Bob Herbert wrote his column today in the New York Times about the political power of prayer to make peace in Liberia as documented in Pray the Devil Back to Hell. The next time someone says to you that religion is the cause of all war – remember that just as often religion is the power that can bring peace.
The filmmakers Abigail Disney and Gini Reticker show us how Ms. Gbowee not only rallied the women at her Lutheran church to pray for peace, but organized them into a full-blown, all-women peace initiative that spread to other Christian churches — and then to women of the Muslim faith.
They wanted the madness stopped. They wanted an end to the maiming and the killing, especially the destruction of a generation of children. They wanted to eradicate the plague of rape. They wanted all the things that noncombatants crave whenever the warrior crowd — in the U.S., the Middle East, Asia, wherever — decides it’s time once again to break out the bombs and guns and let the mindless killing begin.
When the Liberian Christians reached out to “their Muslim sisters,” there was some fear on both sides that such an alliance could result in a dilution of faith. But the chaos and the killing had reached such extremes that the religious concerns were set aside in the interest of raising a powerful collective voice.
The women prayed, yes, but they also moved outside of the churches and the mosques to demonstrate, to protest, to enlist all who would listen in the cause of peace. Working with hardly any resources, save their extraordinary will and intense desire to end the conflict, the women’s initial efforts evolved into a movement, the Liberian Mass Action for Peace.
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posted February 2, 2009 at 10:35 am
I read this story and prayer and found it to be very touching.All the problems of today are cause by the Devil or his spirit trying to cause trouble in this world.
posted February 2, 2009 at 4:35 pm
This is ridiculous. Where is the evidence that prayer works? Prayer is still as useless as it has ever been.
Its so funny – in the non-faith world, a Iranian and an American, a Palestinian and a Israeli, they can speak to each other, they can get along. They don’t worry about ‘diluting their faith’ (is this even possible? where is this documented in the bible?). They can recognize the inherent humanity in everyone. It takes belief in a particular story about where the universe comes from in order to hate people without a good reason.
http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2005/07/prayer_still_us.html
posted February 3, 2009 at 8:57 am
I believe that Prayer changes things. What the changes will bring may not be as we think it should be, because the FATHER does things at his own way and will and we must accept it. But if we will wait and have faith to beleive that its coming to pass we will see that the Lord know whats best and the best did come out of it. Prayer is the Key to everything along with your faith beleiving that it can and will come to pass in God time not ours!!
posted February 5, 2009 at 10:22 am
The power of prayer coupled with the faith the size of a mustard seed can also chase the evil archangel back to his domain! Although he was kicked out of Heaven and landed on Earth his nickname “The Lord of The Air” or “The Lord of the Earthly systems of Things” does not mean that the Earth is his domain…..it is simply a place where he has opened up shop. When the evil forces surround me to try to block my positive progress……all I need to do is call on Jesus over and over again…..strangely enough the evil forces effect on me is no longer there.
I’ve been instructed to pray like this: “Our Father who art in Heaven hollow it be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom; the power and the glory, forever! Amen!” My personal prayer is rendered and then I conclude it by praising The Almighty Father with a hardy shout of “Hallelujah!!!” In the name of His Son and Our Savior, Jesus!
The Evil Archangel is good as a crispy critter for another 1,000 years! We still have to be aware of his advocates but the name of Jesus will always send them running! Jesus’ second coming will insure the binding of the evil archangel and all his advocates in their domain for a thousand years.
You get bet your bottom dollar…that they all will holla! Ya heard!!!