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I
still remember when Prayer was outlawed in our schools. We were all shocked that
one cantankerous woman with a phalanx of lawyers could twist the constitution in
such a way that even though prayer was permitted in the halls of congress by a
chaplain supported from the national treasury, voluntary public prayer was no
longer allowed in our schools.
As a Senior in high school I chuckled when someone put a poster on the
science room door that said, “Public Notice: in the event of a nuclear attack
the Supreme court’s ban on school prayer will be temporarily suspended.” In
a similar vane, some have commented, “The courts may be able to outlaw public
prayer in school, but as long as there is student testing in our schools there
will continue to be silent prayer.”
These thoughts came to my mind as Paul Harvey reported — on September
19 — about a public school that has permitted public prayer in response to the
recent bombing. Since then, several e-mails have arrived at the church office
about local schools doing the same. It is a little reported fact that nearly 3
of every 4 Americans think that public voluntary prayer should be allowed in our
schools.
This is just one more example of how God can bring good from tragedy. All
across our land people have responded to this evil deed by turning to God in
prayer, worship, Bible Study and service to our fellow man on an often heroic
scale.
It all reminds me of the beautiful prophecy Isaiah uttered 7 centuries
before our Lord’s coming describing the ministry of Jesus,
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because
the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind
up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from
darkness for the prisoners, {2} to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and
the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, {3} and provide for
those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of
ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a
planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor” (Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV).
In ancient Israel people often placed ashes on their heads as a public
sign of their great grief over a death or terrible tragedy. Over the course of
the preceding chapters, Isaiah had predicted some terrible things that would
happen to God’s people as a result of the sin and idolatry of their fellow
Jews. He then encouraged them not to become discouraged with this beautiful
promise — yes, you will grieve because of the terrible things the Babylonians
will do to you, but be patient. If you remain faithful, the messiah will replace
the ashes of grief with a beautiful crown of glory.
Throughout our nation, people whose eyes had been diverted by prosperity
are, once again, aware of their mortality and their need for God. Let us pray
that God will present opportunities to churches all over America — and to each
of us — to help lead people back to God.
Our situation reminds me of Joseph’s comments to his brothers. They had
committed an evil deed. They considered killing their own brother. Then they
sold him into slavery in a distant land. Years later, Joseph said this to them
about their evil plans, “As for you, you meant evil against me; but God
meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save
many people alive” (Genesis 50:20). God took their evil deeds and through
Joseph brought about good.
There is no question the terrorists who bombed the World Trade Center are
unbelievably evil people who had instigated the worst single tragedy in our
nations history. At this point it looks like more that twice as many people died
in the strikes than died at Pearl Harbor. It is up to us how we react. As
Christians my we allow ourselves — like Joseph — to become God’s
instruments for good,
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NKJV)
David E. Parks