A post by Philip Yancey on his website last week has really gotten under my skin. It's a adopting a terrorist for prayer.
This is a noble endeavor, one that as a Christian I am supposed to embrace with joy and hope. I check out the website of the Adopt-a-Terrorist for Prayer and it looks great! At the very top of the home page there is Jesus' words in the sermon the mount, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
Ya ya, I know. I've read the Sermon on the Mount a bunch of times. Even preached a 12-week sermon series on it when I lived in Amsterdam.
But I'm having a really hard time with this whole thing. Maybe it's because I keep getting the image of Osama bin Laden in my head when I think of "terrorist."
Maybe it's because I have a pretty good sense that most terrorists are unrepentant about their terrorism.
Maybe it's because I wonder why God allows terrorism and simply does not blow up all the terrorists.
Maybe it's because ... well you get the idea.
I would really like to pray for terrorists, it is good and right and noble. It's just not as easy for me as I would like it to be. Thanks for the challenge, Philip!
And how I remember those 3 months going through the Sermon on the Mount!
ReplyDeleteFebruary last year Brother Andrew spoke in xrds and he asked a similar question: "Have you prayed for Bin Laden today?"
Well, if I'm honest: I haven't. But, now with your post (thanks to Philip Yancey) I'm challenged again.
Also terrorists need our prayers, because they need the Savior, Jesus!
I'm willing to take up the challenge and start to pray. Especially now with all that's going on in the world and the M.E. specifically. So much to pray for. We all need the Peace that surpasses all understanding! And we all know that through prayer first WE are changed!
Blessings to you Brian; thanks for this post!
Joke