Yes, what bizarre times we’re living in . . .

But in times like these, seeing prayer on a liberal cable network was a sight to see as people of all faiths rally together to provide hope for so many of us living in fear.

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At the end of a six-minute plus discussion, Melvin told Jakes that they only had 30 seconds left, but he had a request: “For folks who aren’t able to get to church yesterday, I’ve never actually done this on the air. Can you lead us in prayer for 30 seconds?”

Jakes obliged and, as Melvin bowed his head, Jakes prayed:

JAKES: Yes, I can. Our Father and our God, we bow our heads to you in humility, understanding that we are not competent in and of ourselves to handle this kind of global calamity. We look to you, Lord, to be the source, the strength, the help, the light that we need, strengthen our first responders, strengthen even our broadcast people, strengthen all of us whose lives have been devastated and disrupted and give us the peace that passes all understanding. In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

MELVIN: Amen.

In a January 22, 2018 Facebook post, Melvin wrote about his interview with the website Simple Grace (which has since become a dead link): “I don’t talk about my faith often, but the folks at Simple Grace asked. Here’s part of what i [sic] told them. Feel free to share more about your faith journey.”

Rewinding to the beginning of the segment, Melvin stated that “[i]n times of crisis and in times of uncertainty, a lot of Americans turn to faith” or “religion for comfort and solace” even though “[i]t’s no longer practical to pray or gather in person as we know.”

He then played a few portions of Jakes’s message shared from yesterday’s streamed service:

There has been all this discussion about whether we should have church or whether we should be in a building or not and then talk about what would Jesus do. I don’t know because Jesus never saw church. All of this stuff you made don’t have nothing to do with the power of God. It’s not about a building. It’s not about a building. It’s never been about a building.

Amen to that.

After Jakes explained what his church has been doing in light of the pandemic, Melvin asked what his “message” would be to viewers “who are scared,” “anxious,” “can’t sleep at night” and are feeling weighed down.

Over the course of his next two answers, Jakes had some great tips (such as not having your TV permanently fixed to cable news) and thoughts about how the American people have come together (click “expand”):

These are turbulent times and they’re stressful for the very best of us and to say that they’re not is just a misnomer all together. On the other hand, I think that we have to be careful about what our diet it as it relates to what we watch. We cannot watch a 24-hour news cycle 24 hours and expect to have peace of mind. Get the information, and then give your mind a break away from things like that. Spend some times with the kids that you normally don’t get to spend times with. Check on the elderly who are shut in and isolated. Provide a schedule for yourself every day that makes you get up and get dressed and put on some clothes, get some sunshine. You’ve got to really fight back because if you don’t fight back emotionally, the emotional fallout from this can be as devastating as the virus itself and may last for years to come. The PTSD from all of this could be amazing.

(….)

[I]t’s been beautiful. It’s funny — the oxymoron of bittersweet, one of the most horrific times I’ve ever seen in all my life and yet it’s been very beautiful to see how the community has galvanized together. The vitriol has gone down, the rhetoric that proceeded the spirit has gone down, the tribalism between political arguments has kind of calmed down a bit, the racism, the sexism, all of that has begun to —- to dissipate and we’ve begun to recognize a very important message, we’re all in this together and we need to stick together and we’re seeing that in Dallas….I think at the end of the day we’re going to be alright.

Amen, again. Now, if only more in the press observed these tips.

(Excerpt from MRC Newsbusters. Article by Curtis Houk.)