Pray for the voiceless
O LORD, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth my strike terror no more. Psalm 10:17-18
I am overwhelmed at the news from Afghanistan – watching video clips of Afghans clinging to a C-17 desperately trying to escape, much like people jumping from burning buildings trying to escape the flames. How desperate does one have to become to place their hope for survival in what couldn’t save?
When I started this weekly blog my only desire in writing was to encourage people and always point to Jesus. I know without a doubt that He is the ultimate source of hope and salvation. However, I am finding words inadequate to express the events over the last few days related to Afghanistan. I will leave it to you to debate the merits of the action, the timing of withdrawal and whether the United States should have stayed or gone.
What I do feel as a follower of Jesus Christ that I now have a greater responsibility to pray for the voiceless, the fragile, the vulnerable and the small Christian remnant in Afghanistan? We know our God is far greater and more powerful than the current world events unfolding before us. The late Richard Halverson who served as chaplain of the U.S. Senate, said of prayer, “Intercession is the truly universal work for the Christian. No place is closed to intercessory prayer: no continent, no nation, no city, no organization, no office. No power on earth can keep intercession out.”
A good friend who served in that area with her family shared a most thoughtful reflection on the situation. “Hope is fragile. Anyone who cared for the people of Afghanistan, particularly those who felt called to go serve among them in some capacity, suspected the precarious peace might not last. One Christian woman who lived there at that time observed, “I said I don’t want to die in Afghanistan. But the fact is that when I went to Afghanistan, I had already died.” Dying to self is at the very heart of Christian discipleship. And no one understands it quite like followers of Jesus living in contexts of extreme persecution.” – Tina Boesch
The events in Afghanistan and Haiti, among the many seemingly hopeless situations around the world, reflect the futility of placing one’s faith in worldly structures. My prayer is that our nation will never experience the total collapse of our government yet each of us at some point will experience individual collapse from sickness, aging, family conflicts, jobs. Only in God will we find our way home. “It’s when the Red Sea is before you, the mountains are on one side of you, the desert is on the other side, and you feel the Egyptian army closing in from behind that you experience His power to open up an escape route. He has power to do the supernatural, the unthinkable, the impossible” – Anne Graham Lotz (The Joy of My Heart)
Though I feel a soul deadening frustration, I know the God I worship is able beyond all measure to carry the broken souls through this season. I invite you to listen to the words of A Song of Lamentation by Steve Schallert. Let the words of this song become a prayer for the voiceless and to lament with them their pain.
Jesus
God of the poor
Liberator
Friend of the weak
Jesus
Light of the World
These weary bones
Tremble and weep
Heal every heart
Heal every soul
Heal this violence we carry
The blood in the soil
There is blood in the soil!
There is blood in the soil!
There is blood in the soil!
There is blood in the soil!
Lord we don’t know the words to voice yet we trust you to know. We trust you to care for the oppressed, the hurting, the fragile and the hopeless. We trust you to guide us to in these days on how to show your love. Amen
God is great,