And Now For Something Completely Different on Matchmaker Monday: I am a Nazarene

On Mondays, I usually devote time to writing about my journey as a single Christian woman living in the Bible Belt Buckle called Oklahoma.  I felt awkward about writing about my journey since I feel like a minority with the majority of friends, family, and co-workers married.  However, God hit me over the head this week with what it truly means to be a minority.  

You see, I may feel sad at times because I don't have a husband to come home to everyday.  I look at the birthdays of my students and realize that I could be old enough to be their mother, without any social stigma, and I feel sad knowing if I do have children in the context of marriage, it could be considered a 'geriatric pregnancy.'  I could even be upset that I still don't own my own house yet.

Then I turned on the news.  Then I read through my Facebook Newsfeed.  Then I read my Twitter Timeline.  I realized something much bigger than my pity party of singleness was happening across the world. I now saw what it truly meant to be a minority.  Iraqi Christian women are devastated by pure evil right now.  They are forced from their homes, brutally raped, husbands killed, and their children beheaded.  As I listen to the stories and see the pictures, I am absolutely gobsmacked at the horrific violence.  Everyday since I've heard about what the ISIS is doing, I have prayed.  First, I prayed for forgiveness for being so self-centered and selfish lately.  Second, I've just prayed this simple prayer for those fellow Christians- Lord, help them.  

I'm in the middle of reading the Old Testament in my year of reading the Bible.  The violence that is making the news is the same violence in the books of Kings, Chronicles, Jeremiah, Daniel, etc.  It is evil determined to drive out all of God's people.  It breaks my heart that so many are suffering and I sit here in America, helpless.  Or so I thought.  I'm reminded of when King Hezekiah was faced with ruthless threats against the people of Israel and God by King Sennacherib.  You can read about King Sennacherib's threats in 2 Kings 18.  He was surrounding the city and thought for certain he would be victorious.  In the next chapter, we read about King Hezekiah's response.  He goes into mourning.  He is upset and very distressed.  I imagine it is probably very similar to the Iraqi Christians.  King Hezekiah prays this beautiful prayer: 

 “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.  It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.” 

The prophet Isaiah then comes to King Hezekiah and tells him that his prayer for deliverance will be answered.  Then God sends the Angel of Death into the troops of King Sennacherib's troops and they are defeated and driven back to their city.

While the ISIS makes news headlines for the terror they are inflicting, let us as fellow Christians (or Nazarenes, to use their word)  use the most powerful weapon we have to help in the fight halfway across the world: PRAYER.  Let us all approach God with the humility and confidence of King Hezekiah.  I have adapted his words from 2 Kings into a prayer we can all use to pray for Christians in Iraqi and to defeat the evil of ISIS.

"Lord, the God of all Christians and of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over the entire earth.  You have made it all.  Listen to our prayer now, open your eyes to the violence; listen to the evil, hate filled words of the ISIS.  See how they have driven your people from their homes and destroyed cities that belonged to you.  See how they have committed brutal, unspeakable acts of violence.  They are shedding innocent blood, mocking your Holy Name.  Now, Lord our God, deliver your people from their evil hands, so that the whole world would know that you alone, Lord, are God. In Jesus Name, Amen."

Brothers and Sisters, let us pray fervently and ferociously for the Lord God to deliver His people and end the violence.