The Foundations of Emotionally Healthy Activism: Prayer

One cold January night at 1:30am, a woman screamed “somebody please help me” in the middle of my block in Jackson Heights, Queens. It was loud and desperate. I got up to see a man from our 2nd Floor window grabbing her violently. I put on my pants, grabbed my keys and ran out while my wife called 9–1–1. As I made eye contact with the man and he realized that I was not going to leave, he moved away quickly. Then, I spoke directly to the young woman. “The police are coming and I’m not going anywhere,” I said. She was obviously distraught and I tried to remain calm.

Then I realized, the police were coming and I was not leaving.

The police were coming and that could be very bad for me.

Tamir Rice didn’t even get to speak before he was shot. If I reached into my pocket to get my phone, would I end up like Amadou Diallo?

I could have been killed while my wife watched from upstairs and my sleeping daughter was awakened by the gunshots that killed her father. And all of this because I was perceived to be a threat, instead of the one who called for help because of the color of my skin.

As the blue lights came up the block and the officers emerged, I put my hands up with my arms wide and said with a smile, “thank you so much for coming.” I updated them on the situation and tried to advocate for the young woman who was justifiably inconsolable. Shortly afterward, I went back inside with my heart was pounding while I stood in the elevator. Not because I had met an abuser in the street but because of the police who came to help. Lord have mercy.

As I reflect on these moments, I ask myself now, what does my reaction say about me?

I carry deep fear and the collective trauma of African Americans in the United States that doesn’t just exist in my mind, but is thriving in reality. How do I receive and live out of the love of God and not the fear of man?

I saw the policemen before me as a threat to my safety and genuinely thought they could take my life. This awareness is necessary in this world because of my skin color, but the fear of the police mirrors the perceived fear I believe they have of me. Therefore, I have to ask myself, how do I see every person as someone made in the image of God, even when they don’t perceive me that way? Even when I am afraid?

Jesus said in the beatitudes, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and commands me to love my enemies and pray for those who persecute me. Law enforcement and communities of color have been put against each other since the inception of the United States. That is the narrative of this world, but how do I pray for law enforcement and seek the good of the people holding up social structures in place that wish to do me harm? How do I pray for my enemies and seek a justice that frees the oppressed and the oppressor?

It’s because of occurrences like this that I believe anyone engaged in seeking justice and loving mercy must walk with God. They are inextricably linked. Thus, we must cultivate a Prayerful Resistance so that our inner lives with God sustain all of our external activity — especially our activism. I believe that all followers of Jesus must develop a spiritual resilience that allows us to push back against the darkness with the marvelous light we have and know. Because seeking justice results from a humble walk with God and walking with God compels us to seek justice. We must do this even when experience, anecdotes, statistics, and history say otherwise because Jesus is Lord, God is Sovereign and our allegiance is to a different Kingdom.

Essential to the life of an Emotional Healthy Activist are disciplines of prayer, fasting, praise, and delight. Moreover, these discIplines must be carried out in both solitude and committed community. It is the disciplines of prayer, fasting, praise and delight that lead to individual and collective, faithful, sustained, Christ-centered, biblical advocacy and witness. This is the foundation of prayerful resistance and Emotionally Healthy Activism.

Since Jesus ascended into heaven, His true followers have been in a state of prayerful resistance. Jesus told them to wait and be filled with Holy Spirit. Women and men who sat, ate, prayed, and waited in that upper room resisted fear of ridicule, rejection and death. They sought to be citizens of the Kingdom of God before they were citizens of this world.

The Acts Church prayerfully resisted racism, classism, and sexism in Acts 6 as ethnic minority widows were overlooked in the daily distribution of food. In Acts 10, God reoriented Peter’s heart to make space for Gentiles in it because non-Jews, through Christ, now had access to Yahweh too.

During Jesus’ ministry, Simon the Zealot and Matthew the Tax Collector sat beside one another at His feet. Zealots were known to confront, even assassinate tax collecting Jews who worked for the oppressive Roman Empire. Now, they shared a common mission. Luke the Physician and Mark, a historian, had no business with fishmongers like Peter, James, John and Andrew. But now, they were united by their Father’s business. And women like Mary Magdalene, Martha, and Mary the Mother of Jesus were just as integral as the men surrounding Jesus. Not to mention the “gluttons” and “drunkards” that regularly called Jesus company who were now filled with the spirit and not excessive food and wine! This was a diverse, reconciled group of people resistant to the order of the day because they were reoriented by an encounter with the Risen King.

Since the Fall, violence, racism, sexism, political powers, greed, hatred, and the Enemy have opposed the Kingdom of God. Whether for comfort, culture or control, the urge for the Church to build walls between “us” and “them” has also been at odds with the Kingdom of God.

And since the Fall, God planned for faithful followers to reflect His light in the darkness.

The question is who will take that light now? This isn’t just true in America when there is strident political division or when nations warred against each other in World War I and II. The question that God asks in Isaiah 6, “who will go for us?” is one He is always asking and our time is no different and no more urgent. He is at all times looking for those who are willing and He, by His Spirit will make us ready and able.

Who will preach a Gospel that is Good News for the rich and the poor? Who will plead the case of the undocumented, unborn, the widow and the orphan? Who will care for the sick, disabled and incarcerated? Who will give food to the hungry and clothes to the naked? Who will stand up for wise stewardship of creation and against those trying to destroy it?

Isaiah answered, “send me!”. But only after he confessed could he be cleansed by God. And only after he had been cleansed could he be sent.

Conviction of sin and the righteousness of Christ, followed by sincere confession of personal and collective sin, is where our activism must begin. I am not the messiah and neither is anyone else on this planet. Therefore, just like Isaiah the prophet was guilty of having unclean lips when his occupation was to speak truth, I also desire to end injustice, but participate in the systems I want to stop. My action, inaction, ignorance and apathy centered upon my will, wants, and needs keeps patterns of sin and exploitation in place. Only out of God’s love, forgiveness, and His sanctifying presence can we press forward in bold humility — not prideful confrontation.

Prayer, fasting, praise, and delight cultivate an intimacy with God and others, as we practice these disciplines individually and corporately. The pattern of the Lord’s prayer, true fasting, along with with singing, painting, dancing, psalms, poetry, and other praise unto the Lord create sacred space for praise, petition, thanksgiving and intercession.

The Lord’s Prayer, when divided into 7 sections, provides a marvelous pattern of speaking and listening to God that makes us sensitive to Holy Spirit and grounds our identities in the family of God — not the actions we undertake or the things we want or have.

We must come to God with all of who we are — the joy, pain, sadness, anger, delight, frustration and hurt. We must remember who we are in light of Christ so that we can live into the words of Romans 12:1–2 :

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

For followers of Jesus, prayer is a rebellion against the status quo. It calls on the God who created everything to reconcile all things to Himself — the broken people, messed up relationships and unjust systems. He invites us to a holistic freedom that restores the shalom He originally intended. When the disciples came to Jesus in Matthew 6, He instructed them how to pray. Jesus’ teaching is clear, succinct and full of faith in Our Father. The Lord’s Prayer can be quoted verbatim during a daily office or quiet time of reflection, but as we put our faith into concrete action. it must become the pattern for our prayers and petition.

The Lord’s Prayer

“Our Father who art in heaven”

Most of us begin our prayer times with what we want and sometimes veer off into trying to convince God of how important what we are doing should be to Him. It is important for us to share all of who we are with God and He is glad to hear the issues pressing on our hearts. Our times with Him, though, must begin with an acknowledgement of who we are and who He is. Quite practically, it allows us to place God on the throne of our hearts as God Almighty while also taking a place in His lap, at His feet or in His arms as His beloved child. Prayer for the child of God begins with an acknowledgement of that closeness and intimacy. He is Our Good Good Father as the songwriters have said and that truth is the very core of Christianity. For Christ-Followers, we were once enemies of God, but have now been welcomed into the family and are made co-heirs with Christ. Specifically for Christian activists and those who prayerfully resist systemic injustice and oppression, we are not primarily protesters, workers for justice or advocates. We are children of the most High God whose identities are fixed by love and cannot be shaken. We are not more of who we are because we attend a protest, rally or march; and we don’t belong any less if we don’t. This is the freedom that comes from being a Christian. We act out of a loving, obedient response to a loving Christ who was obedient to death, even death on a Cross.

Concurrently, as God is our intimate Father, He is also God Almighty and maker of heaven and earth. After all, if He was not the Sovereign God above all gods, there would be no need to ask Him for anything. He is God and we are not. He is God, high and lifted up, and we are to revere and honor Him as such. His Holiness and power cannot be denied, and it is this marriage of holy righteousness and loving intimacy that drives us to worship.

“Hallowed be the name”

We see this reality play out In Isaiah 6. We see the prophet overcome by the holiness of God as he enters the throne room. God is Holy and we are not. It is only by His abundant grace and mercy that we dare petition the Creator of Heaven and Earth. He alone is worthy of worship. He alone deserves all praise. It is with this posture in mind that Jesus instructs us to come by focusing the beginning of our prayers on the majesty and wonder of our amazing God. And in this posture of intimate reverence, we can’t help but praise Him. Hallowed be the name is a sentence prayer of praise.

For Emotionally Healthy Activists, our petitions are always preceded by embracing our position and entering into praise. Praise reminds us that the joy of the Lord is independent of circumstance, and worship is necessary, regardless of our status and lot in life. Psalm 145:8–13 says:

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. 9 The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works. 10 All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You. 11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power; 12 To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

And it is words like these that root our prayerful resistance not in social media strategies or powerful contacts, but in reliance on the all-wise and merciful God who spoke the Earth into being.

“Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”

Therefore with Christ and His love at the center of our intercession, it is an impossibility to harbor bitterness, resentment and the desire for revenge. It is a painstaking effort to justify violence, abuse and the need for selfish gain. However, if the prayer starts here, as most of our petitions do, our wills and desires are at the center because we have not taken the time to put Christ in the middle. Because it is true that our hearts are prone to wander, as the hymn says, and deceitfully wicked above all things, as it says in Scripture. Without an intentional heart set upon Him, we will strive towards building our own Towers of Babel while calling it the Will of God. His Word becomes a proof text, not the place from which we take our orders, and we use Him to justify our actions, as opposed to working out of justification through faith in Christ. Therefore, inviting His kingdom to come is at the same time a command for our kingdoms to go. The vision for reconciliation in and through Christ, and simultaneously, the renewal of all things by His grace and mercy are our focus, not the fulfillment of parental expectations, a. political platform, ethno-centric superiority, a nation state, economic system or personal philosophy. It is the overflow of an encounter with God, rooted in our adoption into the family of Christ, and the indwelling of Holy Spirit within us. That understanding is key to why we call this prayerful resistance and not strategic thinking or arrival at some logical conclusion while considering all of the facts. Our invitations to act by His grace and the power of the Spirit come straight from the throne room of Heaven so that we might say like Christ in John 4:34 that “our food is to do the will of He who sent Me” and exclaim boldly to those who ask questions, “I must be about my Father’s business,” as Jesus did in Luke 2:49.

Give us this day our daily bread

The prayer continues with the first request. If we are keenly aware of our total reliance on Christ and the need for God’s provision for our very breath, along with the knowledge that Our Father in Heaven actually desires to give us what we need, then coming to Him is a regular occurrence, not a seldom event. An Emotionally Healthy Activist that is prayerfully resistant to the patterns of the world does not see Our Father in Heaven through earthly eyes. Regardless of the abandonment, abuse, and unavailability or the love, care, and concern of our birth fathers, Our Father in Heaven is infinitely better and entirely otherworldly. His love for us overcomes and exceeds anything objectively good or bad that we experience on this planet from our biological parents. Thus, we can come to Him regularly with our pain, sadness, suffering, wants, and needs and He is always there to receive us with compassion and love, not disdain, disgust or criticism. Chapter 1 of the Book of James says, “if any of you lacks wisdom, let Him come” and Isaiah 55 provides a bold invitation to come and have food without cost and drink without fee. The kingdom of God is abundant and Our Father is lavishly generous.

These are the rules of the Kingdom of God that is coming to Earth, and it is cause for worship and praise, out of the relationship that we are granted with the Father through the sacrifice of Christ. So, we can ask for what we wish, trusting that He is working all things together for our good in accordance with His Will, which because He loves us, is always for our benefit and His Glory. Emotionally Healthy Activists know our place as children of a Mighty God and Loving Father who is worthy of praise, honor and glory. We rest in the knowledge that His ultimate plans for all of creation are unquestionably good. And thus we can bring our requests to Jehovah-Jireh, Our Provider, and He will give us above and beyond what we can ask, think, or imagine because eyes have not seen and ears have not heard the good things Our Father has in store for those that love Him. This truth is essential to hold close to one’s heart, but even more crucial for the Child of God who explicitly desires to His faithful witness.

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us

For this portion of the prayer, without the aforementioned truths in the forefronts of our minds, this point of the prayer takes a frustrating turn and many people vacate this journey with Jesus altogether. In many of the workshops that I lead, faces contort and those who desire to change the world because of the pain and harm caused unto them, their families, people groups’, etc., get uncomfortable. This is because core to the life of a Christ-follower is regular confession and forgiveness. The reception of radical forgiveness and grace from God through Christ, and then the extension of that same grace and forgiveness to others in the name of Christ who gives it to us, is a Holy Act that followers of Jesus are called to. For someone who is not intimate with the Jesus of Scripture and rooted in community that practices this type of gracious living, this would seem preposterous, a betrayal and even a violation. That is why a rhythm of reflection on the nature and magnitude of sin and the amazing grace of God towards us is key to the life of an Emotionally Healthy Activist.

To reiterate, for followers of Jesus seeking to advocate for those who are marginalized, abused, and violated, the ability and willingness to forgive and ask for forgiveness is the central practice of faithful, sustainable Emotionally Healthy Activism. The implications for this are again not about how “woke,” socially conscious and involved we are in the social movements around us, but more about our status and relationship with Jesus while living and moving in the world. All engagement for followers of Jesus against injustice is an overflow of the abundant life we have with God and the gifts and freedom we receive from Him, including His grace and forgiveness.

For Jesus says in Matthew 6:12–15:

12 And forgive us our trespasses, as we have forgive those who trespass against us. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.

The people of God are ones marked by the practice of forgiveness. That is that we regularly extend the grace of God given to us, to others no matter how often or how grave the offense. What Jesus says here is that if we don’t forgive others, He will not forgive us. I believe that this is crucial because at issue is not primarily if I don’t forgive one offense against me, then God will not forgive an offense I have committed. Instead, the focus is on our identity as children of God and the practices that co-heirs with Christ exhibit in the world.

Continuing on we see the following in 1 John 4:18–21:

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, so the one who is afraid is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should also love his brother and seek the best for him.

The Love of God being perfect, complete, and all satisfying for the children of God relinquishes any dread, fear, or trepidation that Christ-Followers have in this world. This is because fear, as 1 John 4:18 says, has to do with punishment.

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because He first loved us.…

Moreover, Romans 8:1 proclaims “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Furthermore as Paul says, we are no longer slaves to sin but to righteousness, and that we are saved by grace through faith so that no man can boast. And it is out of our justification through Christ’s work and not our own that we serve and work out of the freedom that He has afforded us on the Cross. These are not cherry-picked passages of Scripture to prove a point, but the overflow of a mind set upon things above directing all towards a different way of being. Thus, Emotionally Healthy Activists, out of the abundant acceptance and love of God, love and accept those around us — even and especially those who harm us or seek to do us harm.

It is impossible, per the word of the Living God, to love Jesus while holding onto and nurturing hatred, bitterness, and the desire for revenge against the men and women we see every day of different races, ethnicities, faiths, opinions and backgrounds. If we claim to do so, then we are liars if we say we are children of God. Our commission as witnesses of Christ is the intended and practiced radical, compassionate love of Christ for all people — even and especially our enemies and those who offend us. This is because of His explicit command to love those who hate us and pray for those who persecute us. As Romans 5:8 proclaims He demonstrates this type of love: “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

This teaching is consistent with a parable from Jesus in Matthew 18. In this illustration we see the eternal consequences of a heart set against the merciful purposes of God while receiving His mercy at the same time. The passage is as follows:

21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

Peter, always the talkative one and, I would daresay, like many of those who have a proclivity towards justice and fairness, asked a sincere question: Do we really have to forgive them, Jesus? And if so, can it be just a few times. Jesus’ answer is clear and resounding. Forgiveness, in this case, is the release of bitterness, anger, and more importantly condemnation, as judgement and vengeance belongs to God — not us. Harkening back to the beginning of this prayer, God is God and we are not. The first slave in this passage signifies those who received the radical grace of God via the metaphor of an unpayable debt. Then he turns to a fellow slave, assaults, and imprisons him for what is no more than a dollar in our day. Upon hearing this news, the master who was merciful to this servant reverses his position and places this wicked servant in prison. Jesus does not leave ambiguity or space for interpretation here. God will do the same to us if we harbor bitterness and resentment against those who have wronged us.

It is worth mentioning that forgiveness does not say that the pain, abuse, or trespass was not evil, not destructive or some small matter. Forgiveness is not the dismissal of the offense committed. It is a proclamation from a follower of Jesus in word, deed, and thought that the pain and brokenness experienced will not steal the abundant life available to us as children of God. It is a heartfelt acknowledgement that God, the Love of Christ, and the abiding presence of Holy Spirit truly is higher, longer, wider, and deeper than anything we could ever know. Forgiveness must be the way of those who shout “Black Lives Matter” towards those who hold tiki torches and chant “White Power.” Forgiveness must be the way of those whose land was stolen from them and those whose scalps were taken as well. Forgiveness must be the way of those who follow Jesus because it is His Way towards us.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil

For Emotionally Healthy Activists, we will be tempted to the destructive, racist/prejudiced tendencies of our parents and communities. We will be tempted to worship the gods of money, power, and independence of our culture. For those who prayerfully resist, the vice of overwork claimed as godly burnout will raise its head and beckon us to build an identity upon accomplishments. Alcohol, drugs, promiscuity, shopping, Netflix binges and other habits that numb us to oppression become a reasonable, even socially acceptable escape. Yet, all of these things are tools of the Evil one and just as Adam and Eve were tempted to go their own way, we are invited to figure out how to make it on our own because “We know ourselves best.”

That is a lie from the pit of hell. God is a Good Father, He made us, and He alone can save us. The beginning of this prayer is true to the end of it. It is Our Deliverer who will lead us out of temptation, destructive generational patterns, and social problems of sin and disobedience. God is Our Refuge and strong tower, so it is He who will protect us and lift us up. Followers of Jesus don’t have skills to help us cope, we have disciplines that raise us to new life. The difference between those who want to change the world and those who seek the renewal of all things in Christ is that followers of Jesus place the world in the hands of God; and those who don’t submit to Jesus develop plans, strategize and take actions to better the world according to their own hearts and minds. And to try and grasp for control of this world ourselves is to proclaim that God is not on throne, taking the seat instead for ourselves. It renounces our place as Children of God and His place as Our Father and God in Heaven. We replace His purposes with ours, His work becomes our work, and this prayer turns into a chant unto ourselves instead of a rhythm to put the focus on Him. These are the profound evils from which we need deliverance and if the enemy is like a roaring lion going to and fro seeking whom He can devour, it is only God who can give us the will to forge a way forward and truly overcome.

For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen!

Lastly, because while bringing our prayers and petitions to God, especially when they are full of pain and suffering, it is easy to waver and lose focus. Our problems become bigger than God and we don’t leave our cares at the foot of the Cross, but pick them back up and feel more stressed having named all that’s bothering us. This is because being a slave is more familiar to us than being free. As the saying goes, “Jesus may be in our hearts but Pharaoh is in our bones.” Thus, the patterns of our families and the ways of history or our current day can distort how we perceive God, and so we pray. Therefore, the final portion of this prayer reorients us once again so that the reality we wish to reflect in the world is God’s and not our own. The power which will bring that transformation to pass belongs to God and not my family, ethnicity or social group. And the Glory is not mine to claim, but all praise and worship are due unto the Holy One.

All people, but especially activists, seek to be seen, heard, felt, validated, valued, trusted and most of all praised. We desire recognition for the hard work and sacrifices that we make to seek justice. This acknowledgement, empathy, validation, and reward is not evil. It is good and we were made for it. The problem is when we seek it from people and not from God. Therefore, again we can move into the center of our work, and God is pushed to the side in exchange for our own sense of purpose and need for support and community. The hardest truth that we as prayerful resisters face is that our complete and utter satisfaction and contentment can only be found wholly in Christ. We are totally complete in Him before we act, serve, work, give, protest or advocate. Thus, the glory, honor, power, praise, and purposes can be His because our identity is fixed and unable to be shaken.