Thoughts and Prayers VI

...he delights in showing clemency.

 - From Micah 7

So what do they expect, anyway, these people that love to deride the idea of "thoughts and prayers"? How much time do they allow, before a prayer should be answered, that they don't believe is going to be answered, anyway? How exactly do they expect prayers to  be answered?

When a believer says "You have my thoughts and prayers," to a survivor of an attack, what do the scoffers think it means? For it to "work," what would that look like? Does that mean that the survivors will feel a sense of not being alone? That the edge of pain and grief will be softened somewhat, but the gentle hand of God? When a person is undergoing unspeakable tragedy and grief, should not think of them? Should we not pray for them? Yes, we can visit them . . . but what if we don't known them, and we live across the country?

Perhaps the scoffer thinks the "thoughts and prayers" or for the victims? Those injured or worse of all, those that lost their lives? Should the injured be sped up in their recovery? Do they have to recover fully? Or perhaps we should not think or pray for them at all . . . if that's all we have for them?

What if we offered prayers for the criminals in these horrible acts of rage and terror? After they have completed their monstrous task? Should we pray that the criminal be dealt justice? How about the emotional, spiritual, and mental healing of the criminal? Or maybe we shouldn't pray at all, for the person that, had God intervened . . . may have been hindered in completing the job. But in that case, we have to pray before the fact, that God stops them cold. 

Or maybe we should pray for society. But here is when prayers for society do not work, at all: When scoffers see to it that they don't work, by refusing to communicate, collaborate, and listen, to those of us with an attentive ear and eye to the spiritual forces at play. Is the problem not serious enough for that? The scoffers first refuse to offer positive focus with other Americans with a different perspective. This prevents creative forces from coming into play . . . and prayer seems not to have worked. 

God does not require a lot. He loves to give us clemency. There is nothing in the last generation or two, that would put us into special favor with God . . . that is . . . as a nation. When you go out of balance with the fulcrum of the universe, expect bad things to happen. We know to respect other laws of nature, like not to pick up a glowing log in a fire; and not to jump off tall buildings. Perhaps we should observe all laws of nature!

But even so . . . we do not have to do everything that the scoffer requires. Just have faith. God wants to make it right for us.