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First Dog On The Moon: featuring Brenda The Civil Disobedience Penguin.
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In the vein of 'actions, not just wishing and dreaming and hoping and praying for a better world', here's John Pavlovitz's take on Why Christians Need To Stop Praying.
In the strain of the Christian faith that I was taught, prayer is for the things that we cannot do while action is for the things we can.
I can't call the reps in the US Senate or House about the US election, because I'm not American and my voice means nothing to them. I can encourage you to do so, and give you links to how, and I can write and call my reps and be active in Australia to keep us from going down the same path.
I can't stop women from being abused by their husbands, but I can speak out against toxic masculinity and rape culture, particularly to the men in my life who might not agree with that culture but would dismiss such behaviours because it doesn't affect them directly.
I can't make the entire world a better place, but I can work on my little corner of it. I can influence the people around me (my sisters, the women in my bible study, my co-workers, my friends). I can help with the hurting. I can make connections - small ones, large ones - wherever possible.
And in all these instances, I can pray that minds and hearts will be changed or persuaded. Will they be? Maybe, maybe not.
I'm a gardener. I plant seeds in the soil, I water them and shade them from too much sun, and I hope. Sometimes they all sprout, sometimes none of them do, but that's not in my control. I do my bit and a crop may come from my ations; but if I don't do my bit, then no crop will certainly come from my actions.
In the same way your actions are not under my control but mine are. And I believe in a God that can change minds and hearts - and so I ask. Sometimes the answer is 'yes'. Sometimes the answer is 'no'. Sometimes the answer is 'not yet'. And sometimes the answer is 'you're asking the wrong question'.
So I pray that my actions will see results and not be lost in the ether; but I still act. IMO, to pray without action when action can be taken is laziness; to act without prayer is to forget that it's not all on me.
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Oh, and for a touch of blackly humourous sarcasm (the kind I really like), have some Roy Zimmerman, "To The Victims Of This Tragedy We Send Our Thoughts And Prayers":
--
In the vein of 'actions, not just wishing and dreaming and hoping and praying for a better world', here's John Pavlovitz's take on Why Christians Need To Stop Praying.
In the strain of the Christian faith that I was taught, prayer is for the things that we cannot do while action is for the things we can.
I can't call the reps in the US Senate or House about the US election, because I'm not American and my voice means nothing to them. I can encourage you to do so, and give you links to how, and I can write and call my reps and be active in Australia to keep us from going down the same path.
I can't stop women from being abused by their husbands, but I can speak out against toxic masculinity and rape culture, particularly to the men in my life who might not agree with that culture but would dismiss such behaviours because it doesn't affect them directly.
I can't make the entire world a better place, but I can work on my little corner of it. I can influence the people around me (my sisters, the women in my bible study, my co-workers, my friends). I can help with the hurting. I can make connections - small ones, large ones - wherever possible.
And in all these instances, I can pray that minds and hearts will be changed or persuaded. Will they be? Maybe, maybe not.
I'm a gardener. I plant seeds in the soil, I water them and shade them from too much sun, and I hope. Sometimes they all sprout, sometimes none of them do, but that's not in my control. I do my bit and a crop may come from my ations; but if I don't do my bit, then no crop will certainly come from my actions.
In the same way your actions are not under my control but mine are. And I believe in a God that can change minds and hearts - and so I ask. Sometimes the answer is 'yes'. Sometimes the answer is 'no'. Sometimes the answer is 'not yet'. And sometimes the answer is 'you're asking the wrong question'.
So I pray that my actions will see results and not be lost in the ether; but I still act. IMO, to pray without action when action can be taken is laziness; to act without prayer is to forget that it's not all on me.
--
Oh, and for a touch of blackly humourous sarcasm (the kind I really like), have some Roy Zimmerman, "To The Victims Of This Tragedy We Send Our Thoughts And Prayers":