Profound Things #4 - Prayer

Wow. Two profound things in the same week. That's pretty crazy, seeing as I've been writing this blog for nearly three months now.

Well, there's a story (sort of) behind this one. I was driving home from babysitting for a church fundraiser event (all I've got to say about that is ugg. I'm not a kid person.) with my little sister. She's cool most of the time now-a-days... but, anyway, we were listening to some of Eminem's new music (she's a lot more into new music than I am, and I haven't heard any of his stuff... yeah, I know, I live under a rock).

Anyway, during one part of the song he says that he opens a letter from a guy who says he's been praying for him every day, and he says that it's been weighing pretty heavy on his mind. I don't know why, but it really struck me.

How many times have I prayed for him, or for anyone in the spotlight that our culture tries to imitate, or even simply for our culture?

Maybe it's just me, but I'm gunna make the challenge/observation anyway - I think, even in our Christian circles, we've bought so much into the individuality of our culture that we've stopped seeing the big picture. I know it's pretty easy for me to remember to take all my personal requests before God. But when do we pray for the people we aren't immediately around? Do we earnestly pray for people who are hostile to the faith? Do we earnestly pray for the people who are apathetic to it?

I don't have any evidence to support this, obviously, but I believe that one of the reasons that our culture is going down the drain is because we as Christians have stopped praying for it. We've stopped praying for the people. Scripture reiterates to us again and again and again just how important prayer is - it has serious, real, changing effects on the world around us, because God hears them and will act on them.

So much of the time, though, I, personally, approach prayer as more of a begrudging duty to fulfill than as our direct line of contact to the only one capable of dispelling the darkness around us. I know that God hears and acts on our prayers. But I don't always act like I believe it.

So, I guess, I just want to issue a challenge to all of you - myself included: pray. Pray for our culture. Pray for the celebrities who reject our God and lead our culture down darker paths. Pray for our government leaders. Pray for the scientists, the common man, the avid antagonist. But not only that - pray like you believe that God will do what He says He will do.

And don't do it for just a day, or just a week. Do it for the rest of your life. It's not just our duty - it's our privilege. And, honestly, it's the only way our culture is ever going to be dug out of the dark rut it's in.

James