Pray

“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”2 Chronicles 7:14I can’t get past the gut wrenching heartbreak of the events that occurred in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio over the weekend. And while I along with many of you grieve over these horrific events, I can’t even imagine how those who were directly impacted by these mass killings must be feeling. Right now it’s raw and hard to fathom but we in a short while will get back to our daily routines as others are trying to figure out how to get through the next second. In the meantime a father, a mother, a sister, a brother, an uncle, an aunt, a cousin, a son, a daughter, and a friend are absent in our lives. They will no longer be here to sit around the Thanksgiving table, nor gathering around the Christmas tree. Their absence will be sorely missed. It is an unspeakable pain that words cannot describe.We want to do something, something that helps us identify with the families who are suffering. Words aren’t working and the laws ineffective in keeping weapons of destruction out of the hands of those with ill intent. It is time that people of faith exercise our weapon of prayer;Pray for the souls of those who diedPray for those who remain in the hospital due to the injuries they incurredPray for those who were treated in the hospitals and releasedPray for those who can’t get the images of the carnage out of their mindPray for the inconsolablePray for the families who are suffering from extreme griefPray that in the aftermath God will restore peacePray that we will not give in to fearPray that God will heal the brokenheartedPray that God would bring healing in our landPray that those who have been left behind would be a part of the solutionPray for unity in our society, in our worldPray for forgiveness of our sin and restorationPray, God please heal our land…but most of all pray