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In the wake of the horrific church shooting in Texas last Sunday, there is a growing chant by the Left, including---maybe particularly--- the so-called Religious Left, that "thoughts and prayers are not enough."
I question the motives of many who have joined the chorus.
Donald Trump Jr. also questions their motives.
He posted on Twitter Monday, "Mocking good hard working & God fearing Americans for praying probably isn't the best strategy for smug Dems, but they can't help themselves."
He's probably right on all counts.
Even in response to his tweet, some responded with comments such as, "They were in church. They had the prayers shot right out of them. Maybe try something else."
There was more---some I wouldn't reference, much less quote. You get the point.
Some of the mockings were straightforward---some more nuanced.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) walked out on a moment of silence in Congress Monday for the victims of the Sunday shooting in Texas.
He is a second term congressman from one of the wealthiest districts in the nation.
After ceremoniously walking out, he made a video of himself and put it on the internet.
On the video, he says, "Good evening, I 'm Congressman Ted Lieu. I'm heartbroken about the children and adults that were killed in the worst mass shooting in Texas history this Sunday."
He says he respects his colleague's right to "thoughts and prayers" and has done some of it himself in the past.
However, "I can't do this again. I've been to too many moments of silences...I will not be silent."
"What we need," he says, "is we need action."
Lieu then says Congress must pass more gun legislation.
He fails to mention that this killer had guns because law enforcement failed to enforce the laws already on the books. In this case, because the Navy failed to report the shooter's prior criminal activities to the FBI.
As unrighteously indignant as Ted may be over the state of affairs, clear thinking people are coming to realize that more laws are not the answer. Enforcing the laws already on the books would help a great deal.
Whether this is a swipe at God-fearing and praying people or not, it certainly is an affront to thinking people.
Comments on his Twitter page ranged from "Awesome Hombre!! Thanks for making California proud." To outrage--"it is embarrassing to the #USA that a member of #Congress would behave in such a manner."
To put his comments in perspective, Lieu has a history of tweeting insults against the president and members of his administration. He is a reserve officer in the US Air Force and has been accused of violating military rules by referring to the president as illegitimate.
CNN's Don Lemon opened his prime time show Monday with a monologue that began with, "Thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayer. Don't get me wrong. Prayers are important. They really are. But can we just be honest for a moment?"---apparently suggesting anyone who advocates for "thoughts and prayers" is dishonest.
Lemon goes through a litany of his upbringing in a Baptist church and schooling in a Catholic school where they prayed four times a day---but says "so spare me the anti-religion tweets, I don't read them anyway."
Lemon says he believes in the Second Amendment, grew up with hunters in his family---and people should be able to protect their homes, etc.
However, after presenting himself as pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment and a good Christian, he asks, "How many guns does one person need?"
The correct Second Amendment answer would be: As many as he wants.
Lemon makes his case that it would be biblical to move beyond the "thoughts and prayers" phase to the action phase, quoting Scripture that teaches faith without works, or action is dead faith.
Most conservatives know that to open the door to the pleas of progressives regarding gun control is a fast track to confiscation.
And most prayerful and thoughtful people also know that, of course, the Bible teaches "faith without works is dead."
Those of us who value "thoughts and prayers" understand that thoughts and prayers direct our works and actions while seeking God's power to face the challenges of life.
In the heart of the biblical evangelical Christian, thoughts and prayers are not a substitute for action.
While Lemon, Lieu and a growing chorus of other progressives seem to characterize "thoughts and prayers" as, at best, a somewhat futile exercise that is no longer effective---or at worst, nonsense, it would be helpful for them to review the power of "thoughts and prayers" in the history of the course of human events in America.
Billy Graham, who turned 99 yesterday, once gave a speech titled, "Turning The Tide Of History." It was given for US government officials and leaders from the United Nations.
This is part of what he said:
Our nation was founded by men who believed in prayer. When our government was being formed, Benjamin Franklin addressed the chairman of the Constitutional Convention meeting at Philadelphia in 1787, saying, “I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, it is probable that an empire cannot rise without His aid.”
Today the world is being carried on a rushing torrent of history that is sweeping out of control. There is but one power available to redeem the course of events, and that is the power of prayer by God-fearing, Christ-believing people.
We would adapt the words of Benjamin Franklin to our day and say, “It is probable that a nation cannot keep her freedom without the aid of Almighty God.” Our first president, George Washington, led his armies to victory, but not until he had first taken time alone to invoke God’s blessings upon their cause.
Down through our history our nation’s leaders have carried their plans and hopes to God in prayer. Yet today we have come to a place where we regard prayer in our national life simply as a venerated tradition. We have no sense of coming to grips with God; we simply use prayer as a formality.
If this nation was born in a meeting based on prayer—some of its most important decisions being made only after careful prayer to God—how can we go on unless there is a renewed emphasis on prayer today? One of the reasons the United Nations has become so ineffective in handling world situations is that there is no prayer, no recognition of God. Unless the leaders of nations turn to God in prayer, their best plans will fail, just as did the plans of those who built the tower of Babel.
Be Prayerful.