Pray!

I Timothy 2:8

I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;

I write with a heavy heart tonight, a heart that is so saddened with what I see happening in the world that I live in.  My heart aches with complete disappoint with my fellow man.  Why are some people so mean?  Why do some people want to hurt others?  I just don’t get it. 

There are many things that have contributed to my heavy heart, but not so much as the little boy that is being held captive by a complete stranger.  I think why?  Why him?  Why did this man have to grab him?  Why did he have to take anyone?  Why did he do any of this?  What causes someone to think that they have this right?  The right to alter other people’s lives with their actions?  What is he thinking?  So I pray, not for answers to my questions, but for God’s will, for God’s protection and for a wisdom that can only be given by God.  My heart aches for this child and his family, but it also aches because I know there are so many others out there like this man.  Why do they do these things?  Are they that empty?  Are they that hurt?  Are they that sad?  And then I think, am I showing Jesus enough?  Am I making a difference in anyone’s life?  It all goes back to love.  Am I loving like Jesus?  Am I loving everyone or just those I choose to love?  Although I have never met him, I love this little boy and pray for him and his family continuously.  Do I love this man holding him captive?  Now that’s hard.  I am praying for him to find peace and wisdom to do the right thing, but have I asked God to save his soul?  Not until this moment have I thought about praying for his salvation.  How can I ask God to speak to someone who doesn’t know Him first, someone who has not turned their life over to Christ?  Can they really hear from God if they don’t know to listen to his voice?  Does God love this man?  I know he does.  I know that God has to be even more disappointed in this man’s actions than I, but I also know that God still wants him, he still desires for him to become saved and of course he loves him too.  So how do I get where God wants me, to love my enemies?  I honestly don’t think it is something that happens instantly, but it is through times like this that I grow and realize that I still have so much to learn.  So I ask that you join with me tonight and pray for the protection and release of this little boy, Ethan, and also pray for the salvation of the man, Jimmy, holding him hostage.  I know that not everyone will agree with my thoughts on this, but I know with all my heart that God is the only answer to this situation and that this man can turn the whole situation around and that can begin when he chooses to turn his life over to Jesus Christ.  We can never forget that Jesus died on that cross for each and every one of us, including the criminal that hung on the cross next to him.  So let us pray not only for Ethan and Jimmy, but for everyone that crosses our mind.  For the people that we know by name and for the stranger that sometimes catches our eye.  Prayer is the key---prayer truly does change things and it changes us each time we bow our head and call upon the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!