Praying Works in Unusual Way

Today is the National Day of Prayer, and I had the priviledge of meeting with area church leaders (both clergy and non-clergy) to partake of this unifying event. As I watched the various people play their roles, I noticed my 2-year old climbing in and out of her seat. I noticed her tapping me on the arm and whisper, "Look," with her gorgeous smile.

I also noticed that we were all worshipping in an inter-racial service, and my baby girl was oblivious as to how big of a deal that really is. The piece delegated to me was to pray over the local, state, and federal governing officials, which is one of the areas most dear to my heart.

I recall two specific points I made to the crowd before praying, while holding my daughter:

• We live in a land which is governed by a system that is "by the people, for the people, and of the people." That is us who were in that room tonight. As much as we may or may not like our elected officials, we cannot forget that we are the primary ones responsible for bettering our country ... not simply those dearly beloved bozos in office.
• Since the brunt of the burdern falls on our shoulders and as good Christians we will fulfill our responsibilities ... and not simply put them off onto others ... to move forward we must lock arms together ... regardless of what we look, taste, feel, or smell like ... if we are to move forward indeed.

I am proudly conservative socially and politically. I proudly love our country and believe that she is my Christian responsibility ... at least part of my Christian responsibility. We must move past grouping ourselves according to what we look like. We must group ourselves according to theology and philosophy. These are lessons I hope that my daughter will be able to take for granted if she so chooses to ... not that she should ... but that contemporary American Christianity will be so different from years ago that she could.