local hospitals and you\u2019ll find ministers and laypeople of all varieties of Christian denominations, praying with and for the sick and dying. The recipients of such prayer are usually grateful.<\/p>\n

But being prayed for is not always well received. In fact, in portions of the South the words \u201cI\u2019ll pray for you\u201d (delivered with an air of condescension) can be a stinging insult\u2014an odious assertion from one whose facade of perfection is intact, that yours is not.<\/p>\n

Beyond this, though, some people are apparently triggered by well intended offerings of \u201cthoughts and prayers\u201d by ordinary people in the wake of tragedies, such as the depressingly frequent mass shootings that have taken place in schools and workplaces. A CNN article from 2018 describes How \u2018thoughts and prayers\u2019 went from common condolence to cynical meme\u201d<\/a>. Author A.J. Willingham tells us that \u201cThe phrase has gone from sincere to funny, but not in a ha-ha way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, in the wake of the tragic suicide of Jeremy Richman, father of Sandy Hook shooting victim Avielle Richman, an editorial in the Hartford Courant screams \u201cKeep the thoughts and prayers and ban AR-15s instead\u201d:<\/p>\n

The mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, wives, husbands and other family members whose lives have been broken by mass shootings don\u2019t need thoughts and prayers. \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>What they need \u2014 what we all need \u2014 is to get military-style assault weapons off our streets, out of our schools and out of our lives<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, this is a disturbing sentiment, and I\u2019ll explain my reaction to this momentarily. I\u2019ll leave the gun control issue aside\u2014You\u2019ll find that Christians are on both sides of the gun control debate (I\u2019m generally for stricter gun control laws).<\/p>\n

Furthermore, I\u2019ll acknowledge some merit to the idea that prayers should be accompanied by deeds. Christians agree with this. Jesus taught this (for example, in the \u201cParable of the Good Samaritan\u201d). James wrote that \u201cfaith without works is dead\u201d. We don\u2019t just sit around in meditation booths and marinate in our own thoughts\u2014that\u2019s dead faith. Pope Francis, who is spiritual leader over no small number of Christians, is quoted as saying \u201cPrayer that doesn\u2019t lead to concrete action toward our brothers is a fruitless and incomplete prayer\u201d \u2026 \u201cprayer and action must always be profoundly united.\u201d (Catholic News Agency<\/a>)<\/p>\n

So why do I find myself disturbed by the editorial rather than shouting \u201camen\u201d? Well, in one headline an editor has managed to crassly politicize a personal tragedy, and also to insult a host of ordinary people who would like to express empathy and kindness. Even looking at only the \u201cthoughts\u201d side of this maligned phrase, as Ben Rowan notes in The Atlantic<\/a>:<\/p>\n

For those that aren\u2019t religious and do not pray, according to Ladd, the first half of \u201cthoughts and prayers\u201d offers a secularized alternative\u2014much like \u201chappy holidays\u201d is to \u201cmerry Christmas.\u201d It allows participation in the same communal ritual, which can compel a sense of social cohesion.<\/em><\/p>\n

Essentially the sentiment \u201cKeep your thoughts to yourself\u201d comes across to me as \u201cshare my political beliefs or F*\u20ack off.\u201d Kindness itself is being assaulted here. \u00a0Kindness which is offered to others indiscriminately allows for connection beyond the differences of religion and other barriers, and is a stitch in the fabric of society. Eliminate such small scale kindness and empathy and we move one step closer to disintegration.<\/p>\n

On the topic of prayer, it should be recognized that this Hartford Courant editorial is not a Christian critique inviting Christians to reflect on the need to back prayer with action. This is rather a cynical and secular critique that sees prayer as inaction. The assumption appears to be that prayer is not needed because it is ineffective. It is a self gratifying form of meditation at best, a mere murmuring into the void, since no one is on the other end actually listening to prayers. To the hordes of people who believe in God and the power of prayer, this kind of message comes across as a slap, a repudiation of their beliefs; it sounds like, \u201cif you are the sort who prays, then get lost; we don\u2019t need your kind.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Christians pray not out of timidity in the face of existential emptiness, nor out of guilt, nor as a weapon of oppression against nonbelievers. We pray because we are commanded to do so, by none other than Jesus himself. Not praying is not an option for us. We are furthermore told that despite all the mysteries surrounding prayer, it actually works. \u201cThe effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much\u201d says James 5:16.<\/p>\n

So to my fellow Christians I would say \u201cpray on.\u201d \u00a0Do couple prayer with appropriate actions\u2014God could do it all, but for reasons that are mysterious, God often chooses us to be the instruments of Divine mercy and aid. Even pray for those who see themselves as your enemy, for those who irrationally hate you for not being progressive enough, and who tell you to \u201ckeep your prayers\u201d; for as Jesus said, in his famous Sermon on the Mount:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have heard that it was said, \u2018You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.\u2019 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.<\/em>(Matthew 5:43-44)<\/p>\n

To those who receive these expressions of \u201cthoughts and prayers\u201d in the midst of tragedy, I would encourage you to try to accept the sentiment with some grace and forebearance, and try to love those whom you see as enemies. I would ask you to see these particular words as at the very least an expression of empathy and common humanity. \u00a0At most, they are an earnest attempt by Christians to actually do something.<\/p>\n

(Note: Scripture references are from the Holy Bible<\/em>, English Standard Version).<\/body><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"