Persevering for Paris

In April of 2014, 300 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped from their school by Boko Haram. More than eighteen months later, those girls are still missing. A few have escaped, but many families still grieve as they fearfully wait for news of their girls. 

At the time, there was a surge of worldwide compassion. There were more than a million #bringbackourgirls tweets. I wrote blogs and calls to pray for the girls. Now, we seldom hear about those missing girls. 

There is so much evil in this world that our compassion for one need quickly cools as a "hotter" need draws us away. 

So it was with the schoolgirls. So it was with the videos of the beheadings of more than a dozen young Egyptian Coptic Christians. 

I fear our compassion for Paris will soon cool, as well, drawn away by yet another outrage. I fear my own compassion will soon cool.

This morning, I looked back through my "terrorist" blogs and found a plethora of posts. Prayers for the kidnapped girls, prayers for a variety of terrorists, prayers for terrorist organizations. (Not that they prosper, of course, but that they be brought to a halt.) 

I long to move past outrage to action. I long to make a greater difference in this war. 

Is no one attacking at the source of terrorist recruitment? Is no one targeting their funding? It turns out that they are. In April, CBS news reported a joint effort by the US and UAE (United Arab Emirates). The Sawab Center has been formed to counter the terror organizations' intense presence in social media. It's worth looking at their website for more information.

I long to help, but I am just one woman in a tiny town in a small state in a great big world. 

What can I do? Perhaps you feel that way, too. 

Let us not lose sight of the fact that we are not without hope. We are not without "connections". We serve a great and mighty God who leans forward to hear when His people pray. There is a point, a purpose to our efforts in prayer. They do make a difference. 

If our prayers can make a difference, why, then, do we not pray as if our very lives depended upon it? As if our world depended upon it?

After the people of Israel asked for a flesh-and-blood king, rather than the Most High God, they begged Samuel to pray for them. His response was one we, too, should have concerning the issue of terrorists and their victims.

"Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you..." 1 Samuel 12: 23 nasb

This time, let us persevere for Paris. Let us continue to pray. 

As we pray, let's not lose sight of all who suffer, all who have suffered at the hand of these brutal terrorists. Let's not forget that Saul was once a brutal terrorist before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus and became the Apostle Paul. 

He who changed a Saul into a Paul can still transform terrorists today. Let's pray He does.

Here are links to previous blog posts about this issue: (They are designed to open in new tabs) If you have time, read through them as a reminder of the needs for which we battle and as guides as you pray. 

Fight well, fellow warriors. 

Bringing Nigerian Schoolgirls Home
The Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolgirls
The Missing Nigerian Schoolgirls
Praying for Nineveh (Assyrians)
Persecuted Church in Nigeria
The Terrorist Prayer List
Radical obedience: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi\
Radical obedience: Hamas and Khaled Meshaal
Radical obedience: Boko Haram and Abubakar Shekau  
Radical obedience: Ibrahim al Asiri
Radical obedience: Nasir al Wuhayshi     
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Photo courtesy of freeimages.com In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: The Blessings That Were Not,  Loss of Power, Grateful Heart: Veterans, Grateful Heart: Laughter and Grateful Heart: Worldwide Kindness, and Remembering Paris.

The most viewed post of the last week was Remembering Paris

#Prayers4Paris #ISIS  #Paris #PowerofPrayer #JesusChrist #disciple #BringBackourSchoolgirls