#PrayforFrance

I can't help but pause when I see all of the #prayforparis and #prayforfrance hashtags on social media.  While many of my personal friends are truly praying to the King of kings and Lord of lords, what does this mean for others?

I've been wondering what the French think of this, as a very secular nation.  With less than 1% of the population having a personal relationship with Jesus, what does prayer actually mean to them?

While I have yet to hear explicitly what the French think, here's what one cartoonist said; I imagine that many others feel the same.

As I wrestled with this, a friend and fellow GEMer shared a powerful story of a teen in her youth group with me.

"About 10 years ago, a girl from [her] youth group [in France] was in elementary school in the United States.  It was Christmas time and all of her friends talked about Jesus and praying.  She had no idea what it meant to pray, but when Christmas arrived, in her 5 or 6 year old mind, she figured that she should try it out.  She didn't know who to pray to or how to do it, so she grabbed her brother and they looked at their Christmas tree and prayed to that.  It was the beginning of her search for God.  Last week, she shared her story in front of the entire youth group about how she has found God in France and for the first time experienced His love."

My hope is that #prayforparis and #prayforfrance will cause many to pause and consider what prayer is.  My hope is that Christians across the world will be burdened for the French in a new way, that they will truly pray for France and that we will see a spiritual revival in this country.  My hope is that #prayforfrance would be the start of peoples' search for God, just as praying to the Christmas tree was for this French teenager in the story above.

I agree with the cartoonist that France doesn't need more religion; they've had religion and it's caused pain.  What the French need, what we all need, is Jesus.  Jesus is about life and life to the full.  May His name be made great.



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