Don't Pray to Congress for Help

I cannot say if this Fox News article accurately portrays what happened at this "Worship Service", but it left the impression on the writer that the prayers were to Congress to help out the automaker.

Now, this in itself is not an inappropriate prayer, but the aticle starts out:

DETROIT —  With auto workers in the pews and sport-utility vehicles at the altar, one of Detroit's largest churches on Sunday offered up prayers for Congress to bail out the struggling auto industry, Reuters reported.

This sure reads like the prayers were to Congress and not God.

Now I went to the church web site and their statement of faith (what we believe) is solidly centered on the Word and on Christ.  There was an announcement inviting auto workers to a special "Service" for prayer and annointing.

This in itself is not wrong.  Many churches some 47 years ago had special services after Pearl Harbor to pray for the dead and our nation.  Same with other events, tragedies, and circumstances.

The workers in the US auto industry and related employers are nervous.  The structure is trembling and at risk of falling putting hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people out of work and threatens our basic economic well-being.  

It is more than apt to pray about this situation, but our prayers should be for God to be glorified and for a solution to this problem to come forth.  

We don't know if the loans will work.  They seem like a panic reaction to me, but putting that to one side, the danger, and in this case it came true, is that it leaves the impression the prayers were to Congress, not for Congress.  

It sounds like they believe the solution is the loan (or bail out), and that is their prayer, and in doing so left the impression that they were praying to Congress - at least to the writer of the article.

Our response in difficulties is to rely on God.  Our hope is in Christ alone, and we need to be very careful about leaving an impression otherwise.  

I am hoping that this church, which appears to do some great ministry to the people of Detroit, did not do as the article stated,  and, instead, truly gave some real "good news" to the autoworkers, that their true salvation is not in their employers, not in their government, not even in their churches, but in Christ alone.