By Joshua Arnold

The value of prayer in moments of tragedy once again became the subject of public debate on Wednesday, after members of the U.S. House of Representatives filed in for afternoon votes. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) opened the session with a moment of silence, but a request for audible prayer elicited audible objections from dozens of Democrats that quickly devolved into an out-of-order shouting match.

As soon as Johnson concluded the moment of silence, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) demanded that prayer be offered aloud, since “silent prayers get silent results,” she said.

Approximately three dozen representatives on the Democratic side objected, according to one estimate. “Pass some gun laws!” returned Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.). “What about the kids in Colorado,” yelled another member, referring to a school shooting incident this week. Several Republicans began yelling back, including Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who blamed Democratic rhetoric for Kirk’s death.

Johnson repeatedly banged his gavel in an attempt to restore order, but the combatants of the verbal skirmish respected neither the authority of the chair nor the decorum of the legislative institution in which they hold office.

Daily Mail reporter Jon Michael Raasch was appalled, calling the interchange “Possibly the ugliest moment I’ve ever witnessed in politics.”

Members on both sides of the aisle shared their disgust. Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) reflected that the incident was a “reminder that we need to turn the temperature down in this country” because “that type of backlash doesn’t help things.” Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) called the scene “classless,” narrating, “We had a couple on our side that should have kept their mouths shut … [and] there were many on the Democrat side that needed to show their discontent and rudeness.”

Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Administration Committee, suggested to Axios that Democratic discontent was motivated by the apparent departure from procedure. Prayer on the House floor is something “we don’t even do for fallen members,” he said. “You have a system that you follow for everybody … and when you violate it and create exceptions, it then leads to this uneasiness. And I think that’s kind of what happened in the moment.”

As far as memorials for members who die in office go, Morelle is supported by recent history. On March 5, 2025, the House held a moment of silence for deceased Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas) after kind words from the Texas delegation, which was not followed by prayer. However, it is hard to imagine, if prayer aloud were requested in that instance, that any member would have objected. In any case, the parallel is far from exact, since assassinations of members of Congress are fortunately rare in American history (the most recent was Robert Kennedy in 1968).

The man with the most reason to complain about the conduct offered the most charitable interpretation. In a CNN interview Wednesday, Johnson attributed the outburst solely to the “emotion of the moment.” As a wise man once said, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense” (Proverbs 19:11).

Yet emotional outbursts also provide some of the most useful clues about the condition of a person’s heart. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). An instinctive verbal objection to prayer — especially when a person is not being asked to pray herself, but merely listen to prayers offered by another on behalf of a third party — could suggest several things. It could reveal a momentary distance from God, such as from a guilty conscience in need of repentance. It could reveal a general disdain for prayer based in a denial of God’s sovereignty, a common response on the Left witnessed after the Annunciation Catholic School shooting. It could reveal a cold heart toward the object of the prayer.

All three alternatives should set alarm bells ringing in a person’s conscience. In fact, Jesus specifically condemns the third option in his Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44).

Christian prayer flows out of love. Christian love encompasses adversaries as well as friends. Therefore, Christians should pray for their enemies too. Heaven forbid that an assassin’s bullet should prematurely end the life of any prominent left-wing figures. But if that should happen, a Christian’s first response should be to pray.

Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.