US Vice President Mike Pence came under fire for praying as he took the lead of managing the response to Corona Virus. We have rampant ‘prayer shaming’ in our culture. This is not new. Back in 1755, a powerful earthquake and tsunami hit the city of Lisbon in Portugal. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Many Christians were praying for the victims. French philosopher Voltaire mocked their prayers, ‘Oh, stop your useless prayers. There is no loving God above to hear your prayers’.
Like everywhere else, in America, Coronavirus is weighing heavy on people. Over a thousand people have been infected. US President Donald Trump is under fire. He named Vice President Mike Pence to lead the government’s response to the virus. Pence is a good Christian believer. As he prepared to address this problem, he and his colleagues spent some time in prayer in the White House. That photo became viral in the social media. The critics wasted no time. They railed against the Vice President, ‘Oh, stop your prayers. They help nobody.’ When disasters like this happen, people used to pray. Now they are mocking prayer and God. They forgot their history. Didn’t God help America when George Washington prayed for victory in the War of Independence? Didn’t God help when Lincoln prayed during the Civil War? Didn’t God help when Roosevelt prayed during the Second World War? These critics only expose the blindness of the human heart. They reject God, the only one who could help them in times like this.
But, as believers, we should always pray. We read in Ephesians 6:18,
Pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests
Here in the epistle to Ephesians, Apostle Paul tells us that we should pray on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.