"As cars surged steadily down the road in Toledo, Ohio, a familiar melody rose from the circle of people gathered beside the gas pumps at the Exxon-Mobil station on the corner.
'He's got the gas prices, in his hands. He's got the gas prices, in his hands. . . ' "
That's right. Prayer walking around the pumps. Taking on the gas companies through prayer. Crazy? Radical faith? Well-intentioned but somewhat simplistic? It's pretty obvious that our current reliance on oil in the U.S. needs to change and that the gas prices are the most visible reminder of that, but I'm not sure that prayer without policy is the best plan of attack. A lack of faith on my part? Perhaps. Maybe I'm just reacting against the re-written praise chorus ...[Note: I came across this online article via (surprise, surprise) TitusOneNine.]
Have people ever heard of biking or public transportation or non-gas-guzzling vehicles? Maybe God is telling us to start respecting the world he has given us by making gas prices so high.
ReplyDeleteWhat concerns me most about this "prayer at the pump" is how it seems so similar to the way that Christians have "dealt" with other issues. Prayer at the pole, prayer-walking through poverty-stricken areas, public preaching in the streets... these are all good, but only given their context.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated what the gas station owner said concerning the prayer meetings, that we should be targeting the companies themselves. Maybe-some-foot-in-mouth: microwavable Christianity is certainly a problem, but are we only propagating it by scheming quick-fixes? I like Josh's proposal above... faith accompanied by works: prayer and policy.
"Before the prayer, the Rev. Mike Fortune, pastor at Toledo's First Seventh-day Adventist church, drove congregants in a lap around the station. The enthusiasm in the van was palpable."
ReplyDeleteWas that lap really necessary?
I wholeheartedly agree with the above comments. I'm not saying these people should NOT pray about gas prices. I do think they could have skipped driving the lap around the gas station though. Faith and works people.