I received this from Sojourners/Jim Wallis:
Next week, Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, will report to Congress on the troop "surge," in which the Bush administration has escalated the war in Iraq by sending an additional 20,000 American combat troops.
As people of faith, we believe in the power of prayer to soften the hardest of hearts and open the way to peace and reconciliation. So, as General Petraeus testifies, we're planning to match his surge with one of our own–20,000 prayers for Congress to bring an end to this war.
Click here to share your prayer with Congress–let them know that you're praying for their courage and wisdom to end this war.
We are at a critical moment, as the House and Senate decide on our nation's continued involvement in Iraq amidst a frenzy of swirling accusations and partisan rhetoric.But while the Bush administration has frequently abused the language of scripture to justify this disastrous war, a growing number of Christians from across the theological and political spectrum are coming together to oppose it.
And our nation's political leaders are listening–in fact, we've spoken to several members of Congress who are considering reading a selection of your prayers for peace into the Congressional Record.
Like many of you, I've opposed this war from the start, and together we've raised a prophetic voice against it–marching in the streets, writing letters, and much more.
We'll continue to do all of that, but I believe it will also take faith to end this war. It will take prayer to end it. It will take a revolution of love to end it, because this endless war in Iraq is based ultimately on fear, and the Bible tells us that only perfect love will cast out fear.
Will you be a part of this surge of prayer for peace? Click here to let your Senators and Representative know that you're praying for them.
In times such as these, we ought to remember the words of the Apostle Paul:
Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Blessings,
Jim Wallis and the rest of the team at Sojourners/Call to Renewal
P.S. To reach 20,000 prayers by next week, we'll need your help. Can you share this message with 10 of your friends, family, and congregation members, asking them to join us in this campaign?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I have never seen a christian take this approach to activism in regard to war (in a blog, that is). Weird...shouldn't it be the first approach. Instead of bitching, moaning, and ad hominen attacks, you want to pray. Thanks, your blog encouraged me, and I will send in my prayer through the link you have provided.
I'm delighted that it was encouraging! Thank Jim Wallis - he's the man.
I must say that at least in the churches I've attended, we've prayed about the war every week since it began. Even the really liberal bitchy-moaney activist church never neglected to lift up the war and our president by name each and every week.
I learned in class once that this was the traditional Russian Orthodox response to the violence raging around them as well: to enter the church and pray. Now, it didn't work out great for them much of the time (from the world's perspective, that is), but even though their bodies and churches were harmed, their souls were not.
It's really hard to know where to draw the line between praying for peace and acting for peace. Thoughts from others? Do we intervene when injustice is being done? Is our intervention to be anything beyond putting ourselves in harm's way instead? (and if so, how can that really change things, in the long run?)
I've been thinking about this a lot lately and really crave some discussion on it.
Post a Comment