A Call to Earnest Prayer

It has been so long since my last post and so much has happened, and is happening, that I do not know where to begin. We have an African-American President elect who will be inaugurated a day after Dr. Martin Luther King day. Poetic! But while the United States has reached a milestone in our history chaos still ensues here and across the globe. Hundreds are caught in the crossfire of Israeli and Hamas missiles in Gaza. The conflict in Darfur has entered into its sixth year. Several countries with radical agendas are close to having nuclear capabilities. Here at home the economy is in shambles. The unemployment rate has reached 7.2%, a figure not seen in over 15 years. That translates into 2.6 million jobs that were lost in 2008. The New York Times recently reported that the number of families in homeless shelters has soared exponentially in the last year. A recent police shooting suspected of being racially motivated in California lead to rioting and looting in the streets. With all this calamity where does one look, if not looking up to The Lord?

I find hope in the fact that I am but an alien and a stranger on this Earth (1 Peter 2:11). But while I'm here, I look around and see so many people hurting, bleeding, and dying I approach 2009 with a sense of urgency. An urgency birthed in the reality that we are living in the last days. Now more than ever we need do our best to live the Beatitudes and love our neighbors as ourselves. And this must not be limited to our church, local, or even national communities. We need to understand that all those men, women, and children stuck in the Gaza strip dodging bullets and missiles even now as I type this blog are our neighbors. How can we love those neighbors as ourselves in the midst of this war? Do we follow the likes of Shane Claiborne, who may be on Expedia trying to find a ticket out there right now, and other Ordinary Radicals who are not afraid to preach Christ, the Prince of Peace, in the eye of the storm. I leave that type of decision for you to discern during your quiet time with the Lord. But at the very least we need to be lifting our brothers and sisters (neighbors) up in earnest prayer. Not only is it our mandate as the elect but it is our duty as a global community. So with that I urge you, as well as myself, to stay steadfast in your prayers for all of our neighbors. Those in Gaza, Darfur, the U.S. and across the globe! Remember what happened in the book of Acts when the church was earnestly praying.