Let Us Pray
“if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14
When we turn on the news, it can be exhausting. Whether it pertains to war, famine, corruption, or violence, the effect of sin and evil in the world can bring up many emotions. I know I have felt dismayed, grieved, helpless, and hurt at times when I consider it all. Isaiah 59 from today’s lectionary is a notable example describing the effects of sin — on any day!
Even when I hear about an event so disconnected from my life — that I could just as easily never hear about it if I had not turned to the news that day — hearing about great injustice can be deeply disturbing. Why?
First, we are all part of God’s creation. Even islands, that appear independent, are raised bits of the ocean floor that appear above sea level. We are interconnected. Even when we look or feel things independently from the world around us, we are not removed from the world. If one part suffers, we all do.
And God grieves when His creation is marred. This grief is mirrored in us who are made in His image.
Moreover, physiologically speaking, psychologists in the 1990s discovered that we have what is called “mirror neurons.” These neurons fire in the same manner when we do a certain action and see someone else doing the same thing. Consider when your favorite football team's quarterback gets brutally sacked and you wince! In a small way, your mind is shadowing the pain of the hit (aside from the pain of losing the pass!). God has created us, down to the cellular level, to be connected with those around us.
What should we do when we feel the pain and grief from the effects of sin and evil in the world? Some may exclaim, “let’s be Jesus' hands and feet! Let’s get out there and help!” And that would be right!
Yet, our first in all things should be prayer. Let us pray before, during, and afterward, too. God calls us to lament the pain and suffering of the world. We bring this pain to Him. He also calls His people to repent for the collective sin of their community, just as He instructs in 2 Chronicle 7:14. We could pray the Great Litany or the Confession, which we pray so often together before the Eucharist.
When you encounter distressing news, bring your fears and anger, grief and repentance to God. Pray. Pray He would bring His swift justice and healing to our world. Pray that His kingdom would come more fully now as it will when Christ returns.
