Don't Picket, Just Pray

Recently we've had several incidents occur that have raised issues concerning race in our country. We've had the incident at the University of Missouri where Administrators lost their jobs. At the University of Illinois there are students talking about a "white student union" in retaliation of demonstrations by the group "Black Lives Matter". And let's not mention the countless questions raised regarding the activities of police and the slaying of young African-American males (can anyone say Michael Ferguson?). So issues of race have been of concern in our nation as of late.

I would be the last person to say that race-relations and the issues thereof are not still a major concern that needs to be addressed in America. The shooting that transpired in the A.M.E church in South Carolina this past summer proves that. My concern is the approach and the methodology that people are using to address the concerns of injustice in our society. I am not convinced that picketing and protesting is any longer the answer. The question that has to be raised is, what does it resolve? I cannot answer that question definitively, but I don't think it resolves much. In the sixties, during the Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., marches and protests were a staple strategy of addressing prejudice and discrimination because it was designed to draw attention and raise awareness to the plight of African-Americans in this nation. Well, with the level of technology we have today with i-phones and smart phones and the internet, universal awareness is pervasive and ubiquitous. Plus, you have 24-hour news channels that report these issues around the clock. So the purpose for constant protest and demonstration is no longer needed from a strategic standpoint.

What has not been utilized, I believe, on a mass scale is Prayer. What people need to do now, if they want to see significant and sustained social change, is Pray. The bible says very clearly, "if my people, who are called by my name, would humble themselves and pray..then I (God) will hear from heaven..and heal the land" (2Chronicles 7). We don't need another march, we don't need another demonstration, we need a Prayer Meeting! I know I'm saying it right. In Acts chapter 12, when King Herod was prepared to execute the apostle Peter, the church didn't protest, they didn't rebel against Roman rule, they prayed. And as a result, God sent an angel and set Peter free. Then later sent judgment to deal with King Herod.

The times we live in saints require more than just social reaction and outrage. We need Divine Intervention. The chaos and division that has spilled over in this nation is going to take God to rectify and resolve. Once we realize this and humble ourselves; once we get serious about getting "permanent results". Once we're ready to really see the problems of race and injustice "fixed", we'll embrace the belief that says: Don't Picket, Just Pray.