Sunday, July 6, 2008

Prayers About Natural or National Disasters

Whenever there is a natural disaster (floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.) or a national disaster (911, etc.), we all pray for the victims and their families. It’s a natural thing to do. I’m not sure why we think we can help them all with just a single prayer from our hearts. Still, we do it. At least, I know I do it.

I cannot help in other ways. Rarely do I have enough money to send donations. Rarely am I in a place or a position to help, physically or materially. At least, when I say a prayer for them, I feel as though I am helping in my own small way. It helps me cope with the feeling of helplessness when these things happen.

When the news reports a victim found alive, or someone’s home is saved, or some other good news about the victims, I feel as though I had a small part in that. Maybe I didn’t. Maybe it would have happened without my prayer. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I took the time to offer up that prayer and it made me feel useful.

I find this happening a lot these days. When I was young, we heard of these things in the daily newspaper or on the radio. Sometimes we’d see them mentioned in the newsreel at the weekend movies. Later, television came along. Now we have the internet, also. We are overwhelmed with steady coverage of the heartaches of these victims. Prayer, at least, helps me deal with this terrible wealth of media coverage, the terrible facts of the effects on the lives of these people.

Thank you, Lord, for being there to hear my prayer for them.

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