Prayer Full of Tears

Prayer Full of Tears

  Prayer Full of Tears sounds rather strange doesn’t it? We have heard of a “Bucket Full of Tears” perhaps but what is a “Prayer Full of Tears?” Allow me to elaborate. Just a little over a week ago I attended the monthly meeting of the Bermuda Bible Society where two years ago they made me vice chair! Following our meeting a few of us began chatting about the terrible conditions in Iraq and Syria. The radical group Isis who claim Northern Syria and also a large segment of northern Iraq are on the move for yet more territory. They hate the West and anything to do with the West. They hate Christianity and any Christians they capture are given the ultimatum, “Renounce Christ or die.” Christians are being persecuted like never before. Christians and many others are being shot, beheaded and crucified! Captured women and young girls are being sold and exchanged as sex slaves. We cannot begin to imagine the stress that the people here are under. Getting back to our Bible Society meeting one member shared with the rest of us about a message that had been received by a Christian missionary in northern Syria. He could apply for evacuation (possibly) but he said, “How can I leave my people in such a great time of need?” He went on to say that he spends all of his days on his knees shedding tears in prayer.” I suspect that many buckets full of tears have been shed for our brothers and sister in Christ who live in Syria, Iraq and Iran.

   So what are we to do? Well, we can certainly pray for them that God will give strength for his children to stand firm. The report is that they are standing firm even as they are being slaughtered. As important as it is to pray for them I would also pray that President Obama along with leaders of other nations would send their armies in to destroy this terrorist group which is none other than an army of Satan. We need boots on the ground not just planes in the air and we need it to take place now.

   God loves to hear our prayers but there are times when “army boots” can be the answer to the prayers offered and I firmly believe that this is one such time.

Rev. John Fraser