Praying for: Baltimore: Freddie Gray Police Brutality Death, April 2015

So once again, we have yet another report of an innocent Black man who was killed during arrest by police in the United States. Dear United States, this is getting tiring.

Should I point out that the trial of the (White) cinema shooter also from the US is currently taking place. This man was quite clearly observed to kill 12 innocent people very violently, and to injure several others (70 injured apparently) – and he was obviously known to be armed, and yet he managed to survive his arrest unscathed and to get to the point of standing trial for his crimes.

And yet countless completely innocent Black men like Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Walter Scott and now Freddie Gray have been killed while being arrested or sometimes not even being arrested.  Many of them were unarmed.  And then the perpetrator would usually get away scot free. Thank God for video evidence in the Walter Scott case, which is quite clearly the only reason his murderer was charged. Even if these Black men were not innocent, the rule of law is that they should face trial, not that they should be summarily executed at the point of arrest.

This week I’ll be praying for the family and friends of Freddie Gray, and also praying for peace in the city of Baltimore where he was killed. Could I ask readers of this blog to pray for the city of Baltimore, over the course of this week – aiming for possibly ten minutes a day?

These are the requests that I will be praying for;

1. For peace and comfort at this time for Freddie Gray’s family, friends and relatives. That God would comfort their broken hearts.  That God would relieve them from a desire for revenge.

2. That the perpetrators of this evil act, his murderers, would be brought to justice.

3. That God would grant peace to the city of Baltimore at this time. That there would be racial reconciliation. That the looting and violence would come to an end. Looting and violence are so counterproductive it is breathtaking.  When people tell you that you are animals, why would you go and prove their point by acting in just that way?

4. That God would grant economic emancipation to all the poor people of Baltimore, across ethnic divides.

5. That God Himself would perform His own arrest, of the murderous spirit of racial hatred which clearly saturates the entire country of the United States, planted and sown (sowed?) into the soul of the nation by the demonic work of the KKK and similar satanic cults. That there would be an end to the murders of Black men and women via police brutality across the entire nation.

6. For Christians to be united in speaking out for peace love and divine justice at this time across the city of Baltimore and across the whole country, also too across ethnic divides.

7. For God’s protection for all the Black people I know in the United States – I’m going to be mentioning them by name.

8. That Black America would not lose her faith in Jesus, after encountering so much injustice meted out even by people who claim to believe in God

If anyone can think of any further requests, please write them in the comments below.

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PHOTO CREDITS
Photo of Baltimore Night Skyline by Bruce Emmerling on Pixabay
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PS:  Here are a couple of posts that I have come across about Baltimore.  In this city, unlike Ferguson, Missouri, city of Mike Brown, institutional racism does not appear to be the chief issue. Many of the city leaders are Black. Rather the main problems of the city seem to be poverty and lack of prospects for much of the population.  It seems as if Freddie Gray’s death was the trigger for decades of pent up frustration and hopelessness to explode into the violent riots that we have been witnessing.

Washington Post Article
Forbes.com: Why Baltimore Burned