Do ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ Do Any Good in the Face of Tragedy?

Relevant Magazine ^ | 05/25/2022 | Tyler Huckabee

[SeekAndFind]

News is still coming in, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott says at least 14 children and a teacher were killed by a mass shooter at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. This comes on the heels of the Buffalo, New York mass shooting by a white supremacist that claimed ten lives.

There is little left to say when it comes to mass shootings in America. Politicians, pundits and pastors have scarcely finished trotting out their last round of condolences and talking points then they have to return to their respective pulpits, expected to have fresh insights.

It’s difficult because, increasingly, our collective grief is not just for the victims, but for our country at large. Why? Why are so many people being shot in the United States of America? Can it be stopped? What can anyone do in the face of such senseless, reckless violence?

Perhaps it’s because of this that people turn to the phrase “thoughts and prayers.” Whatever else gunmen are able to do, they cannot take away our ability to think and pray. It’s comforting for us to be able to offer some little piece of ourselves. Whether or not it’s actually comforting for those immediately affected by the shootings is a question only they can answer.

But in the light of the most recent shooting (as of this writing, anyway), a growing wave of frustration regarding “thoughts and prayers” reached a new fever pitch, so much so that Emma Green at The Atlantic coined a new term: “prayer shaming.”

“GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS” The New York Post declared this morning, evidently confident in some anonymous source close to the Almighty. A widely circulated batch of tweets from Think Progress contributing editor Igor Volsky compared and contrasted politicians’ tweets about “thoughts and prayers” to the donations they received from the National Rifle Association. #ThoughtsAndPrayers started trending on Twitter, with most of the contributions being some variation on the following:

Perhaps The Nation editor George Zornick captured the mood best with this picture:

Compare + contrast:


pic.twitter.com/vWXoIHd1Uy

— George Zornick (@gzornick) December 2, 2015

It’s an interesting contrast, no doubt, and Zornick says a lot by saying very little. In this worldview, there are two options: pray or act. Some people are content to sit around, heads bowed and hands folded, all but inviting another mass killing tomorrow. Others understand that the time for prayer has ended and now is the time to act. That’s a very stark binary.

It’s easy for Christians to take such sentiments personally.

Many of them seem intended to be taken so. But Christians should also be able to understand where this apparent frustration is coming from. Mass shootings continue to happen in America. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. leads the world in mass shootings by a supremely depressing margin (65 percent higher per capita than the Philippines, our closest competitor, as of 2015.)

In the face of all that, the repeated refrain for thoughts and prayers seems empty. We’ve been thinking and praying since Columbine, and the problem seems worse now than it did when we started.

So the question then, is this: Is it prayer that is ineffectual, or the pray-ers?

The Prayer of the Righteous

For its part, the writers of the Bible are convinced that “The earnest prayer of the righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” (James 5:16). Notice James’ qualifications here. Though this verse is often pared down to a slogan as simple as “prayer works!”, James is making a nuanced point. When the prayer is earnest and the pray-er is righteous, you can expect big things.

So what does that mean for us? We, who don’t always feel very righteous? And for the prayers we offer on Twitter, where so little is actually earnest?

For that, we turn to Jesus, who paints a vivid picture in Matthew 6.

“‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

Are people like former President Barack Obama, Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Jeb Bush and all the rest that have offered prayers thinking that “they will be heard because of their many words”? Do they shut the door and pray in secret along with their rhetoric? Let’s hope so. It’s impossible to know. All we can do is look to our own motives.

Prayer Changes Us

“I used to believe that prayer changes things. But now I know that prayer changes us and we change things.” Mother Teresa said that, and history has no record of anyone ever telling Mother Teresa they were sick and tired of her prayers.

Perhaps that’s because Mother Teresa understood the words of Jesus and James—that prayer is not a substitute for action, or even preparation for action. It’s something much more fluid and powerful. It is the holding of ourselves and others nearer to God, that the shalom of God might be made manifest in our lives. It’s not passive. On the contrary, God is in the business of creation, and those who love Him are joining Him every day in the work of redeeming all things. It’s a very active thing.

Perhaps it’s best to say that prayer and action are at their best when they are in harmony, and if we are serious when we say “our prayers are with you,” then our prayers must be in intimate relationship with redemptive work. Comfort for the afflicted. Justice for the innocent. Change for the future.

So maybe the question isn’t “do thoughts and prayers do any good?” but “What kind of good do we intend to do with our thoughts and prayers?” Because whatever value there might be in telling God how sorry we are about our broken world, there can be little doubt that there’s more value in asking Him to give His people a desire to heal it.

Editor’s note: A version of this piece first ran in 2015.

[Boogieman]

“There is nothing that prayer can’t change.”

So if you pray for your enemies to die a violent death, you think prayer can accomplish that?

What about praying for time to spin backwards so that some mistake you made never happened?

How about praying for God to not fulfill some prophecy that you dislike? Think that’s going to work?

“Nobody controls God. He is sovereign. Nobody can tell Him what to do.”

This is just another way of saying what I was saying. Praying for things that prayer can’t change is futile. What are those things? Well, they are mainly things that God is not going to change His mind about, for various reasons that aren’t too difficult, I think, to understand.

[NorthStarOkie]

You Stated: “We don’t need more “Common sense laws and statutes”- We have mountains of “common sense gun laws” that have been enacted already— What we We need is just some common sense- period-”
- - - - - -
Spot On!
Let’s converse with a politician who has been in office for, say, 30, maybe 40, years and who advocates/supports “common sense” gun laws.
“How many gun laws have you voted for over the years?
Let’s imagine he says, “I voted for 100.”
“Now you are admitting that none of them were ‘common sense.’ If you had no ‘common sense’ then, why should I believe you have ‘common sense’ now?”
- - - - -

[Bob434]

and ask them “Since you believe none of the 20,000 gun laws already o n the books are common sense ones, then shouldn’t we do away with them altogether?”

[TangledUpInBlue]

I can’t disagree with any of that. And I’m not an expert on the laws you cite. Except to say, they clearly aren’t working. And doing nothing, or more of the same, clearly isn’t working.

We need to try something new. I’m not sure arming teachers is a good idea. Even if we assume we can adequately train one to handle a firearm quickly and efficiently in the face of a stressful situation, are we to expect them to incapacitate/kill another human? Is that what we want teachers to do?

I don’t know what I can suggest at the moment. And yes, I’m fully aware that cases like this, and their sensational nature make the danger amplified. I’m fully aware that more hand guns kill people than assault rifles. But the latter make it easier, faster and more efficient. That’s what they’re designed to do.

So yes, something has to change. I’m a hunter. I have shot guns and rifles (Win. 220 bolt action) but I don’t need any type of AR-15. I’d willing support a ban on weapons of that type with the exception that if you own one - you may use it at an official shooting range where the weapon must remain under lock and key. My brother owns an AR-15. He target shoots with it. There is little else legal he can do with it. So isn’t that maybe a step at least worth considering?

We could restrict the sale of Ammunition for certain weapons. We could ban the sale of tactical gear. Purchases of that stuff just may be a red flag. Who needs that stuff in the public domain?

I understand the 2A. And I do support liberty. But I also realize that the 2A was written when there was no national army. When a citizen militia could conceivably overthrow the government if it became tyrannical. But in these times, it seems fruitless no? What good will my AR-15 or shotgun do against a Bradley AFV or a team of highly trained soldiers with professional weapons, tactics, armaments?

Now, I’m not a Commie! I don’t belong on DU. I’ve been here a long time. So let’s not call each other names. (I’m not saying you did) But if we, as like minded people to some degree, can’t discuss this issue among us, how can we convince anyone else?

Something has got to give. Are Americans more homicidal than any other society in the world? Are our children more warped by Social Media/Covid/Movies/Video Games than other kids in the world? Are schools in Italy, Germany, Spain, Mexico etc...all staffed with armed guards every day?

Or is it that our gun access plays a role here? What do you think?

[Bob434]

[[Or is it that our gun access plays a role here? What do you think?]]

An armed society is a far more police society than one where the bad guys are armed (As they will always have access to illegal guns- you can never stop that) while the good guys are forbidden from owning

[[But in these times, it seems fruitless no?]]

No it is not fruitless- protection against rogue government is not the only reason for the 2nd a- it is for protection against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic- The sheer amount of violent criminals in this country means we citizens have a right to be armed and prepared to defend ourselves from them-

The buffalo shooter was red flagged- and authorities failed to stop him-

[[I’m fully aware that more hand guns kill people than assault rifles. But the latter make it easier, faster and more efficient.]]

No they don’t- it’s just as fast with a hand gun- hand guns have just as large magazines as rifles do-

The answer Is in protecting the schools- not in disarming law abiding citizens, nor in restricting them- the whole purpose of the 2nd a is to protect against armed bad guys, and when they are armed to the teeth, you need adequate means to defend yourself- they will always have guns with large capacity magazines- remember, they are criminals and do not care about laws- they can get the stuff illegally- while the law abiding citizen will be severely restricted and in harms way because they refuse to break the law like the criminals do-

if you are a hunter, then you know that an AR-15 is no different, and no less deadly than other hunting rifles- that are semi-automatic- many states now restrict the amount of ammo the magazines can hold- but that doesn’t stop the bad guys- and only endangers to the good guys who have to face the bad guys with their superior equipment

[[My brother owns an AR-15. He target shoots with it. There is little else legal he can do with it.]]

What do you mean there is little else? He can hunt with it too=-

[[I’d willing support a ban on weapons of that type with the exception that if you own one - you may use it at an official shooting range where the weapon must remain under lock and key.]]

So you are willing to severely limit law abiding citizens knowing full well that criminals will still have access to such guns illegally? Sorry- but that is how liberals think- the AR-15 is no more dangerous than any other semi automatic gun-

Again- an armed society is a polite society- there woudl be far far less mass shootings IF the maggots knew they woudl be killed in seconds if they started opening fire inside schools- they wouldn’t even attempt it unless they were really mentally ill or had a suicide wish, and there is nothing that can be done to prevent those people from doing what they will unless you secure your school and harden it against intrusion by bad guys-

IF you do that we wouldn’t even be having this discussion because the problem would be almost nearly completely solved, and the rare shootings woudl be much more rare-

[skinny old man]

Yes families of victims need thoughts and prayers.
we all do.

Our Families all need hugs and open affection all the time.
Not teaching subjects to deep for young innocent minds.
Locking down at home or being forced to wear masks that do not protect them from viruses.

[skinny old man]

Last of all,we don’t need Clintons’ telling us what to do.

How many people are on their lists.

[Bob434]

here- go to the 7:14 minute mark of the video to hear the lieutenant governor discuss the issue of AR-14’s- they are no more dangerous than other semi’s and certainly they are not weapons of war- He makes it very very clear why we need to be armed as a society and not restricted- using the same arguments i have basically-

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/4066165/posts