America’s ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ Problem
...and why we won't solve it anytime soon.
“Pray then like this:
‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ ”
– Jesus, Matthew 6:9–13
I remember the news post shattering my sermon preparation for Sunday worship. Another school, another shooter, another list of the dead and injured. As a Christian my first thought is to cry out to God for help for these parents, this school, this community.
My second thought is almost compulsive: find more news on this horrible event. Not only were there the expected reports from police and local officials, but offerings of sympathy for parents and children who will mourn the victims of an evil act. I hear “thoughts and prayers” poured out for this community in Minneapolis. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the parents and students today” is, unfortunately, becoming a popular phrase in America.
What is also becoming a popular response to these events is a stated disdain – even hatred – for “thoughts and prayers.” One of these first statements was spoken by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey:
And don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church.1
Political commentator and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki gave her particular opinion about the effectiveness of “thoughts and prayers” on X:
Prayer is not freaking enough. Prayers does not end school shootings. prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers.2
Their perspective isn’t veiled: ‘As communities and as a nation, the smart and loving thing is not just to mourn victims but prevent victimization, and “thoughts and prayers” isn’t getting that job done.’ Almost all of us would admit that it’s not wrong to want to prevent people from committing evil that victimizes others. It seems to be the “how” that causes us problems. How should we restrain people’s evil actions? Can laws restrain evil?
What is the Christian response to the horror of school shootings? Is “thoughts and prayers” even an acceptable Christian response? America has several problems dealing with evil, grief, and sadness. But if I believe God’s word, I cannot believe that prayer itself is one of those problems. America’s problem may lie more in our understanding of what prayer is for, and how our need to control our world outpaces our own righteousness and ability to act. If this is the case then we are not solving our “thought and prayers” problem anytime soon.
America’s Return On Investment & Control Mentality
Americans appreciate a good ROI (Return on Investment). We expect to see the fruit of our labor and real results for real efforts. Therefore, if time spent giving “thoughts and prayers” really worked the way some people demand, American school shootings would end. The thought goes something like this:
a. Prayer “works” (ie. causes God to do what we tell him), and;
b. Thoughts “work” (ie, may also prevent evil and help cope with loss).
c. Therefore, school shootings will end and the pain that comes from them will heal.
And yet, Jen Psaki isn’t entirely wrong. “Thoughts and prayers” as a group feeling of generous attitudes or emotions doesn’t seem to “work” – or, they don’t seem to be restraining evil like we hope. The very American response to this lack of effect is to chart a new course: abandon “thoughts and prayers” not working for a new tactic that provides the control we desire. A drastic, either/or proposition for drastic times.
Maybe there are laws, policies, and processes that can help prevent more school shootings. Perhaps these can be implemented to give the control we want over evil without losing important Constitutional rights of defense and checking government authoritarianism. However, maybe our fine tuning the law would benefit from a better understanding of what prayer is and why God commands us to pray.
God leads us by answering our prayers, but leading our thoughts according to our prayers. How do we go wrong in knowing what the right answer for our time is? Probably because we misunderstood the terms of the first problem: “Thoughts” and “prayers” are not the same thing.
“Thoughts” and “Prayers” Are Not The Same Things
As Christians, the first thing we have to know about “thoughts and prayers” is that, for as often as they are offered or criticized as a single category, they are not the same things.
What Is A Prayer?
“Prayer is an act of our consciousness, lifting up our spirit or mind to God.”3
Summarizing The Heidelberg Catechism, a prayer is a humble, heartfelt appeal to God by faith in Jesus Christ that God will hear us and act for his glory.4 In another definition of prayer, John Calvin refers to a dialogue with God in which we appeal to God based on his biblical promises.5 We learn some things about prayer from these definitions and comments:
Prayer is a humble, conscious thought or emotion (with or without words),
Which is given to the biblical God alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone,
In the expectation that God hears our prayer and works for his glory.
Christians have a unique responsibility to pray because of our unique access to God won for us by Jesus and entered into by our faith. Certainly we pray to prevent evil. We also pray to bring comfort and strength of faith in the midst of evil. Even more, Christians pray with our transformed minds6 to consider new ways of working with government and policy to prevent evil from ruling in our culture. Most certainly do not stop praying! God is working through our requests.
The Futility of “Thoughts and Prayers”
If we are honest about the Reformed understanding of prayer, we have to recognize that only prayers have the power to change people and events. This is because a prayer appeals to God to work in places and people we cannot. Thinking sympathetically about people or events doesn’t address God at all, and doesn’t have any power for change. Maybe even worse, people who believe their thoughts have power when they actually have none.
What Do We Do With Our World?
Prayer is fitting for us because God is God, because of all his attributes: faithfulness, grace, omnipotence, goodness, and so on. Furthermore, we also depend on him for everything; having nothing from ourselves we need to receive everything from him. Prayer is therefore deeply grounded in human nature; it is a necessity for its being and exists among all peoples and human beings, even those who curse.7
So in a sense, Jen Psaki is right. It is true that “thoughts and prayers” don’t have an effect on other people and our situation in the world just because people feel strongly about them. It is also true that, Christians alone have a sure promise from God that we hold a unique place in the universe. We can pray to the God who hears and considers our world. But until we all pray together it seems we may not solve the confusion over “thoughts and prayers” anytime soon.
We do not pray to eliminate all temptation or to erase suffering. We pray because our God comforts those who mourn8 and strengthens those who suffer9 – even through the suffering. Work hard for peace.
Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Ethics, p.473
Ursinus, Zacharias. The Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 45. www.heidelberg-catechism.com. https://www.heidelberg-catechism.com/en/lords-days/45.html
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion, III.ii
“For there is a kind of intercourse between God and men by which, having entered the upper sanctuary, they appear before Him and appeal to His promises, that when necessity requires they may learn by experiences that what they believed, merely on the authority of His Word, was not in vain.”
Romans 12.2: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 12:2.
Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Ethics, p.467
Matthew 5.4: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Isaiah 41.10: fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 41:10.