Dear Heavenly Father,
To start off, we just want to give You the honor and praise that only You are due. We thank you for all Your good gifts and for all the mercy and love and grace You have shown to us throughout our lives.
But as I’m sure You already know, there’s a lot of bad stuff going down right now, and our hearts are troubled. So, as our Creator, Lord, and Redeemer, we turn to You and seek the kind of assistance that only You can provide.
First off, we ask for Your help regarding the tragic flash flood that struck Waverly and the surrounding area on Saturday.
Please send Your Spirit to comfort and console those who have lost loved ones and who have family and friends who are among the missing. And give those around them a heart of compassion and the wisdom to know what to say and what to do to uphold them in this time of grief and uncertainty.
And, please Lord, help those who have lost homes and basically everything they own. Move inside our hearts and minds and use us as Your hands and feet to meet all the needs of those left homeless by this terrible flood.
On a personal note, I thank You, Lord, that my cousins Danny and Gretchen and their two children were not harmed, even though, as I’ve heard, their house was severely damaged. Please continue to watch over them, and I pray You find ways to bless them, even amidst all the loss and disruption.
We also ask for Your intervention regarding the unfolding events in Afghanistan.
Please protect our soldiers as they guard that airport and try to usher people to safety.
And please protect American citizens and others who are trapped in Kabul and fearing for their lives right now. Provide a way for them to make it out of that war-torn country.
From our point of view, this is a really messed up situation, and there are a thousand ways it could get even worse than it already has – but we believe that You can do things that even the U.S. military cannot, and You always see the right path forward, even while our best and brightest are stumbling around in the dark.
And if there’s something You’re trying to teach us as a nation through this whole situation, then help us to learn that lesson.
As a nation and a people, the ways we need Your help and wisdom and mercy these days are way too many to list in a single prayer. But to name a few, please guide us forward through this pandemic, please help us to heal the divisions that are driving us apart as Americans, and, above all, draw us closer to You and show us a path forward that lines up with Your divine will.
Lord, we offer You this prayer in humility, and we ask Your forgiveness for all the times we have failed You and fallen short of the mark You set for us.
We make no demands of You – but we believe that You can do all things and that, through You, so can we. And we believe that, when all is said and done, Your plans and purposes will be accomplished.
So we thank You in advance for the great things You are going to do.
And we pray all this in the holy and precious name of Jesus. Amen.
