Every day that Isaac goes to work I pray for his safety: "Lord, protect him. Keep him safe. Send your guardian angels to surround him. Give him wisdom and good instincts." Or something along those lines, usually. And every day I pray it, I worry about him.
He works in one of the worst areas of Prince William County. Who would've thought fresh academy meat would be placed in the armpit of town? Although after writing it out loud, it makes perfect sense, lol. Rookies always get the raw end of the deal, don't they? I know he is doing a great job though, and he is learning so much. He actually said it's a good thing that he's in the "bad area" so that if he ever gets in a "good area" he will have more skill and experience to take with him than someone else whose first assignment might have been in a nicer part of town.
Being married to a Police Officer is scary. I worry constantly. And if he doesn't call me at 11pm like he says he is going to, I always wonder what he's up to that he couldn't call. Did something happen? Is he OK? Why couldn't he call? And usually, I remind myself that I just have to remember and trust that he's probably on a case and got busy.
As I've been praying for his safety ever since he got this job, I've been pretty much saying that same prayer that I mentioned before. Prayer for his general well being and protection, and for courage and wisdom. But the other day as I was meditating on these words again, I realized something: why not pray for the community that he’s working, too?
It was a revelation from above.
Isaac will always be my first priority of prayer, but I imagine the people of his beat, the people he's servicing and protecting, could use prayer, too. There is so much hate, so much crime, so much violence right outside of our sheltered abodes that we don't even see it. And I get the info first hand.
We don't see the stabbings and gang fights and drug busts or the homes with dirt floors because most of us live in areas where we are sheltered by our comfortable, air-conditioned living spaces. And all we know are the concerts and restaurants we go to on the weekends and our four dollar and nine cent frappucinos and our fancy gym memberships. It's easy for us to go to Giant and pick up what we need at the store because we usually have the money in our bank accounts to do so. And I think these things are OK to enjoy because we are a God-blessed nation and God desires to bless us as long as we are good stewards.
But some of these people right down the street from our spoil-fests are stealing car batteries for money and dealing and smoking crack in their basements. They're stabbing people because their gang leader told them they had to and they're falling asleep at the wheel in their parked cars because they are too drunk to drive home from the bar.
They need prayer.
And who better to pray for them then the people in their own community? Doesn't God call us to pray for the unsaved and reach out to the needy? Even though they’re not in a third world country, I think they are needy. In need of grace, in need of healing, in need of salvation.
And so I will continue to pray for Isaac, for his protection amidst all of this chaos, but I will also try to remember to pray for the people he comes in contact with - the woman who has hidden weed in her pre-natal vitamin bottle, the man who was shot because of his own choice at an attempt to steal and is now paralyzed, and people starting petty fights that cause public riots.
