In the aftermath of the Las Vegas massacre, Mark Kelly, husband of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, herself a shooting victim, said, “All we’re hearing is thoughts and prayers. Thoughts and prayers are important. They are not enough. Your thoughts and prayers aren’t going to stop the next shooting.” Is he right? Yes and no.
Allow me to explain.
First, Mr. Kelly has every right to speak out against gun violence, since his own wife was almost killed by a demented gunman. I do not minimize his convictions.
Second, I agree that praying and taking action go hand in hand, and that if our laws need changing, we should change them.
Third, when we say “our thoughts and prayers” are with the victims and their families, it is often meaningless, just a trite expression without much behind it. “My thoughts and prayers are with you,” we say, and then we go on with our normal business. Of course this will not bring about significant change.
But what will bring about significant change, far beyond what any law can do, is if we really got serious and called for a national day of prayer and fasting, a day in which the government shut down its normal operations and schools and businesses were closed (wherever possible) and multiplied tens of millions of us fasted and prayed and repented and sought the favor of God.
What will bring about significant change is not merely saying, “My thoughts and prayers are with you” but rather praying like the fate of the nation hinged on our prayers since, in many ways, it does.
What we need is a solemn assembly, an urgent call to the nation, a time when the president will get on his knees and spend hours before God in soul searching and prayer. A time when Christian leaders will set an example of humility and repentance. A time when life will not go on as usual for 24-hours in America. That will certainly get the attention of heaven.
Looking back in American history, William Federer wrote in 2010, “To punish Massachusetts for the Tea Party, King George III decided to destroy its economy by blockading Boston’s harbor on June 1, 1774.
Thomas Jefferson drafted a Resolution for a “Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer” to be observed the same day. It was introduced in the Virginia House of Burgesses May 24, 1774, by Robert Carter Nicholas and supported by Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee and George Mason, passing unanimously:
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SOURCE: Christian Post, by Michael Brown
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