I refuse to get into my thoughts about September 11th and all its memorials other than that I grieve for any family that loses a beloved family member, especially in an untimely or tragic manner. (Because I would surely be overly wordy in the desperate attempt to explain, yet I still would not do well, and I would offend a lot of people. Not that that's a huge deal, BUT that's not the point of this post... *deep breath*)
However, despite my constant, vigilant, sometimes taxing determination not to be moved by what gets me riled up in our popular culture, government, and media, I have succumbed only slightly for this post. For some reason, the fact that they banned prayer from the recent 9/11 memorial services made me extra annoyed. (As if I expected any less...) The people running these things are obviously representing "the world" from their government or civil servant posts, and I certainly don't expect those to be my spiritual leaders. And I understand the whole "separation of church and state" thing (and hope said government servants do as well as they salivate over currently untaxed church properties...). But I just got all in a tizzy thinking, "It's just PRAYER! It's a wholesome, pleasant, well-intentioned, happy thing where people are finding comfort and hope in the midst of yucky stuff! There is nothing harmful in it. It's fairly innocuous..." At the word "innocuous," Holy Spirit jumped in and said, "IS it??" And then I realized, of course it isn't.
Then it dawned on me, and I felt a little knowing chuckle begin to bubble up. Prayer is major. It's big. It's not some fluffy rite we do every so often. I guess I was assuming that "they" would have used it that way, and therefore, what's the problem? But we wrestle not against flesh and blood but the spiritual realm, the principalities and powers that we do not see. One of our most lethal weapons is prayer.
No wonder they don't want us to do it.
The Bible tells us to pray for our enemies, and while that verse is in the context of turning the other cheek and blessing those who curse you, I also know that David prayed for his enemies, and his prayers were along the lines of, "Dear Holy Yahweh, wilst thou please obliterate and humiliate mine enemies in Thine Holy Name?" In other words, I pray that they get out of my way and burn.
So I guess I was just pondering the whole thing and realizing that while they might not know it in their "flesh and blood" state, there are certainly the principalities and powers at work who are shaking in their boots.
The good news is that I don't need some governmental memorial day to give me permission to pray. I can pray till the cows come home. And somewhere around 85% of Americans still call themselves some form of Christian, so they can all do the same.
Remember that scene in "Princess Bride" where Valerie, Miracle Max's wife, chases him around the room threatening him with the words "Humperdink. Humperdink. HUMPERDINK! Humperdii--iii-iiinnnnk..." and he's terrified, covering his ears? That's how I think all those goons up top look when they hear about prayer. But if they set themselves against God, I can't blame them.
I'd be scared, too.
*Note from the Editor:
We at God.Love.Family.Life would like to state that not all of Jennifer Finley's opinions necessarily encompass the full attitude of this publication. We (and she) recognize the slight "Redneck" tone that might be gathered from this post and hope the humor is seen.
However, our official position is this. Separation of church and state is good. We feel that way not because we want spirituality out of government but because we want the government out of our spirituality, believing that the Kingdom of God is the ultimate government and that man's government is a supporting player in helping to keep people organized.
We also feel that if Christians really want prayer at the 9/11 site, they ought to organize it and do it. The Body of Christ ought to be the larger and more influential entity when compared to the government of man. The best statement would be for this Body to organize itself and pray away if that's the Father's leading. Or do it privately. But to be mighty.
Editor-in-Chief
Jennifer Finley
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