The news from Turkey and Syria
burdens the world's already-heavy heart, Lord:
over 20,000 dead in two earthquakes,
events we call natural disasters...
I shudder to describe as natural
anything so devastating and death-dealing
and yet I know that all of creation is broken
- and is breaking:
in need of your mending, healing restoration,
in need of your grace and blessing,
in need of the new earth and the new heaven
you've promised when you shall come again
and reign, in peace, forever,
in the hearts of all your people...
Until then, Lord,
while we wait on this fragile earth,
be with your grieving children,
our brothers and sisters in Turkey and Syria...
Be merciful to those whose lives were so suddenly taken;
be with those who seek out the lost;
tend to the wounds and needs of survivors;
and entrust all of us with a generous spirit
as we reach into our pockets to reach out to those
whose suffering is greater than we can imagine...
Here's a prayer Diana Macalintal wrote in 2010,
at the time of the disastrous earthquake in Haiti.
Just a change of a phrase makes it a prayer today
for our brothers and sisters in the Near East...
A Prayer After An Earthquake
Lord, at times such as this,
when we realize that the ground beneath our feet
is not as solid as we had imagined,
we plead for your mercy.
As the things we have built crumble about us,
we know too well how small we truly are
on this ever-changing, ever-moving,
fragile planet we call home.
Yet you have promised never to forget us.
Do not forget us now.
Today, so many people are afraid.
They wait in fear of the next tremor.
They hear the cries of the injured amid the rubble.
They roam the streets in shock at what they see.
And they fill the dusty air with wails of grief
and the names of missing dead.
Comfort them, Lord, in this disaster.
Be their rock when the earth refuses to stand still,
and shelter them under your wings when homes no longer exist.
Embrace in your arms those who died so suddenly this day.
Console the hearts of those who mourn,
and ease the pain of bodies on the brink of death.
Pierce, too, our hearts with compassion,
we who watch from afar,
as the survivors find only misery upon misery.
Move us to act swiftly this day,
to give generously every day,
to work for justice always,
and to pray unceasingly for those without hope.
And once the shaking has ceased,
the images of destruction have stopped filling the news,
and our thoughts return to life’s daily rumblings,
let us not forget that we are all your children
and they, our brothers and sisters.
We are all the work of your hands.
For though the mountains leave their place
and the hills be tossed to the ground,
your love shall never leave us,
and your promise of peace will never be shaken.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
now and forever. Amen.
Copyright © 2010 Diana Macalintal
Lord, at times such as this,
when we realize that the ground beneath our feet
is not as solid as we had imagined,
we plead for your mercy.
As the things we have built crumble about us,
we know too well how small we truly are
on this ever-changing, ever-moving,
fragile planet we call home.
Yet you have promised never to forget us.
Do not forget us now.
Today, so many people are afraid.
They wait in fear of the next tremor.
They hear the cries of the injured amid the rubble.
They roam the streets in shock at what they see.
And they fill the dusty air with wails of grief
and the names of missing dead.
Comfort them, Lord, in this disaster.
Be their rock when the earth refuses to stand still,
and shelter them under your wings when homes no longer exist.
Embrace in your arms those who died so suddenly this day.
Console the hearts of those who mourn,
and ease the pain of bodies on the brink of death.
Pierce, too, our hearts with compassion,
we who watch from afar,
as the survivors find only misery upon misery.
Move us to act swiftly this day,
to give generously every day,
to work for justice always,
and to pray unceasingly for those without hope.
And once the shaking has ceased,
the images of destruction have stopped filling the news,
and our thoughts return to life’s daily rumblings,
let us not forget that we are all your children
and they, our brothers and sisters.
We are all the work of your hands.
For though the mountains leave their place
and the hills be tossed to the ground,
your love shall never leave us,
and your promise of peace will never be shaken.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
now and forever. Amen.
Copyright © 2010 Diana Macalintal
Protect us, Lord, while we're awake
and watch over us while we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
Save Us, O Lord by Dan Schutte
If a video doesn't appear below, click here!
Save us, O Lord; carry us back.
Rouse your power and come.
Rescue your people; show us your face.
Bring us back.
O Shepherd of Israel, hear us.
Return and we shall be saved.
Arise, O Lord; hear our cries, O Lord:
bring us back!
How long will you hide from your people?
We long to see your face.
Give ear to us. Draw near to us.
Lord God of hosts!
Return and we shall be saved.
Arise, O Lord; hear our cries, O Lord:
bring us back!
How long will you hide from your people?
We long to see your face.
Give ear to us. Draw near to us.
Lord God of hosts!
Turn again; care for your vine;
protect what your right hand has planted.
Your vineyards are trampled, uprooted, and burned.
Come to us, Father of might!
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