A Most Amazing Prayer Meeting
I can picture the scene, well, sort of. Eight people gather for prayer. Forming a circle, they join hands, bow heads and begin to pray. They pray for our country. They pray for unity. They pray for an end to violence and hatred. They pray for peace, for reconciliation, for racial justice and for goodness and grace to prevail in our land. Then it gets more personal. They begin to pray for wisdom to lead our nation with discernment and compassion. They pray for division to cease and for the rise of a spirit of collegiality and civility in our halls of government. As the prayer meeting reaches its climax, barriers begin to break down and they start praying for each other, for the ability to forgive and be forgiven. They confess, they absolve and, for one brief moment, in the Spirit of Christ, they love.
Who is in the circle at this momentous prayer meeting? Each of our nation’s top leaders who have professed being a person of faith, both Jewish and Christian. That’s right. Seated together, hand in hand in fervent prayer are Donald Trump (Presbyterian), Mike Pence (Evangelical), Joe Biden (Catholic), Kamala Harris (Black Baptist), Nancy Pelosi (Catholic), Mitch McConnell (Baptist), Chuck Schumer (Jewish) and Kevin McCarthy (Baptist). Impossible? Incomprehensible? Inconceivable?
Well, yes. However, here is the point. You cannot claim to be a Jew or Christian, which, by definition, means either faithfulness to the Torah or following Jesus, and not do what your faith commands. And both the Torah and Jesus command us to pray; to pray together, to pray for our enemies, to be united in prayer, to pray both to forgive and be forgiven, to pray for humility and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in all we do.
There are no caveats to this call and command to pray. You don’t get a ‘pass’ once you enter politics or reach some level of power or authority. In fact, the more power and authority we are given, the more critical our prayer life becomes.
So, why wouldn’t we expect our nation’s top political leaders, all professed people of faith, to follow this most basic, fundamental practice required of all Christians and Jews? It’s happening far more than most Americans know in many places on Capitol Hill. Weekly there are Bible study and prayer groups made up of members of the Senate and House of Representatives from both sides of the aisle. Democrats and Republicans meet to pray for each other, encourage each other and pray for our country despite their political differences.
If it can happen there, why not with our top leaders? Imagine the impact of that photo, all eight of them absorbed in concerted prayer for our country. All confessing, forgiving and reconciling.
My point here is that this scene should not be science fiction. It can and should happen. Perhaps I should say it MUST happen. How could it become reality? Well, what if tens of millions of everyday Christians and Jews joined with pastors, denominational leaders, Jewish leaders, Christian and Jewish college presidents, and high-profile teachers and ministry leaders and inundated the offices of these eight people with emails and phone calls encouraging and challenging them to convene such a prayer meeting? What if we all said in one loud voice, “Enough is enough! This rancor and vitriol must stop, and it will only be overcome with prayer!” What if we challenged these leaders to, well, lead by putting their professed faith into action? I may be delusional, but why wouldn’t we expect, even demand such a simple, fundamental act of faithfulness from leaders who claim faith traditions built on the power, promise and preeminence of prayer?
This blog is about living as faithful stewards. How better could we steward this tumultuous moment in our nation’s history than by calling on our leaders to pray?
I’ll write all eight of them and challenge them to do just that. Will you join me?
Donald Trump/Mike Pence https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Joe Biden/Kamala Harris https://bidenpresident.com/Contact
Nancy Pelosi https://pelosi.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
Mitch McConnell https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact
Kevin McCarthy https://kevinmccarthy.house.gov/contact/email-me
Chuck Schumer https://www.schumer.senate.gov/contact/email-chuck
Sample Emails (feel free to edit as you please)
Dear (proper salutations for Trump, Pence, Pelosi, McConnell, Biden, Harris and McCarthy),
You have stated publicly that you are a Christian. I am a fellow Christian and we both know that our faith calls us to be people of prayer. Jesus commands us to pray; to pray together, to pray for our enemies, to be united in prayer, to pray both to forgive and be forgiven, to pray for humility and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in all we do.
In obedience to this command, and as an urgent plea for the health of our nation, I am asking you to make a demonstration of your faith by convening a meeting for the sole purpose of praying with both your colleagues and your adversaries. Specifically, I am asking you to gather around a table of prayer with (name the other seven) prior to the election to pray for our country, for unity, for forgiveness and for healing.
I believe no one action by our leaders would more unite and heal our nation than this act of unity around prayer, living out our faith for the world to see. I urgently request that you take this action as a man/woman of God called to lead in these chaotic times.
Thank you and God bless you.
***
Dear (proper salutations for Chuck Schumer),
You have stated publicly that you are Jewish. I am a Christian and we both know that our faiths call us to be people of prayer. Both the Torah and Jesus command us to pray; to pray together, to pray for our enemies, to be united in prayer, to pray both to forgive and be forgiven, to pray for humility and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in all we do.
In obedience to this command, and as an urgent plea for the health of our nation, I am asking you to make a demonstration of your faith by convening a meeting for the sole purpose of praying with both your colleagues and your adversaries. Specifically, I am asking you to gather around a table of prayer with (name the other seven) prior to the election to pray for our country, for unity, for forgiveness and for healing.
I believe no one action by our leaders would more unite and heal our nation than this act of unity around prayer, living out our faith for the world to see. I urgently request that you take this action as a man of God called to lead in these chaotic times.
Thank you and God bless you.
