Recently a Roman Catholic archbishop wrote to priests whom he oversaw with a recommendation that they ask their parishioners to pray for India. This letter was met with great venom by many and arrogated to the bishop malicious intent. One can only wonder what goes on in the mind of these people if they object to a call for prayer for the nation.

I have refrained from writing for some days now not because I did not wish to write. Rather, I did not want to shoot from the hip, something that the opposers of the letter have quite obviously done.

I am writing to those who follow Jesus. But this post will be public and anyone will be able to read what I write. And some will decide to take my words out of context. That is the nature of public statements. That is the nature of public truth.

I do not wish, not in this post at least, to discuss the actual letter, its vocabulary, or the charges leveled against followers of Jesus on the basis of the letter. What I do wish to address is what the backlash reveals to those who follow Jesus.

First, it tells us that those who oppose followers of Jesus believe that prayer to Jesus is efficacious. If it were not so, if our prayer were simply whispers in the wind or screams in the dark or shouts into the void, then it would make no difference whether we prayed or not. But by attacking the call to prayer those who oppose followers of Jesus are tacitly accepting that prayer to Jesus can change things. This is an encouraging thought for the followers of Jesus because even those who oppose them accept that prayers to Jesus can be effective.

Second, it tells us that, those who oppose a call to prayer might actually know that they do not have the nation’s best interests in mind. Note that the call was a call to prayer for the nation, not a call to prayer against the nation. It was a call to pray for the betterment of the nation. Only those who do not wish the betterment of the nation would oppose such a call. This is another encouraging thought, for those who pray for the betterment of the nation cannot be those who are against it.

Third, it reveals to us that those who oppose followers of Jesus might actually be conceding that they are powerless. From the first point we realize that their anger must reveal that they believe prayer to Jesus is effective and can change things. This raises some questions. What if Jesus chooses to answer the prayers offered by his followers? Is there no remedy? Is there no way of thwarting his response? Presumably not. Otherwise those who oppose the call to prayer would just have to engage in such activities as would thwart Jesus’ response. By insisting that the bishop should not have issued such a call these people are acknowledging that they have no countermeasures to Jesus’ response. So we have a third encouraging thought for we know that, if Jesus chose to answer a prayer, then there is no way the answer can be hindered.

So those who follow Jesus should pray for the welfare of India and of all its citizens and of those who have found a haven within India’s borders. And we pray knowing that Jesus answers prayer and that we are praying for the good of the nation and that nothing can hinder Jesus’ response to our prayers. We should, therefore, pray that our leaders would lead honorably, efficiently, prudently, and with integrity. Is there anyone who has a problem with this prayer? If there is, I can only wonder why.