On August 27, almost immediately after the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I began to see the messages pop up on my newsfeed.
“Praying for the children.” “Praying for the victims and families.” “Thoughts and prayers.”
At a press conference that afternoon, Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey told the public, “Don’t just say, ‘This is about thoughts and prayers right now.’ These kids were literally praying.”
In his defense, Mayor Frey seems to have been annoyed with those who say such things as empty platitudes. Soon others joined the mayor in expressing similar frustrations. Some non-Christian commentators felt that such sentiments were a cop out – a way to avoid having to take personal action to fix the problem.
Their criticisms have some validity. As Christians, we can easily type those words on our phones or computers and then pat ourselves on the back, feeling like we have done our Christian duty.
As Christians, we should pray. We should let others know that we are praying for them, but prayer is only a part of the support we give as Christians.
If you have a neighbor who is starving, and you say, “I’ll be praying for you,” but then do nothing to feed him, you aren’t loving your neighbor as yourself. When we pray, “God, please help others,” we are often the hands and feet and mouth he uses to give them that help.
Mayor Frey’s frustration, however, also seemed to stem from a strikingly low opinion of prayer. “These kids were literally praying,” he said, as if to say, “What good did it do them?” For many people today, prayer doesn’t do much. Prayer is their lastditch effort. When there is nothing else they can do, they pray.
As Christians, however, prayer is not our lastditch effort. It is our firstditch effort. We pray first because the all-powerful Creator of all things is listening. We pray first because our heavenly Father promises to answer us for our good. We pray first because prayer has power.
Like Mayor Frey, some may wonder what good prayer does. Again, those children were literally praying. What we need to understand is that, although God promises to always hear and answer our prayers with power, his answers are not always what we want or think they should be.
Why didn’t God protect those praying children? In the end, he did – even the seventeen that were injured, even the two who were killed. God protected them, because he wrapped in his powerful arms and took them to heaven. They are now free and safe from every evil, pain, or problem.
For those he left here on earth, God will use what happened to them to bring them closer to him, to grow them, to strengthen them, and to bring good from evil. God has plans for those children and their families. He is listening to our prayers for them. He is providing help and encouragement and comfort for them through us and others.
As I type these words, another shooting is now flooding my Facebook feed. So, once again, the first thing we do as Christians is pray.
Please pray for the family and loved ones of Charlie Kirk. Pray especially for his wife and small children. Pray for our country and government. Pray for those who hated Charlie Kirk and those who hate us. Pray for the young man who shot him.
Then be a part of God’s answer to our prayers by being voices of reason, wisdom, and love to the world around us.
Pastor Andrew Schroer has been a pastor for over 25 years and is currently serving at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Edna, Texas. You can find his latest books, “364 Days of Thanksgiving” and “364 Days of Devotion,” on Amazon.com.
