When Evil Strikes God's House: Thoughts & Prayers

In the wake of the tragic school shooting at Annunciation Catholic School, which media have described as a "church shooting," some politicians and media figures have seized upon this horrible event to launch attacks on prayer, church, and faith in God. Rather than allowing families to grieve and communities to heal, some have chosen to use this moment of profound loss to create a hostile attitude towards those who turn to God in times of suffering.

As believers, we cannot stand idly by while faith itself is maligned during our darkest hours. This article addresses these misguided attacks and explains the true biblical role of prayer when tragedy strikes. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families impacted, but we must also defend the very foundation that sustains us through such trials.

When "Thoughts and Prayers" Come Under Fire

During a press briefing, a Minneapolis official said:

"Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now … These kids were literally praying." 

His words have stirred emotions because they seem to question the value of prayer in moments of suffering.

Yet this reaction misses something vital: prayer has never been meant as a substitute for action but as the foundation upon which godly action is built. It is prayer that allows God to direct His people towards helpful actions. It aligns the human heart with God's will so that believers may rise with wisdom, courage, and compassion to serve those in need (James 1:5). These comments are ill-informed on what thoughts and prayers truly mean to believers.

An Ancient Pattern of Satan's War on the Faithful

The first recorded killing inside the temple, God's house of worship, was the prophet Zechariah, whom King Joash had stoned at the altar in the temple. Scripture records that "the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah" and he boldly proclaimed God's word to the people, rebuking them for their transgressions. But rather than repent, they conspired against him and "stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord" (2 Chronicles 24:20-21). Even in God's temple, which Jesus called "a house of prayer," the most sacred place on earth, persecution and violence struck down a faithful servant of God.

This creates a powerful dichotomy: beautiful children were inside talking to God, not being violent, while outside Satan had possessed a man to harm others and himself. Just as prayer relieved the demon-possessed man in the tombs - in the Bible - of his torment, it is prayer that will remove the demons from American society even today. The precious children who were killed entered into the paradise of God, while the shooter faces God's eternal justice. All died the first death, but only the innocent woke up to experience eternal life in the presence of God.

Scripture never promised a literal protective bubble from every danger in this life. Instead, it tells us:

• God will turn bad to good for His people (Romans 8:28).

• He will take vengeance on those who oppose Him (Romans 12:19).

• God will give strength to get through the problems (2 Corinthians 12:9).

• Believers are called to faithfulness even through persecution, prison, and death (Revelation 2:10).

  
  

Faith in Christ leads to eternal life, a promise the tormentors will not receive if they remain unrepentant. Prayer guides us when we suffer tragedy as believers. As Jesus taught, it rains on the just and unjust alike (Matthew 5:45).

The Demonic Root of Violence

The deeper issue is not guns, race, or politics alone. Scripture reminds us: "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).

Satan and his influences are the real problem fueling a society that often ignores raising children to follow God or talk to Him. These demonic influences manifest through violent programming that fills young minds with images of death and destruction, through drugs that open doorways to spiritual darkness, and through the rejection of God's design for their lives.

Too often, demon possession is mislabeled as mental health issues, thereby harming the treatment of people who have legitimate needs but are not harming others. There is a crucial distinction: genuine mental health struggles require compassion and proper care, but the drive to harm others is satanic in nature. When someone seeks to destroy innocent life, we are witnessing spiritual warfare, not merely psychological distress.

Remove these satanic influences and raise children to believe in God, and instead of shooting precious children, they will be inside the church praying for the ones who are outside and so troubled in soul. Homes filled with prayer, faith, and God's Word provide the moral strength and spiritual clarity this generation desperately needs.

As a non-Catholic Christian, I recognize we may have doctrinal differences, but I am not seeing this horrible situation as doctrinally divided. This is an attack on all children of God. The enemy's most heinous crime was taking the lives of innocent children. Now, in the aftermath of this unspeakable tragedy, Satan attempts a different kind of assault—using their deaths to undermine the faith and prayers of believers across the nation.

Let those who mock prayer continue in their folly. We who know the power of God will not be shaken by their ridicule or deterred by their attacks. We will continue to pray, to trust, and to raise godly children who choose prayer over violence, hope over despair, and eternal life over temporal destruction.

Those precious children are now in the presence of their Savior, free from all harm and surrounded by perfect love. Their prayers were not unanswered: they were simply answered in eternity. May their testimony compel us to pray more fervently, live more faithfully, and trust more completely in the God who turns even the greatest evil into ultimate good.

If this message has strengthened your faith or clarified your understanding, please share it with others who need encouragement to continue standing for truth in the face of tragedy.

In these dark times, believers must support one another and boldly proclaim that our hope remains unshaken.

These reflections represent biblical perspectives on tragedy and spiritual warfare.