The unrest that was sparked by the terrible death of George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minneapolis continues in the States. It’s a hard story to read details about, and it reminds us – if we had forgotten – that racism still exists in a very real way in our world. As I have watched this all unfold, it has been challenging my own heart as well. I know I have been convicted of how easy it is to overlook the suffering that people go through on account of the colour of the skin, there’s much I don’t understand, I have room to grow here.
There’s a line in the song “Hosanna” by Hillsong that says, “break my heart for what breaks Yours”. That’s been echoing in my mind this week. God has a heart for the oppressed and the downtrodden, and that is evident in many places in Scripture (Amos 2:6-8, Proverbs 14:31, Matthew 25:40, 1 John 3:11-18, etc). The things God cares about are the things we need to care about.
As we watch this all unfold to the South of us, we have an opportunity to pray for our neighbours. I came across a prayer – written by John Piper who lives in Minneapolis – a few days ago. In it, we find a desire for people on all sides of this to find hope in Jesus along with a desire for justice to be served. It is a prayer that reflects a heart for the city, for those oppressed and suffering, and for those truly working to find justice. This gives us some ideas of how to pray for for our neighbours to the south, and these are also things to be praying for in our own country as well as we’re not immune to prejudice here either. The article with John Piper’s prayer is linked below.
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-sorrows-of-minneapolis