Dear Isabel,
My country has one of the highest murder rates in the world. The leaders of its religions have declared many National Days of Prayer and Fasting, appealing to any higher power to help and guide us. But the murder rate has only increased.
I’m sure that not everyone who prayed and fasted was a true believer, but with so much intention directed toward a good cause, how can God (whichever God may exist) ignore us? Is this proof that God doesn’t exist? Are these National Days of Prayer a waste of everyone’s time?
Thanks,
Brokenhearted
Dear Brokenhearted,
I am so sorry the people of your country are suffering. My heart breaks also, for all of the people murdered and their families and friends.
I think uniting in an intention to reduce the frequency of a terrible crime is a wonderful thing. So no, a day of prayer isn’t a waste of time. It is an expression of care for your country, and the unity of desire might help people work together to find solutions.
That seems to me to be the key. Whether or not there is a God, whether or not prayer has any effect, sooner or later people must take action.
Here’s a story I love. It’s phrased like a joke, but as your letter illustrates, what it’s about is very serious:
A man was caught in a terrible flood. All around his house, the waters were rising. He managed to get onto the roof of his house, but he could see that if the water didn’t recede soon, he would be swept away. He began to pray ardently to God to save him.
As he was praying, neighbors came past in a rowboat and called out to him: “We have room for one more. Jump down and get into our boat!” He said, “No, God will not forsake me.” They shook their heads and rowed on, and he kept praying.
The water had reached his second-floor windows when he heard the sound of a motorboat. It idled near his house and the driver called out, “Come on, jump into my boat and we’ll get out of here!” Once again, he said, “I’m praying to my God, and I know he will rescue me.” So the motorboat revved up again and went on. The man continued to pray.
The water had reached the roof and was lapping at his feet when he heard a helicopter. “We’ll lower a ladder to you,” the co-pilot bellowed through a megaphone. The man yelled back, “I have faith in God! Don’t worry about me!” So the helicopter flew away.
The man kept praying, the water kept rising, and in another twenty minutes, he drowned.
He arrived at the pearly gates, sad and in despair. Before St. Peter could say a word, the man demanded, “I had such strong faith. I prayed and prayed that God would rescue me, and He left me to die!” St. Peter looked at his clipboard and said, “According to my records, God sent a rowboat, a motorboat, and a helicopter, and you turned them all down. What the heaven was He supposed to do?”
Obviously, the moral of the story is that divine help may come in human form. I realize that no one is coming along to put your whole troubled country on a boat and take it to safety, but what does hold true is that there are human solutions to your problems. They aren’t easy or foolproof, but if there is a God who reaches out to us through human hands and human minds, then God has offered some solutions to all places suffering high murder rates.
Namely, human beings know a lot about why people commit murder, and so we can do something about it. Poverty, discrimination, hopelessness, and easy access to lethal weapons cause murder rates to soar. Add criminal gangs—running drugs or arms, typically—and the results are deadly. These aren’t easy problems to solve, but many countries have reduced them and seen the benefits.
If a loving God is guiding the leaders, they will begin to tackle these problems, and if a loving God is guiding the people, they will reward leaders who take responsibility for lowering the murder rate and keep them in office. Prayer can help strengthen people to deal with very difficult challenges—that is not a trivial part of the solution, but it is only part. I hope you, and especially your leaders, can find the things that people can do to be the hands of a loving God.
Wishing you well,
Isabel
Note to readers: I realize that this isn’t the first Tuesday! It got away from me somehow. I will be back on the first Tuesday of February, February 4. Your questions are welcome, as always!