You've probably seen it. #PrayforParis is being responded to with #Prayfortheworld, and, as is usually the case on social media, there's disagreement over which hashtag deserves to be trending.
I don't want to, in any way, minimize what happened in Paris. It was an atrocious, large-scale act of terror that has left France, Paris, and the entire world reeling. The people of Paris will feel the effects for years to come. This is the worst attack on French soil since WWII. That's a really big deal.
That having been said, I'd like to defend #PrayfortheWorld. We don't always see tragedy until it hits the west.You may or may not know that ISIS led a suicide attack in Beirut on Thursday morning. Or maybe you did, but it didn't prompt you to action on social media, and didn't prompt you to pray for the people of Lebanon. I saw the headline, skimmed the article, and headed to study group. Perhaps you didn't know that there was a 7.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan on friday evening. Or maybe you saw the headline, but were busy reading about Paris. I was. Maybe you didn't know that the Kurdish Peshmerga, fighting along side a group of lightly armed Yazidis, took back a major highway from ISIS this past week. You probably knew that one, but maybe you didn't think about what that meant. "Lightly armed Yazidis" looks nothing like a US military mission. First of all, these people are refugees. The Yazidis in the KRG are the same group that ISIS trapped in the Sinjar mountains and began committing genocide on. The Peshmerga fought their way through and helped the Yazidis escape to Kurdistan in northern Iraq. These are people who have seen their families slaughtered before their eyes. Now, they're going out "lightly armed" aka, grossly under-equipped, to push ISIS as far away from their people as possible. Their plan is to either defeat ISIS or die trying. You've read about the jet that was downed in the Sinai peninsula, also an act of terror. I didn't pray for those families, did you?
It's easy to miss the fact that behind the headlines are real people and real tragedies. Sometimes it takes something like the Paris attacks to wake us up to that fact. I'm not saying this to minimize the Paris attacks. I'm just asking you to let your heart break for the world. That's not to say that you should walk around weeping all the time, but we should be moved by the hurting world, and that should prompt us to prayer. In Isaiah 59, the LORD is appalled that there was no one to intercede. Let's not be those people.
If you've changed your profile, if you've hashtaged #PrayforParis, please, please, put actions to your words. We've adopted a "good vibes" mentality of prayer - think positive thoughts, post a hasthag, and you're done. Please, get on your knees for the people of Paris today.
If you've hashtaged #PrayfortheWorld, please pray for Paris and pray for the world. Also, don't make this about something that it's not. Please don't post about the abortion rates in France, or gun control, or immigration, or whatever else. There's a time and a place for that, but terrorist attacks are not a platform for your politics. This is a tragedy - recognize it as such. Mourn for Paris, pray for France, and pray for the world.
Pray for France. But don't just pray "God, be with the people of France." Yes, pray that, but pray more than that. When you pray for a friend or a family member, I bet you pray more than "God bless so-and-so," so please, in the wake of this tragedy, pray more than "God bless all the little children of the world."
Pray for hope. France is spiritually starved. Only 25% of the population would say that religion, any religion, is an important part of their life. Pray that God will work through this tragedy to draw the people of France to Him.
Pray that France will be equipped to meet the medical needs that have arisen from this. Pray that God will give the doctors wisdom as they treat the victims.
Pray for the Muslim communities in France. Yes, Islam is a religion of violence, but not all Muslims are ISIS. Pray for this lost group of people.
Pray for the migrants - much of Europe is considering closing their borders in response to this attack. There are real, understandable security concerns. There isn't an easy answer to this situation, but these are real people with nowhere to go.
Pray for the G20 Summit which is going on right now. Pray for NATO, France is an ally country, and this was an act of war.
If you look at the news, you can find links connecting all the issues that come up. Politics, economics, terror, security, they all tie together. It only makes sense that praying for Paris would prompt us to pray for the world.
Since starting school, I've had very little time to keep up on the news, and I haven't taken the time to pray for the world on a regular basis. #PrayforParis has been a reminder to me that the whole world needs prayer, and we need to know how to pray for the world. I hope it's a reminder and a wake up call to you, too. #PrayforParis #Prayfortheworld
