Why I Wont Pray for Justice Prayer is defined as a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God. Prayer has been the greatest and, most times, only companion of the weak, poor and disenfranchised. Prayer has been the cries of the oppressed, and the shouts of the unheard. For centuries those seen as less than human prayed on, while being preyed on. One of my all-time favorite quotes, as it pertains to religion and prayer, is from South African social rights activist Desmond Tutu. He once said When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said Let us pray. We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land. So, while I believe prayer to be a great thing, I will not pray for justice, or Ferguson for that matter. I will not pray, not because I dont believe in it, but because I believe in Matthew 6:6. Prayer should be in silent, and should not be made with an announcement. Prayer has long been a signal of hope for the hopeless. However, I believe prayer, without action to seek what you desire, is merely a wish. A wish, that can be stated more for show and sympathy. It becomes form over substance. Prayer becomes a thoughtless process. It morphs into the dream of an eternal sleeper, and weve been praying for justice for centuries. Prayer is in silence. Prayer should be between yourself and a higher power, and what we need more than ever is dialogue with each other. Open communication and understanding is the only way to advance us beyond our differences on this Earth. Differences that are proven to be facades when we open ourselves to the possibility of allowing ourselves to see anothers viewpoint and understand why they feel the way they feel. Differences that crumble under the weight of people who are more alike within than they are different on the exterior. Within we are alike and can be in unison, and it is more than a play on words to state that when we only focus on the exterior we are without. We can choose to live and grow within, or we can continue to exist without. So Ill pray to stop Ebola. Ill pray for a cure for cancer and a cure for AIDS. Those are sicknesses that I hope and believe a higher power can a bless us with a cure for, but I wont pray for justice. Justice can be realized by each one of us, and thus, it is something within the power of man. And I believe we are the ones who must cure those ills, together.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 01:17:27 +0000
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