I receive periodic emails from The Presidential Prayer Team, an organization whose stated mission is “encouraging, inspiring and practicing PRAYER on behalf of our President, nation’s leaders and our troops” 1 Timothy 2:1-2. I enjoy reading their recommendations and the reminder they are for me to pray for those people and issues. You will note, at www.presidentialprayerteam.com, the caption under their logo reads, “GOD-COUNTRY-FAMILY.”
On April 15th PPT sent an email call to prayer in response to news of the Boston Marathon bombing. Now, I’m going to be a bit overcritical of their initial prayer recommendations, but I hope it is received as constructive criticism.
I like their order of prayer focus: “GOD-COUNTRY-FAMILY.” It is similar to my prayer focus on JESUS-OTHERS-YOU (JOY) and to the example giving by Jesus in the model prayer. Why shouldn’t, then, the PPT list of prayer recommendations follow their own order of priority? Especially when the order appears so prominently on everything they publish.
The three prayer prompts given on the PPT prayer alert April 15th were, pray:
- For the first responders, hospital personnel and others who are attending to the wounded,
- For the families who have lost loved ones, and for the injured, and
- That investigators will rapidly discover the source or reason behind the explosions.
I enjoy and appreciate PPT but, I have noticed that The Presidential Prayer Team rarely follows their own suggested emphasis when providing Prayer Alert’s. Why not call us to pray like this? Pray:
- (GOD) a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s unseen hand in the midst of this crisis and for His Name to be lifted up in the days that follow,
- (COUNTRY) for the families who have lost loved ones, the injured, and those who are responding with care and and assistance, and
- (FAMILY) that I will lead my family by my example reacting to this horrific event with appropriate compassion, concern and action.
That’s what I think.
