My Prayer for Christopher Hitchens

Reading Time: 4 minutes

A Little Background On Christopher Hitchens

In April 2011, Christopher Hitchens was forced to cancel a scheduled appearance at the American Atheist Convention. He instead sent a letter that stated, "Nothing would have kept me from joining you except the loss of my voice (at least my speaking voice) which in turn is due to a long argument I am currently having with the specter of death." He closed the letter with "And don't keep the faith." In the letter Christopher Hitchens also dismissed the notion of a possible deathbed conversion, in which he claimed that "redemption and supernatural deliverance appears even more hollow and artificial to me than it did before." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens#Cancer_treatment

“…About a year ago, I was informed by a doctor that I might have as little as another year to live. In consequence, some of these articles were written with the full consciousness that they might be my very last,” Hitchens wrote in his introduction to his new book; “Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens.”

Christopher Hitchens’ Thoughts on Prayer for Him

According to an Associated Press report, Christopher Hitchens feels that those praying for him can be broken down into three groups: "those who seem genuinely glad he's suffering and dying from cancer; those who want him to become a believer in their religious faith; and those who are asking God to heal him." And for his part, he said that he will not be participating in any prayer because he does not feel that prayer, or "incantations" as he puts it, will help him with this. He has elected to put his "faith" in medicine.

A Fourth Group Christopher Hitchens Left Out

Christopher Hitchens did not include the fourth group praying for him of which I belong. This fourth group is praying for Christopher Hitchens is praying for God’s will to be done; For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). This fourth group sincerely wants Christopher Hitchens to stay away from religion, for him to not wait until he is on his death bed for him do what he knows is the right thing to do.

Christopher Hitchens Knows the Right Thing to Do

Christopher Hitchens during an interview when asked about what is a true Christian stated: “I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you’re really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.” Quote from Christopher Hitchens from “Portland Monthly Magazine” http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/arts-and-entertainment/category/books-and-talks/articles/christopher-hitchens

Why should Christopher Hitchens do the Right Thing

New Testament book of James Chapter 4 – New Century Version (NCV)

Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that war within you.

You want things, but you do not have them. So you are ready to kill and are jealous of other people, but you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and fight.

You do not get what you want, because you do not ask God. Or when you ask, you do not receive because the reason you ask is wrong.

You want things so you can use them for your own pleasures. So, you are not loyal to God!

You should know that loving the world is the same as hating God. Anyone who wants to be a friend of the world becomes God's enemy.

Do you think the Scripture means nothing that says, "The Spirit that God made to live in us wants us for himself alone?"

But God gives us even more grace, as the Scripture says, "God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble."

So give yourselves completely to God. Stand against the devil, and the devil will run from you.

Come near to God, and God will come near to you.

You sinners, clean sin out of your lives.

You who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time, make your thinking pure.

Be sad, cry, and weep! Change your laughter into crying and your joy into sadness.

Don't be too proud in the Lord's presence, and he will make you great.

Brothers and sisters, do not tell evil lies about each other. If you speak against your fellow believers or judge them, you are judging and speaking against the law they follow. And when you are judging the law, you are no longer a follower of the law. You have become a judge.

God is the only Lawmaker and Judge. He is the only One who can save and destroy. So it is not right for you to judge your neighbor.

Some of you say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to some city. We will stay there a year, do business, and make money."

But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away.

So you should say, "If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that."

But now you are proud and you brag. All of this bragging is wrong.

Anyone who knows the right thing to do, but does not do it, is sinning.

New Testament Book of Romans chapter 6 verse 23 – King James Version (KJV)

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

My Prayer for Christopher Hitchens

Mr. Hitchens, I know you know the right thing to do as you’ve stated it clearly and concisely. My prayer is for you to actually do the right thing. In Christ Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.