A Prayer After A Natural Disaster

A Prayer After a Natural Disaster

You are a God of power,

And through Jesus,

You chose to show us Your strength

Through Your gentle love.

When the winds blow and the earth quakes,

When foundations crumble and oceans rise,

We look to You as we pick up the pieces.

We’re reminded of our smallness

And the reality that our world

Is not as it should be.

We are shaken by what has happened—

The destruction, the damage, the disarray.

And for all the loss, Lord,

We grieve and give our tears to You.

Lord, we’re looking for rainbows,

But sometimes they’re hard to see.

Help us provide comfort and care to our children.

Help us take shelter in the comfort of Your wings.

And ignite a light of hope inside of us

As we assess the damage

And band together to rebuild.

In our loss, may we grow in empathy

For the devastation of our neighbors.

And may we grow, too, in compassion

For our global neighbor,

For whom tragedy and devastation are never far,

Even for children.

May our hearts and also our actions

Be shored up in love.

If we have two, may we give one.

And if we have one,

May we be ready to share.

We pray for those whose homes have been destroyed.

May Your people be a beacon of hope

In the darkness

For those whose hopes have been demolished.

We know these are not acts of Your punishment

But groans of creation.

And even in the loss, You are here,

Guiding us.

Help us help others.

May we point to helpers as our children

Are scared or confused.

And may we always be willing to help

Someone who needs a hand.

May we model this to our children,

Who are always watching.

For those who weep,

May we weep with them.

For those who ask why,

May we sit in the silence of the unknown.

Lord, You are our lighthouse.

Our comforter, our shepherd,

May we, our children, and our neighbors

Remember Your love,

Even as—maybe especially as—

we sit in the unknown.

In the warnings to take cover,

In the sirens and news alerts,

In the earth’s trembling,

We think of those with no home to board up

Or no family to check in with.

And we give thanks

For the first responders and power-line workers,

For shelter and communities coming together,

For rebuilding stronger than before,

For a firm foundation in You.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9; Genesis 9:15-16; Romans 12:15; 1 Timothy 6:19