Stand in Solidarity

“My thoughts and prayers are with you.” It is usually a sympathetic response to someone who has experienced pain and loss. Let’s get real. Sometimes it is a pat answer to tragedy, trite in nature. Do we honestly pray? Do we get down on our knees and petition God to fix things by intervening with his power and might?

I thought about this common response in the aftermath of the Orlando shooting. When I watched the news report and saw civilians carrying bodies down the street, I wept. I WEPT. I did not just weep because of the senseless violence. I wept because it was an act against the LGBT community. I wept because I knew what was coming. I wept because I knew that hatred would cross lines and people would NOT be doing what they should be doing – coming together in solidarity and grieving as a nation.

Social media has stirred the pot of hatred. I took a deep breath and spoke a word of prayer this morning when a member of the LGBT community yelled at someone on Facebook for not understanding because they were not gay. We do understand. Ask the parents of Sandy Hook. They understand. Ask the families of Christian men who have been beheaded by ISIS because of their faith. They understand. Ask the black community about their plight. They understand. I pray for solidarity.

On the other side of the coin, I have seen hatred spewed on every front from Republicans to Democrats. Stop using this tragedy for your agenda. A former student spoke truth when she quoted Abraham Lincoln. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” We need to come together as a nation. The hatred is only creating chaos, and the terrorists are probably sitting back and laughing at our stupidity. Think of how they stand in solidarity against us. Wake up America. I pray for solidarity.

Let’s stop saying “My thoughts and prayers are with you” and learn how to go into the War Room and do battle in prayer. Get on your knees. Get on your face. PRAY like you mean it. Contrary to what some people are saying, prayer does change things when action accompanies it. Think of Jesus. Before his crucifixion, he was troubled in spirit, so he went into the garden to pray. Luke 22: 44 says, “And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood falling down upon the ground.” How many of us pray that fervently? I doubt many of us do.

Again, Jesus did not just pray. He followed through with an action. His action was so filled with love that it required his death. How many of us are willing to love to the point of death for the LGBT community? Or do you find it easier to simply say, “My thoughts and prayers are with you?”

Finally, I am a Christian. I stand with the LGBT community. I am a prayer warrior for God, and I do go into my War Room and do battle on my knees.

Father, help us to have expressions of love versus hatred. Unite our nation and help us to stop being so judgmental. Let us stand in solidarity. Comfort the hearts of those who have lost loved ones. Alleviate the fear from the hearts and minds of the LGBT community. Give us all the grace to be more accepting. Most of all, I pray for the Army of heaven to fight against the evil coming against our nation and world. I pray for solidarity.