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This film also reminds us how crucial the church is, and will continue to be, in making change happen in the world. Pray is chiefly a film about how faith births love, and love births change. Christian women in Liberia teamed up with Christian women across West Africa for this crusade against bloodshed, and they were joined by Muslim women as well.

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor

One of the women interviewed for the film said, "When we started, some Christians said, being a follower of Christ, and going to work along with the Muslim means they were diluting their faith. But the message that we took on was, Can the bullet pick and choose? Does the bullet know Christian from Muslim?"

Rather than an argument for syncretism, however, Pray is a model of how we might work together in love with people who the world suggests we must hate. It also puts things into perspective. It makes us think about whatever "problems" we face in our cushy, secure lives and consider if we really have cause to complain all that much. In this film, the protagonists are a group of women who have been raped or maimed, had children die from bombs or machete, or otherwise had to witness unspeakable horrors. But rather than fear or flee, they decided to do something to stop the violent status quo. They put on white clothes, staged sit-ins, sang songs, and peacefully pressured their government to give peace a chance.

"We went back to the Bible," one woman said. "We saw what Esther did for her people … saying, 'I mean it.'"

These women certainly meant it. They were a voice united to be heard, and it worked.

Though it's hard to say a harsh word about a film like this, it's certainly not beyond reproach. It would have been good if the filmmakers made more of an effort to understand why Christianity might be uniquely situated to inspire social justice and peace in the world—yet another place where a slightly longer running time might have helped. Pray also has some pacing problems, doesn't give us a lot in the way of character development, and feels at times less compelling than it might have been. It's not a mind-blowing achievement in documentary filmmaking; it's a simple and inspiring story told through the medium of film. But for what it is, it definitely gets the job done.

Note: The film is in limited release. For a list of theaters, click here.

>Talk About It

1. What do you think the title means? Who is the devil? A person? An idea?
2. What tactics did the women use in their activism that helped them achieve success?
3. Are there lessons that the American church can take from this film regarding the role of the Christian community in civic/political life?

The Family Corner

Pray the Devil Back to Hell is not rated, but it's probably appropriate for ages 12 and up. It contains some violent images, but not as much as it could, given the subject matter. There are some truly disturbing scenes and acts of violence that are spoken of, but none are shown on screen. There are many images of maimed, malnourished, and even frightened children in the film, but nothing too graphic.

Photos © Copyright Balcony Releasing

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