Thoughts and Prayers

This morning we awoke to the news that the president and first lady have tested positive for COVID-19. Since I began writing this post, the president has been sent to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment. At this point, it is being reported that the move is out of an abundance of caution.

Our family has joined with many others in praying for a full and speedy recovery for the president and first lady. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have prayed daily for all of those impacted by this terrible virus.

We have prayed for:

those who have been infected

those who have died (often alone)

those who have lost loved ones (many unable to practice the rituals that help with the process of grief)

those who have cared for the sick and dying (putting themselves and their families at risk)

those who have worked tirelessly to develop treatments and a vaccine

those who have continued to perform essential services so that we have our basic needs (again, putting themselves and their families at risk, often while being very low wage earners)

those who have lost their businesses and livelihoods because they were not deemed essential

and so many others who have been impacted by this insidious disease

For Christians, prayer is an important spiritual discipline. In many ways, prayer is very simple and in others, it is extremely complex.

Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer as one model of how we can pray. Jesus also modeled prayer for us as he often retreated to spend time in prayer.

“Thoughts and prayers” is a phrase that has been most often used by public officials and public figures in an attempt to share condolences in times of tragedy and disaster. In recent years, the expression has come under increasing criticism as having become hollow and lacking any real meaning. As I write this, the hashtag #PrayForTrump is trending on Twitter. Sadly, most of those tweets are mocking the sentiment.vI have seen several celebrities share “Thoughts and Prayers” in a way that is clearly meant to be sarcastic. It has also been reported that Twitter has deleted a number of tweets that openly expressed a desire for the president to die. As I have said before, Twitter has become a very dark, vile platform.

As a Christian pastor, I have been defensive of the critiques of prayer. There are several memes that regularly surface that infuriate me. That being said, I have also tried to understand the critique. For critics, prayer without action seems a meaningless platitude. That criticism is not without merit. There are times when our prayer must compel us to get up off of our knees and to be the hands and feet of Christ to a broken and hurting world.

For those who are cynical about prayer, I offer a few thoughts. Prayer is a way for us to connect with God. Prayer is also a way for us to connect with each other, particularly when we cannot be physically present. When we pray specifically for others, it is known as intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer helps us to acknowledge sympathy and empathy for another. Praying for another person helps us to see them as God sees them.

I have been disappointed in posts from some people who I know and respect who have taken cheap shots at the President since news of his illness broke.

In Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus offers this admonition:

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Christian perfection is not about being without error. Christian perfection means that we learn to love as God loves. We are ALL sinners yet God loves each of us just the same. God calls us to love others as he loves us!

For many of us, this is among one of the most challenging teachings of Jesus. We feel so justified in our hate! Jesus calls us to a different standard. He calls us to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile! It is more difficult to demonize and vilify someone when we are praying for them.

I invite you to join me in praying for our country and for our world. We are facing so many challenges. Those challenges are far easier to solve if we are all of one spirit.