Paris, Justice, and Refugees

Three prayer requests.1. Pray for comfort and peace in Paris, but also in Beirut which was bombed the day before, families on the Russian airliner, and for Syria and Iraq where people suffer on a daily basis from the violence of ISIS.I wonder why we painted our Facebook pages with French colors but not Lebanese or Russian. Perhaps I have some sense--we have a historic alliance with France....and because they are European...or perhaps the events in Paris are closer to home--they certainly are in terms of media coverage.Whatever may be the case, we pray for France, but we also pray for everyone affected by ISIS's violence. Perhaps this is a moment to deconstruct our Western centrism and embrace a desire for all human beings to live in peace. Consequently, we pray for all--including Syrians, Russians, and Iraqis--who have, in recent days, experienced the horror of ISIS violence.Let us serve them as we are able.2. Pray God will "break their teeth" (Psalm 58:6) and defang their power; pray God will put things right and reveal a sense of divine justice amidst this violence.Imprecatory prayers are part of the Hebrew Bible, and they are also part of the New Testament, including Revelation 6:10. This is a legitimate way to express our anger, even our desire for revenge, and especially our desire for justice. We have these feelings, and the presence of these prayers are a divine invitation to express those feelings and desires to God.At the same time, we leave them with God. We express them, give them to God, and plead with God to do something about it. We trust God will one day put everything to right, and God's justice will reign upon the earth. Prayer places it in God's hands, and we divest our hearts of any such feelings by pouring them into God's heart. And God will do what is right, though perhaps not in our timing.Let us give our anger to God.3. Pray for a heart to love refugees, immigrants, and others who come to the West as they escape the violence of Syria and Iraq; pray God will give us a love for our neighbors rather than anger.I pray my brothers and sisters will not visit the sins of ISIS on their Muslim, Middle Eastern, or immigrant neighbors here in the United States.I pray we will not permit a few terrorists or ISIS fighters to subvert the merciful intent to receive refugees who seek safety and peace.I pray we will seek every opportunity to share the love of Jesus with people who come to live among us as the world comes to us and we have a grand opportunity (which we have not had previously with many Muslims) to love them as Christ has loved us.Let us treat our neighbors with goodness and mercy.May God have mercy!