Prayer Likened to Letting a House Burn Down With a Fire Hose in Your Hand

There have been the expected bad takes on the Assumption Catholic Church shooting on Wednesday morning, especially about prayer. As we reported earlier, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey seemed to condemn thoughts and prayers for the victims:

“Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now,” Minneapolis @MayorFrey said. “These kids were literally praying.”
— Jesse Rodriguez (@JesseRodriguez) August 27, 2025

What an asshole.
— Floridian 🐊🇺🇸 FA/FO (@RandomFLDude) August 27, 2025

Going even lower was MSNBC's Jen Psaki, who posted this:

Prayer is not freaking enough. Prayers does not end school shootings. prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers.
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) August 27, 2025

Newsletter entrepreneur Zaid Jilani shared what he thought was a poignant analogy:

Let’s say there was a home burning in front of you. You have a fire hose in your hand. Instead of spraying down the home you offer your prayers. Do you think God accepts the prayer?

I know Six Flags Over Jesus teaches the opposite but the man himself preached works.
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) August 27, 2025

This is like a dorm room atheist's understanding of religion. Not someone who's a practicing believer.https://t.co/4o96xOs2Mu
— Holden (@Holden114) August 27, 2025

The proper (still awful) analogy would be having the ability to personally intervene and stop the shooter but instead standing to the side and praying nothing too bad happens.

Either way, it's a gross thing to say
— Zac (@zacallier) August 27, 2025

Yeah, forget the fire hose. It would be more like having a Glock in your hand and letting some freak shoot up a church.

It's really not a good look to push whatever point you think you're making here. As Catholics specifically (not speaking for anyone else) many of us pray throughout the day without anyone even noticing as we go about our lives. We believe in showing our faith through our actions.
— . (@zpez) August 27, 2025

For me? I’m going to pray that my actions are sufficient to help those in the fire survive the fire.

This is incidentally also why I carry. Even in church.
— Laura W - Wicked Witch of the South (@BumpstockBarbie) August 27, 2025

It's cute how you assume it's an either/or situation. I love watching children struggle toward understanding.
— Toys In My Attic (@GrammarJedi01) August 27, 2025

You should leave while you still can.
— Culper (@frumentarii12) August 27, 2025

This isn't a real thing anyone would do. This is a thing that exists only in your head because you think you're clever.
— dialetheic bias (@biasbreakdown) August 27, 2025

Yes, we already know you are an idiot.

You don't have to keep reminding everyone.
— Grateful Calvin (@shoveitjack) August 27, 2025

You don’t know the first thing about what Christianity teaches.

It’s OK to admit that.
— The Narcissist Element (@seeemmeffell) August 27, 2025

Correct.

If I had a mass shooter in front of me, and instead of drawing my own weapon and ending the carnage, I simply offered prayers — that would be wrong.
— Anti-Party Party 🥳 (@AntiPartyParty) August 27, 2025

False dichotomy. Prayer isn’t an excuse to ignore the hose; it’s what strengthens the hand holding it. Christianity has always taught faith and works. Your strawman only burns because you set it on fire
— Carlos (@txiokatu) August 27, 2025

You do realize you can pray simultaneously as you’re taking action to extinguish the fire, right?
— Papa_Gibb (@GibbinsGregory) August 27, 2025

What "water" would you propose we take?

Gun bans or armed security guards?
— tjkeagles (@stealth1992tt) August 27, 2025

Two armed church staffers took down what we assume was a would-be mass shooter in June. Rep. Shri Thanedar, who made a name for himself earlier this year by introducing seven articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, immediately called for strong gun control laws.

Jilani doesn't seem to understand prayer, along with a lot of other people.

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