who do you pray for?

 

There was a discussion on a friend's thread on social media this past week. He was asking for prayers for  friends that he knew in Pakistan who were dealing with flash flood situations due to monsoon rains. Well, along came a comment that went into detail about how one chooses to either pray or not for a particular situation. Instead of seeing the whole picture, this person chose to pick apart what could and could not be dealt with. It's like a joke I heard once. Boston College, a Catholic university, was playing Notre Dame in football. Because Notre Dame is also Catholic, sports writers asked each other, "so, when they say the "Hail, Mary," who does she listen to?"

Yikes!

Have you ever thought of that? When someone asks you to say a prayer for them, is it just because they like to hear themselves talk? I know it takes great courage to, number one, ask for prayers, but it also renders one vulnerable, because we are also putting our faith on the line. For anyone to shoot down that faith by saying they "don't believe in this..." or "my religion doesn't believe in that..." well, it just puts a sour taste in  my mouth. Even Jesus taught us that at the most, we should always pray for our enemies.  "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.…" Luke 6:28.
 Doesn't matter if they are of a different faith, nationality, religion,it's because Jesus said so!

Once upon a time, I heard two women talking ( I was a young kid) and the conversation turned to a mutual acquaintance, who was an alcoholic. Said one, "I don't know...why bother praying for him, he'll just keep on drinking anyway!?"
Whew!
That person, the one who has issues with addiction, is the one who really COULD use all the prayers he could get!!! When I was young, my folks joined a religion that was very exclusive. This religion never took care of anyone outside of their own clique, never prayed for peace for anyone except themselves and even saw themselves as exclusively living in this version of paradise after the great Armageddon. Even at a young age, I simply could not see myself as being a part of something that pretty much X'ed out about 99.9% of the human race! Even when someone from within the organization passed away, there would not be one obituary in the paper, as they did nto wish to attract anyone outside of their organization to attend the funeral!

Now...is this any way to live?

For all of us to live in harmony, we must also live with peace in our hearts. Not picking who we will be friendly with (that sounds so third grade anyway...remember those days when you choose who to sit with at lunch? Yikes!) and reaching out to all, regardless of who they are. Pray for peace...first within our hearts, then within our communities and last, within our world. If someone asks for prayers, do it. Pour your heart out in praise and salvation....ask Him anything and He will answer. 

Jesus replied, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done." Matthew 21:21.