A neighbor sent the following email to all who reside in this part of Albemarle County, Virginia (used with consent of the author):
“Dear friends and neighbors, I have had a very heavy heart lately with the state of the world and have been wondering what I can do. I am not into protesting or crowds, nor do I like confrontation, but I have to do something with this heavy energy. If you feel inclined, please join me Sunday, the 18th at 7 pm, wherever you are, to light a candle and take 5 minutes of silence. Meditate or pray for peace and unity. It might sound corny, but collective intention can be very powerful. Especially when combined with other ongoing peaceful gatherings around our planet. Maybe by joining together, we can heal some of these feelings of grief, anger, sadness, fear, and separation. I will have a table set up at the end of my driveway with battery tea light candles if anyone is interested. Contact me for the address.”
By the time this article is published, it will be too late to join my neighbor’s project for peace through prayer, but it is never too late to be inspired by one “very heavy-hearted” woman to light a candle for a better world. Many people came to her home for candles; even more joined her in 5 minutes of silence, meditation, and prayer Sunday night.
Prayer as a specific “collective intention” is powerful. Prayer to an Almighty God who listens and responds changes the person who prays sincerely. Prayers uttered impiously in faith and trust in God are answered. It may not be the answer we had in mind, but it is always the best answer for those who love our Creator.
I identify with my neighbor. Like her, “I am not into protesting or crowds, nor do I like confrontation.” And I, too, have a very heavy heart from the unending plague of hatred, violence, lawlessness, and disrespect of the police.
Historians cite political and economic factors in the Berlin Wall’s fall, but many also credit prayer meetings with initiating the “Peaceful Revolution” that led to its collapse.
Starting in 1982, Pastor Christian Führer organized weekly “Prayers for Peace” at Leipzig’s St. Nicholas Church, offering a rare forum for free expression under East Germany’s regime.
By October 1989, prayer meetings had grown into large, non-violent “Monday Demonstrations.” On October 9, 70,000 people assembled with candles in Leipzig, overwhelming state security forces through peaceful protest.
An East German official famously remarked, “We were prepared for every eventuality, but not for candles and not for prayers”.
Historians and the German public widely recognize Leipzig’s “Peace Prayers” and “Monday Demonstrations” as key catalysts for the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of East German communism.
The extent and depth of the unrest in the world, and specifically in the U.S., is far too complex to be a natural occurrence. It is engineered by evilly motivated power-seeking anti-democratic, anti-Christian, antisemitic, and anti-capitalist brokers whose goal is to destroy America and replace it with unrighteous dictators.
Peter Schweizer’s book, The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon (2026), argues that immigration is being used as a strategic tool against the United States. Traditionally seen as a way to renew the American Dream, mass migration, according to Schweizer, has become a political weapon manipulated by domestic elites and foreign adversaries.
“Our debates about immigration revolve around what happens with immigrants once they arrive. We need to start talking about who is sending them and why. For decades, establishment elites sold us the story of immigration as a compassionate renewal of the American Dream within a harmonious melting pot.
“But beneath that narrative lies a different reality: Mass migration has morphed into the most powerful political weapon ever aimed at the United States.”
But do not fret because we are reassured by the words of Jesus: “These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NKJV).
The Bible is filled with wisdom more precious than gold. No investment pays greater dividends. Psychology and psychiatry fade in comparison because they are satisfied with their thoughtful description of our problems, but weak on lasting, meaningful resolution of human conflict and disease. I cringe as a psychiatrist when theology steps aside to give priority to behavioral “science.”
Ernest Becker, a cultural anthropologist, wrote in his book, The Denial of Death, 1973: “The plight of modern man is that he is a sinner with no word for it, or worse, who looks for the word in a dictionary of psychology and thus only aggravates the problem.”
As traditional religious frameworks have diminished, individuals increasingly rely on secular alternatives such as romantic relationships, professional achievement, addiction, or consumerism. Becker suggests these substitutes are inadequate to fulfill the need for an absolute divine existence (God).
Prayer is central to Christianity, serving as a means to connect with God. Communication, devotion, and faith are crucial elements that strengthen this relationship. Serious illness and death, our severest threats, are best faced with the God who promised never leave or forsake us.
Christians pray to connect with God, deepen their relationship, seek guidance, find peace, confess their sins, express gratitude, and ask for help. Prayer is essential for relying on God, aligning our desires with His, and strengthening faith. It is viewed both as a command and a privilege—a way to show love and trust toward the Creator who seeks a close relationship with us.
The Bible teaches that everything we need for life and godliness is found in God. He knows our needs before we ask and abundantly provides them.
We pray for a variety of reasons. Prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him. We pray because God commands us to pray.
Jesus had a birth certificate. He was both man and God, but he prayed more often than any being in history.
“Maybe by joining together we can heal some of these feelings of grief, anger, sadness, fear, and separation,” my neighbor said. Is she saying we can be resurrected from spiritual death and its consequences in which we are submerged by returning our attention to the Sovereign God?
In January 1950, my mother knelt by a chair in our small living room and asked me to join her in prayer for God’s guidance, mercy, and protection as I left home for my matriculation at UVA. She was a righteous woman whose prayers to God were answered.
God did His part; too often, I failed to do mine. Today, I am a sinner saved by the grace of God, whose love is limitless and who wants us to live beyond death. Jesus is The Cardiologist who specializes in curing all “very heavy hearts” who come to Him.
Robert S. Brown, MD, PHD a retired Psychiatrist, Col (Ret) U.S. Army Medical Corps devoted the last decade of his career to treating soldiers at Fort Lee redeploying from combat. He was a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Education at UVA. His renowned Mental Health course taught the value of exercise for a sound mind.
