In the wake of the 130th mass shooting in the U.S. since January 1, we are hearing and reading all the usual reactions to the tragedy.
My reaction is, unsurprisingly, theological. We have an idolatrous attachment to guns and to the mythology that with a gun at hand we are safe.
We have accepted that our reverence for guns is going to cost us the sacrifice of some children, some worshippers, some shoppers, some people dancing and partying, some people sitting on a porch at the wrong moment. Well, gods demand sacrifices.
One of the predictable reactions to a mass shooting event is the offering of expressions of concern and prayers for the lives shattered by violence. People often deride the offer of “thoughts and prayers” as a means of politely acknowledging that something bad has happened but also dismissing it as “not my problem.”
Today I was reading a defense of prayer, a claim that prayer is a meaningful act in the wake of tragedy. While there are, no doubt, insincere offers of “thoughts and prayers,” just as there are uninterested inquiries into our health and well-being (“Hi, how are you?”), there are also people moved to deep and profound prayer on behalf of those who suffer violence.
Granted. I’m not here to debate the article’s author, David French, but I will say that I found it ironic that tucked into his article defending the efficacy of petitioning God, he declared that he and his wife rely on cold steel and bullets for their actual protection from the crazies who target him for his views.
The comments left by readers of the article are what prompted the thoughts I’m sharing with you today. Many of those commenting on the article were not religious. Some were hostile to the very idea of God, but not most of them.
Those who scorned prayer and those who defended it all seemed to share the (false) idea that prayer is essentially a means of exercising power over the universe. For example: my baby is sick; I want my baby to be healthy. Prayer is the means I will use to shape reality to my will. Or, to take another example: my loved one is going into battle; I want my loved one to come home to me unharmed. Prayer is the talisman I employ to guarantee the safe return of the one I love.
Christian prayer is not the means one employs to exert power over the universe. Pagan prayer, or naïve superstition (think rabbit’s foot, crystals, etc.), believes addressing the gods or saying the right words or doing the correct ritual will give one power over the chaotic and dangerous threats humans face in life.
The point of Christian prayer is relationship with God. So, prayer can sometimes ask for things, because that’s part of our relationships. We can ask God for help – even ask for miracles, because prayer is a conversation with the Creator of all that is, the One who raised Jesus from death. But prayer is not a means of manipulating the world to suit us. We share our pains and our dreams, our hopes, and our shame with God in prayer. This conversation shapes us and changes us. Mostly, it does so by bringing us to greater awareness that we are never apart from God. “In him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)
If you’re using prayer as a technique to get what you want, or to avoid what you don’t want, I would advise you to stop wasting your time with it. Those who pray to a God who was incarnate in a man who was crucified and who demanded his followers do likewise should not expect their prayers to protect them from life’s dangers and disappointments.
Prayer is opening the door, waiting in silence, walking in trust. Prayer is the conscious act of recognizing that we live the whole of our lives in the presence of God, sustained by God’s love.
Prayer can change us. It can lead us to forgive; it can lead us to seek forgiveness; it can assure us of acceptance; it can help us open our eyes to see our neighbor; it can open our heart to love the one we scorn; it can…
Prayer can have very real effects in the world. It can, for instance, move a person to comfort the grieving; or petition lawmakers; or organize a protest; or run for office; or feed the hungry; or to provide safe housing; or teach children to read; or…
Prayer: Thy will be done in me so that Thy will might be done in the world.