A Prayer for Our LGBT Neighbors
June is Pride Month, a time when many who identify as LGBT will spend this month celebrating that identity. As Christians, we are saddened by the celebrations of this month, because not only do we know that Pride Month is a celebration of sin, but we also know that we will never be free until we find our identity, salvation, and hope in Jesus Christ.
Yet, that very realization makes Pride Month an incredible opportunity for prayer and for the Gospel to go forth.
So today, at the beginning of June, I want to share two things with you: an answer to your questions on this topic, and a prayer for our LGBT neighbors.
Answering Your Questions
First off, an exciting announcement: we are pleased to announce that we’re launching a new video series! Ask Meridian is an opportunity for you to send us your questions – and get answers! Last month, we kicked off this initiative by asking you to send us the family policy questions you’ve always wanted someone to answer. Among the many submissions were questions asking how you could express your views on sexuality in a loving way.
We know this can be a challenging conversation to approach.
So, today, we are pleased to release to you the first video in the series: How to Love Your LGBT Neighbor. In this video, I share when and how to talk about our views on sexuality with friends and family who identify as LGBT. We hope you find this helpful!
Click here to watch:
Have a question for a future Ask Meridian episode? Send us an email at [email protected]!
A Prayer for Our LGBT Neighbors
This month, will you join me in this prayer?
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Lord, in this month our hearts are heavy for those who identify as LGBT. Your Word is clear about both sin and salvation – and our own consciences testify to this truth – yet so many live with the hope that they will find their “true self” or even their worldly salvation in a broken identity.
So this month, we lift up this challenging issue before you.
For those within the walls of the church who may claim the identity of LGBT, we pray for the work of your Holy Spirit and of the Church to call those in sin to repentance.
For those Christians who continue to struggle in this area, and yet who choose faithfulness to your Word, we pray for great faith and encouragement.
For those who are uncertain about their fearfully and wonderfully made bodies, we pray for peace and confidence that you did not make a mistake – that they were not born in the wrong body.
For children who are hearing messages that make them question their own sexuality, we pray for protection over their minds and hearts.
For all those who identify as LGBT, or who are struggling with their sexual identity in another way, we pray that they would find the joy and freedom that only comes from following you as Lord. We pray that their hearts would be opened to see sin for what it is – and to see the joy of your salvation as greater.
For those in ministry to our LGBT neighbors, we pray for the strength to speak the truth in love – and more than anything, to make your Gospel known in the words they say and in the way they live.
For those of us with LGBT friends and family, we pray for great love and great discernment.
For each of us, we pray the hard prayer for conviction of our own sin and for freedom in repentance. We pray that our first priority – in our own hearts and in our conversations – would always be the magnification of Christ. We pray that our identities would not be rooted first in our work, our sexuality, or even our families, but that we could say as Paul that for us, to live is Christ. May our identity, our security, our salvation be ever fixed to you – and may that be first in our hearts and in our words.
Lord, this month we pray that as we speak the truth, the manner in which we speak it would be such that we are known by our love.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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I hope you’ll join me in that prayer this month, and that the Lord will give you wisdom if you have opportunities to speak into the lives of LGBT neighbors.
Sincerely,
Meridian Baldacci
Policy and Communications Strategist
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