Teenager across the table at coffee shop, with slightly squinted eyes, “What are you doing?” said in a somewhat condescending tone.
Me, without looking up,
“I’m praying the news.”
Kid, eyes narrowing,
“What?”
Me, looking up,
“I don’t just read the newspaper, I pray the news. There’s so many people dealing with so much and I can’t do something about most of it – other than pray. God can intervene. God can mobilize the church in the communities where these people live. God can bring His power and presence to bear.” I repeated myself, “I’m praying the news.”
Her eyes went wide and the tension fell from her face,
“That’s so cool!”
And thus began a conversation about the headlines, the stories behind them, and the opportunity to read between the lines and speak to the heart.
Did you see the headlines last week about the Governor of Virginia and on down the line? Consider for a moment the heart issues behind those headlines.
Did you see the headline a few weeks back about Jeff Bezos and his wife filing for divorce? Do they help you pray for her in ways you may not have been lead to pray before?
Did you see the headlines about the State of the Union? Hunter Baker and others helped us distill the SOTU.
What’s the state of your union with Christ? Are you in Christ and is Christ in you? Are you abiding in Him and cooperating moment by moment with His Spirit at work within you (John 14-15)? What’s the state of the union of your marriage? What’s the state of the union of your family? What’s the state of the union of your church and how are you participating as a living stone in that fellowship (1 Peter 2, Ephesians 4)? How do these considerations change your prayers?
From foreign affairs to affairs of the heart, God knows and God cares. As we come to know what’s happening in the world, let us also care in the way God cares and bring the power of the Gospel to bear in all of its beauty and truth.
What’s something that breaks your heart and you know it also breaks the heart of God? For me, it’s human trafficking. Raleigh Sadler helped begin to understand and address the issue in a discussion about his book, Vulnerable: Rethinking Human Trafficking.
This is what we do every day on Mornings with Carmen – join us live weekday mornings from 6-8am central, or anytime online, on the Faith Radio app or your Alexa enabled device.