Monday morning was the first time I heard the news report on the radio of an American “peace activist” who had been kidnapped in Iraq. I must confess I may have smirked a bit at the thought (I wasn’t in front of a mirror at the time, so I don’t know for sure). The irony was just too rich, and I thought of the old doggerel about the lady that went for a ride on the tiger. I knew my schadenfreude wasn’t very noble, but I didn’t dwell on it then or later in the day when I heard there were four people missing and presumed kidnapped.
That evening, however, Ben from Hammerswing (see here and here) called to say that a long-time friend of his family’s is the British citizen in the group that has been kidnapped. I felt compassion for Ben and for his family and the family of the hostage, and we prayed together for his friend Norman’s safety and for a powerful testimony. I used the scriptures that occurred to me as I prayed that fit the situation, but felt I was missing something. It took a little while for it to sink in, but I eventually realized I had made an important omission.
Here’s the deal: I’m pretty sure I don’t agree politically with the actions of Norman and the others and spiritually I might also disagree with their approach (it’s hard to tell for sure at this distance with only the MSM and its penchant for labels to go by). On the other hand, I know that I wouldn’t have embarked on what they are doing without a lot of prayer and without first seeking God’s direction to be sure I was doing what he wanted me to be doing and in his timing. I wasn’t privy to the conversations these men had with God, and it’s not my job to judge it because I’ve certainly made my own mistakes. This is something I should have realized even before I found out I knew someone with a personal connection to the situation, and I should have guarded against my own hardness of heart in the first place. Having failed in that, I should have repented before or during my prayer with Ben.
As Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22 (New Living Translation):
“You have heard that the law of Moses says, `Do not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the high council. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.”
If, as James tells us, “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much,” I may have been hindering my prayers because I didn’t address my attitude, and I know how important this can be. According to Mark 11:22-25 (NLT):
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I assure you that you can say to this mountain, `May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,’ and your command will be obeyed. All that’s required is that you really believe and do not doubt in your heart. Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
There is something more important than politics or spiritual doctrine at stake with the lives of these men, and with God’s forgiveness (and, I hope, Ben’s), I can now do what I should have been doing all along.
