david is one of the pastors at quest; he’s married to chris, attends the south seattle cgroup, is a ph.d student at fuller, and has time to blog here.
yesterday was the global day of prayer for burma, an opportunity for people around the world to come together on behalf of those suffering from widespread human rights violations under an oppressive military regime. when chris and i visited thailand/burma last summer with quest, we were struck with the warmth and hospitality of the karen people, a people who have every reason to be demoralized and devastated from the years of struggling for their freedom. but what’s amazing about the karen is their steadfast hope, even in the face of daily atrocities that often force them to literally run for their lives.
and i’m ashamed to admit that realistically, i’m fairly certain that i would not be able to face their struggle with the same perseverance they have demonstrated for so long now, despite the fact that we share the same faith. it is both humbling and refreshing to know that the karen know jesus in a way i do not know jesus at all- their faith anchors their hope with such confidence that it’s impossible to deny the reality of christ in their lives. whereas we in the west wrestle mostly with questions of self-therapy and vocational angst, the karen are relying on jesus for something much more basic and, in a sense, something far more central to faith than our often frivolous concerns.
the deep joy and hope they possess is most evident when they sing. when we visited a school at a refugee camp in thailand (where 50 thousand+ have been living for 20+ years), a group of students sang to us about their faith, their homeland, and their ultimate trust that god would deliver them. their voices filled the air with the most beautiful song i’ve ever heard- so beautiful because it was so hopeful and true. afterwards they asked us to carry their story with us back to the US, and most importantly, not to forget their struggle. and though i have failed at consistently sharing their burden, i am hopeful as well that god is not done with their story…
We lift up in prayer one of the forgotten peoples of our world, the nation of Burma. We pray for peaceful reconciliation for them as they struggle to secure freedoms that we take for granted. We pray for those whose land has been seized, who have been conscripted into forced labor, whose loved ones have been killed for resisting, whose villages have been burned and their crops destroyed. Lord, comfort, deliver and sustain them. We pray for those who have been imprisoned or tortured for daring to speak out. We pray for those who have fled their homeland in order to find safety, only to find new dangers, exploitation, and miserable conditions. Lord, open people’s hearts to help. We pray, too, about the ethnic and religious tensions which stand in the way of national unity and the ability to work together for the common good. Lord, please break down the hostility and heal the divisions among these groups and overcome the selfish striving for power. Finally, we pray for those who currently hold power in Burma. Lord, awaken their consciences and give them loving concern for all the people in Burma. Empower your people to become witnesses by overcoming evil with good, and by praying for their enemies. We voice these prayers for peace and harmony in Burma, and in all the world’s divided nations. We look forward to the promised day of ultimate peace when pain and crying and death and mourning will be no more. Lord, let your kingdom come. We pray this in the name of Christ our Lord, who is our peace. Amen.
