One of my biggest passions in life is the granting of justice. I hate when things are unfair, I love when people can live in peace. Peace is a luxury that many humans are not granted, and watching one broadcast of the evening news is enough to tell anyone that. Unfortunately it is easy to remember politics and military involvement while forgetting the people that are just caught in the crossfire. I’ve noticed that throughout the course of history, many people are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Germany- 1939.
Cambodia- 1977.
Iran- 1979.
Rwanda- 1994.
Albania- 1998.
Wrong place, wrong time.
In 1940’s Europe, people never thought a genocide could happen. Their countries were mostly developed, they lived normal lives. But then a genocide happened, the survivors wrote books, the world was educated in history class, museums were opened, and many people dared to say-
“Never Again.”
And it happened again.
And again.
And again.
And right now, hundreds of thousands of Syrians are fleeing their country.
One *report says that 60% of refugees say that they were tortured.
Two years of fighting.
Refugee camps are overflowing.
Women are being raped.
Families are being split up and destroyed.
Did you even know?
It’s not about feeling guilty. The enemy wants us to be unaware of what he is doing so we can’t stop it. He works in the dark. With a fair amount of publicity, this issue is no longer in the dark.
The refugees have this to say:
*“We are dying and the world is watching.”
Children, little children, in a refugee camp on the border of Turkey and Syria held a sign on which was written these heart-wrenching words. It makes my heart ache. It really does. One, because they are dying, and two, because I really am watching.
I don’t like sitting here watching. I don’t like not knowing. I don’t like that hopeless feeling of wanting to do something but not knowing what. I don’t like having the temptation to ask God “Why? Again? Why?”
They are confused as to why the world is not doing anything, why so much of the pledged help has not come in. We are confused because it is bad and we don’t know what to do.
One reporter said, *“There’s no telling how long promises by the world will be just empty words.”
Wait.
Words?
Prayer.
When you can’t go there, when you can’t give money, when you are afraid, when you have too little information, when you can’t get off work, when you don’t know what the best solution is, when it seems like you are only given a choice between the lesser of two evils- pray.
We often say that there is power in prayer. If we really meant it, wouldn’t we use it more often? Wouldn’t we trust that God can help these overwhelming issues, even if we may never see it firsthand? This is something that I need to remind myself of consistently. Pray about the issues that tug at my heart and make me gaze, shocked, at my computer screen.
Pray for food for the people and maybe a local bakery will be prompted to give bread.
Pray for safety for the refugees and maybe an extra layer of protection will fall upon playing children.
Pray for the Word of God to reach the refugees and maybe an unexpected monetary donation will allow a missionary to go there.
God is infinitely more creative and passionate than us. If we pray, he will answer those prayers, even when we can’t see it. Even when we will never meet the people at the other end of our prayers. And that’s why we should pray. These civilians are innocent. They are just like us. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Let us not be a people of empty words. Let us be Christians who believe in the power of our Sovereign Lord and our authority to reach out to Him, with bold words, in prayer.
What sort of things do you pray about that are bigger than yourself? Do you often pray for things that you know you may never see answers for, even if your prayers are fulfilled?
Note- Words with a “*” before them denote a link to a source.