By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross

The month of January was bad for law enforcement. More than a dozen officers lost their lives in the line of duty with minimal coverage or follow-up, particularly in the case of an officer murdered in her home.

A year and a half ago, when similar incidents were occurring frequently and there was a negative focus on policing in general in the media, Cowboys for Cops was started. It was the name given to a special weekend particularly in the PRCA in which contestants were urged to where blue. We hijacked it as a hash tag and turned it into an ongoing initiative encouraging cowboys and bull riders to ask the police they encounter at events and on the road, how they can pray for them. They’re encouraged to take selfies with the officers and use the hashtags #CowboysForCops and #CowboysOfTheCross to help this initiative spread. The rodeo and bull riding community has more opportunity to connect with police than the average person. No, not because we get in trouble all the time, but because we’re at large and public venues which means a police presence becomes necessary. That means we have a great opportunity to be an encouragement to these men and women who risk their lives to protect us.

But let’s look at some Biblical reasons this initiative is important.

We know throughout scripture that praying for one another is seen as important. The following verse from Ephesians is just one example of why that’s important

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

By choosing to pray with these officers, we are simply living out biblical illustrations of what the Christian life looks like. Daily prayer is a significant part of that. Most people, even if they do not believe in God, will not be offended if you ask how you could pray for them and it can become an easy way to talk to someone else about Jesus.

But more importantly, what I want us to see how easy it can be to carry out a simple verse from Galatians in which we’re shown the need to carry each other’s burdens.

Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Just knowing someone cares about you and is willing to pray for your needs can ease a burden and leave a person feeling encouraged.

As we gather more photos from cowboys and bull riders interacting with police, we’ll share them to social media but also to the website www.cowboysforcops.com and encourage you to point officers to the site. Think of how encouraging it can be for them to see different pictures of you guys caring enough about them to pray for them. Through pointing others to the site, one person’s simple act of praying for an officer can go a long way to encourage even more when they see these photos.

You can also help by sharing this post and encouraging others to do this. We most recently had a chance this weekend (Jan. 25 and 26) to pray with one of the officers providing security at the Southern Extreme Bull Riding Association Finals in Murfreesboro, TN.

In the photo is Finalist, Tim Taylor with MTSU Police Officer Jason Hicks. Officer Hicks joined us in the locker room for cowboy church Saturday night and afterward, a couple of us prayed for him. He is hoping to lead a team of youth on a mission trip to Guatemala. Officer Hicks then turned the tables on us by asking how he could pray for us.

Indiana Bull Rider Tim Taylor with Middle Tennessee State University Police Officer Jason Hicks. Hicks was prayed for in the locker room at the SEBRA National Finals after cowboy church on Jan. 26 as part of a relaunch of the Cowboys for Cops Initiative.
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Indiana Bull Rider Tim Taylor with Middle Tennessee State University Police Officer Jason Hicks. Hicks was prayed for in the locker room at the SEBRA National Finals after cowboy church on Jan. 26 as part of a relaunch of the Cowboys for Cops Initiative.

If you find it too uncomfortable praying with an officer on the spot, it’s okay to commit to pray with him after, but we do encourage you to try. It means even more and no one expects us to pray perfectly or have all the right words to say. It’s the action and intent behind it and God knows what’s in your heart as you stumble through it.  The officer does too.

 

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