Some Thoughts on "Thoughts and Prayers"

In the wake of the latest school shooting in Florida there has been an upswing in people railing against individuals sending "thoughts and prayers" to the victims. We've all seen/heard/maybe participated in such rantings. For example, there this gem:

http://www.optipess.com/2016/06/17/thoughts-and-prayers/

or there's the visual metaphor:

https://www.atheistrev.com/2017/10/thoughts-and-prayers.html

And so on.

The general thrust of the argument is that thoughts and prayers don't stop school children (or concert goers, or nightclubbers, or church attenders, or etc.) from getting shot. We need action. We need policy. We need to stop/start *insert whichever line of action that best fits your politics/worldview*.

While I completely understand where this line of thinking is coming from, I disagree with it. In fact, I'd go so far as I hate it. I hate people telling other people to stop thinking and praying for others in need. In fact, my argument is the complete opposite:

In the face of tragedy, people need to think and pray more.

The real problem with the "thoughts and prayers" that so many people rail against is that these thoughts and prayers as expressed on twitter or on facebook or on etc. never get beyond the screen. It's a kind of virtue signaling that allows the signaler to feel like a compassionate person before settling in for another 6 hours of netflix or stripping down for a workout in the congressional gym. Is that unfair and overgeneralized? Absolutely. Those who express their "thoughts and prayers" likely aren't setting out to be unfeeling, uncaring, and numb to the real difficulties of the world around them, but that doesn't change the impotence of such expressions when they don't go beyond a couple of thumb-taps on social media. 

But here's the deal: 

That's not thinking and praying!

A prayer isn't just something you say and then go about your life as if nothing had happened. A prayer should be a meditative, reflective act about the nature of life in which you express gratitude for what's going well, ask for help and support in areas of weakness or struggle, and resolve to do/be better in whatever way you can. A prayer uttered in this vein goes beyond the words themselves. It can and should be transformative regarding how an individual lives his/her life. 

Allow me to illustrate what I mean using a scripture from The Book of Mormon. In this scripture a prophet, Amulek, is teaching a group of people about the importance of praying always. (He really emphasizes the "always" part of that.) He wraps up the portion of his discourse about prayer by saying:

"Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you. 

"And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.

"Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men."

If you pray "for the welfare of those who are around you" but then don't actually do anything to help and improve the actual material welfare of those who are around you, 1) your prayer is in vain, 2) your prayer availeth you nothing, 3) you are a hypocrite who denies the faith, 4) you are dross, cast out and trodden under the foot of men. 

(Okay, so I'm not totally sure how the bit about being "trodden under the foot of men" plays into the discussion here, but it is a pretty fantastic image.)

While I've been talking thus far most especially about this issue from a religious perspective -- the prayers side of things -- I especially like that the common parlance joins thoughts with prayers. It seems to suggest a union of those who are religious and those who aren't terribly keen on religion or overt shows of religiosity. While prayer is a conversation with an individual and his/her/their deity of choice, "thoughts" don't necessarily have to invoke the divine at all. The process I described above isn't exclusive to such belief. 

Anyone can take a few moments out of their day to think and reflect on life, both ours and that of those around us (near and far.) In such a reflection, we can recognize that some things are pretty great (the Jazz are on an 11 game tear, for example), and we can recognize that some things are pretty not great (...unfortunately, you don't need help coming up with an illustrating example on this one). But then rather than just leaving it there, we need push on and ponder about what we can do, individually, to improve the things that aren't great. And then we need to actually do them.

In this way, a thought/prayer for the homeless might look something like this:

A thought/prayer for the hungry might look something like this:

(Except some food banks prefer donations of money to donations of food)

A thought/prayer to relieve those suffering from natural disaster might look like this:

So what does this look like in the face of yet another school shooting? Well, it depends on your sphere of influence. It might mean contacting your government representative and asking them to advocate for a position you believe in. It might mean actually enacting legislation that ameliorates the problems. It might mean just going out of your way to get to know and choose to love somebody who isn't like you.

Thoughts and prayers can go a long way towards improving the world, if for no other reason than they can/should serve as a means of focusing the actions we take to confront the evils of the world. 

That said, at least for me, the need for "thoughts and prayers" goes beyond improving the world and making it a better/safer/more humane place. As a person of faith, prayer in particular provides for me eternal context and a basis for hope and optimism despite the horrors of the world.

As the current prophet and president of the LDS Church, Russell M. Nelson, has said:

“I recognize that, on occasion, some of our most fervent prayers may seem to go unanswered. We wonder, ‘Why?’ I know that feeling! I know the fears and tears of such moments. But I also know that our prayers are never ignored. Our faith is never unappreciated. I know that an all-wise Heavenly Father’s perspective is much broader than is ours. While we know of our mortal problems and pain, He knows of our immortal progress and potential. If we pray to know His will and submit ourselves to it with patience and courage, heavenly healing can take place in His own way and time.”

So yes. Let's think and pray. But more than that, let's allow those thoughts and prayers to drive us to act. As we do, peace and change can be ours.