When Prayer Is All We Have….
Gosh, it’s difficult to read the news.
I suppose we need to know what’s going on in order to help. But how can we possibly help? Well, if we can’t physically help or monetarily help, we can certainly pray.
Here are some of the recent happenings of which we can focus our prayers…..
Dear God, we pray for those affected by and involved in the recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, (USA) where toxic liquids and poisonous gasses caused people to evacuate for days and now return to homes, schools, and work unable to trust the quality of the very air they breathe and the water they drink. Help those managing this environmental crisis to think clearly, lead objectively, and make decisions that protect and restore life in every form. Be with those charged with cleaning up this disaster, protecting their bodies from harm. (World in Prayer)
Dear Lord, it has been one year (!) since Russia invaded Ukraine. Bless all those working to protect your people from the devastating effects of war. Increase the generosity of those who are able to offer refugees of war shelter, food, and comfort. Encourage those who remain in Ukraine and bring an end to this senseless destruction of life. (World in Prayer)
God of creation, at 4:17 am on February 6th, back-to-back earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5 shook the people of Turkey and Syria awake, breaking and burying buildings and families, in a disaster for which there is no comparison in the last century. Millions are affected. Thousands are dead, thousands injured and still missing, and thousands work tirelessly night and day seeking the living among the dead. And there ARE living. The stories of rescue and recovery especially of babies and toddlers are as tragic as they are beautiful. (World in Prayer)
We pray for all who are suffering and who grieve.
Holy One, the gun violence in the USA is unending. Another mass shooting took the lives of 3 students at Michigan State University and has put 5 others in the Critical Care Unit of Sparrow Hospital. The students received the macabre text message to “run, hide, fight.” Some of those who did so had already survived mass shootings in other schools.(World in Prayer)
When will the mass shootings ever stop? Please be with those who suffer today, Lord.
And I read this in the paper…...
Seriously?
How many people will fall into lust because of this? What happened to modesty?
I am not a prude but I don’t want to see this. It’s bad enough that bathing suit bottoms are almost non existent now. The body is beautiful but it should also be respected. I think things are getting out of control with this ‘woke’ attitude. “You can’t tell me what to do.” “My body/my choice”. ARE the guidelines actually fair to everyone?
Ugh.
We are lost.
We are hurting.
We are hurting ourselves and our planet.
Dear Lord,
heal us.
Amen.