Pray for Our Crucifiers
“These times of uncertainty.” That was the catchphrase for 2020. It appears that the times of uncertainty continue into 2021. Freedom loving Americans are scared about what a Democratic-controlled government means for the Country. If a Democrat government weren’t bad enough, the Big Tech overlords continue to try to influence Americans towards the ways of authoritarian leftism. These are serious concerns that need to be met head on.
Any issue can be tackled from a myriad of perspectives. The Conservative Resistance during these next several years will need to attack and defend utilizing all approaches: political and social, top-down and grassroots, federal and local. Conservatives need to fight for political influence and for the culture. (A major move in fighting for the culture comes with the Daily Wire getting into the entertainment business.)
However, one approach must not be neglected: the spiritual approach. Of all the possible spiritual approaches, one must be singled out. That is prayer. While other spiritual approaches like preaching, apologetics, and evangelism are seemingly more active, prayer often feels passive and unforceful. When someone says, “I’ll be praying for you,” we believe that’s the equivalent of a Christianized, “Good luck.” When we tell someone, “I’ll be praying for you,” often we really mean, “I hope that all works out. I don’t really have anything to offer, and I don’t know what to say.” This all comes from a mistaken view of prayer. Prayer is not passive. It is not “cheap talk.” It is not merely a wishful hope for the universe to work out like we’d like it.
Prayer is a great spiritual work. But at the same time prayer is ceasing from our humanly attempts at work and an acknowledging of our utter dependence on God (c.f. Hebrews 4:10–11). When believers pray and commit to pray, they bring much to the table. James tells us that “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (5:16). Sincere prayer for the nation is not merely wishful hoping, it is attacking and defending in the spiritual realm.
There exists a temptation to pray like the Pharisee who declared, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men…” (Luke 18:11). Conservative Christians might be tempted to think, “Thank God I am not like those radical leftists. Thank God I’m not evil like Big Tech. I support our American and Christian values.” Now to be clear, the writer certainly believes that leftism and censorship are evil. Those who practice evil need to be opposed. However, the Christian fights evil by the grace of God. The Christian ultimately fights because he loves others as himself. The aware Christian knows all too well the evil in his own life. He knows that, even as a regenerate believer, his struggles with sin are deep.
This acknowledgment of evil leads the Christian to empathy and to a fierce and passionate stance against the evil in his own life and the larger societal, political, and cultural evils. Furthermore, the Christian knows that most loving thing he can do for his enemy is to hate evil and love good – to preach to Gospel to his enemies and to pray for their repentance. Christ said to “pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Jesus walked his talk. As he was crucified, he called out, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Conservative Christian need to be in unceasing prayer for both the persecuted and the persecutors. Now, the situation of Big Tech and government Democrats is not completely analogous to the Romans who unknowingly tortured and killed the Messiah. Nonetheless, the point to follow Jesus’s example stands.
Therefore, Christians must resist the temptation towards self-righteousness. While being thankful for the Conservative Christian worldview, Christians must not become arrogant, forgetting that “every good and perfect give is from above” (James 1:17). Rather, in acknowledgment that without Christ, all men are lost, the faithful should pray, “God have mercy on me, a sinner. God have mercy on America, a very large group of sinners” (c.f. Luke 18:13).
The time to fight for America is now. While not everyone can be a politician, and activist, or a cultural influencer. All believers can “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence.” In doing so, they will be given mercy and grace to help in the time of need. (Hebrews 4:16). The time to fight is now, and all believers must engage in spiritual warfare.
