Praying for the Wicked

Friday in Paris there were some atrocious acts of terrorism performed by a terrorist group of extremist Muslims.

When I read the headlines it felt like I got punched in the stomach. I was instantly taken back to September 11, 2001 at about 4pm when I came home from school and found out about the attacks on our own soil. I imagined that kind of fear and that insecurity being felt by another nation on the other side of the world.

Friday night I had a Lock-in with the campus ministry I'm a part of, and I was speaking on our theme for the year. Basically our study is a more practical approach to the What Would Jesus Do? movement.

As I was writing the sermon, I was asking myself, how does God feel about these attacks? Obvious he is full of anguish and grief for the loss and the indifference towards human life. I'm sure like many of us when we heard the news, God likewise had a righteous anger towards those that committed these acts of terror and wanted to see them receive the just retribution of their actions.

But at the same time, unlike God, we forget that these terrorists are human as well. I know most would say, "People that act like that aren't human, they're monsters. They don't deserve the right to be called human." I in no way am attempting to justify their actions, I gave up attempting to justify sin a while back. But what I do want to do is inform that they believe they are going to bring about the apocalypse, and they act on their faith just as we Christians should act on our faith. This could lead to an entire other lesson, but I'm not going to go that route right now. What we do know is that these men and practitioners of Radical Islam obviously worship the wrong God.

So what we get if we boil it all down, is that the Radical Muslims are worshiping the wrong god and follow a perverted form of Islam. I'm not an expert on Islam, but I'm speaking from what I do know about it. And if we can bring their actions down to them being, in our view, pagans, then they are a people that are out of a restored relationship with God, the true God, who above all else desires a restored relationship with his children/creation. His creation also includes these Radical Muslims many of us call monsters and inhuman.

So Radical Muslims are no different than those that are lost. And their actions reflect their identity of that of a person that does not worship a peaceful and loving god. Again, I am not attempting to justify their sin, or saying that they do not deserve to go unpunished for their actions.

What I am attempting to prove though, is that these terrorists deserve our prayers just as much as the victims of their attacks do. And that is where we get controversial.

Romans 12.14, 17-21: Bless those that persecute you; bless and do not curse. Repay no evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so you will heap burning coals n his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Luke 6.27: But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

How much more clear could God be? Those that attack and murder are wicked, and their actions are wicked. But they are as in need of salvation as you or I. Even the wicked are called to repentance (Acts 17.30; 2 Peter 3.9).

So what I propose is that we begin to pray for the wicked. They are our enemies, and we are told outright that we are to pray for them. While our view of these people are that they are unworthy of salvation and grace and forgiveness, we must understand that we are too, and that just as God desired us to be reconciled with him, he also desired to be reconciled with them.