Skip to main content

A Small Prayer for Paris

Dear LORD, 

You are sovereign even when, in our eyes, our world starts spinning out of control and we feel utterly helpless. You are a gracious and loving Father--Abba. You know each of your children deeply and completely. We praise you for you are good. You are good. 

You hear our cries, and you see our tears.  And one day, you will take away our pain, death will be no more, and you will wipe every tear from our eyes. But right now we weep with Paris. Right now, we boldly and humbly approach your throne because we recognize how much we need you, LORD. 

Our hearts ache for the people in Paris. 
Be with them now. Let your presence be close to them. Let your love shine through the midst of this dark, dark night. Be with those who have lost and with those who have been scarred. Bring healing and peace, we ask with all our hearts. 

Be with those who attacked. May we be bold enough to ask you to transform their hearts. Help us to remember that you sent your Son to die for their sins as well. Help us to remember that one day you will bring about ultimate justice. 

Please hear these prayers of your children. Bring about your will, and remind us that your plan is greater than any we could ever imagine.  

Forgive us as we so often believe we could do better. Forgive us because so often we don't understand why you allow things like this to happen and we turn away from you. Let us run to you now. God, please embrace the people of Paris tonight.  

Bring reconciliation.

We pray this in the powerful name of Jesus. Amen. 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Satisfied.

I’ve had many discussions in the past month about “satisfaction.” And of course, when it keeps coming up, God must be trying to tell me something, right? What does it mean to be satisfied? Satisfied (adj.) contented; pleased Satisfy (verb) to meet the expectations, needs, or desires of (someone); to fulfill (a desire or need) I feel like this word is so fitting for this time of year.  The media consumes our minds with the temptation to buy, buy, buy! You see the holiday sales everywhere, and you want to get everyone the perfect gift.  And of course, we all have our own wish lists full of goodies that we would love to love for a few days past the 25 th until they become just another “thing” in the closet, in the drawer, on the shelf, etc. Clearly we are not truly satisfied by things.  We know this in our minds, just not always in our souls. But what about being satisfied in Christ?  The Samaritan woman learned quickly that even just a sip of Li...

Day 25 What Are You Carrying?

Yesterday I drove up to New Hampshire to visit Ian (my boyfriend). I got there later in the afternoon and I had spent the morning working on things at home.  About an hour after I got to NH, we went to the Fall Festival at his church across the border in Vermont. By the time we got there, it was dark already, I was pretty tired and hungry, and this event was HUGE.  Much bigger than I expected. It was really cool-- food trucks, pony rides, laser tag, trunk-or-treating, Incredibles 2 playing on the side of the church, the works. But. Of course. My anxiety decided to form a lens over my eyes.  The crowds of people around me grew louder and I felt trapped amongst the hundreds of bodies.  My heart started to beat faster with every person who walked by. I have anxiety, I've mentioned this before, and many times large crowds will bring it on. I'm sure many of you know the feeling. And it can be the worst. Here I was, looking forward to having a fun time and enjo...

Day 27 You are a Leader

Today Pastor Chris (at Riverbank Church in White River Junction, VT) talked about one of my favorite topics-- Christian leadership.  What do you think of when we hear the word "leader?" Maybe you think, "sure, I'm a leader." That's great! But maybe you think, "uh, no way, I don't have the abilities or the gifts to be a leader." And if that's you, I understand where you are coming from. But friend, I'm lovingly telling you, you're dead wrong. As Christians, we are all leaders.  Really, I think we're just defining leadership wrong. Leadership, from a biblical standpoint, is serving others (Matthew 20:28), influence (Galatians 5:16-25), responsibility (Galatians 6:4-5), character (2 Peter 1:3), and skill (Luke 1610-12). We all have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, and he is the most powerful influence. So if we have him living inside of us, and working through us, how can we not be leaders? See, God does not call the qualif...