PRAY: Prayer for Those Who Mourn–and Remember
I’m back after an extended break from my blog. In May, my father, who never used tobacco, was diagnosed as terminal after a long battle with metastasized oral cancer. I traveled to my parents’ Ohio home in late May and didn’t return to Florida until a week after his June 10 passing.
Since then, I’ve had some trouble finding focus. I’ve written only what I’ve had to. And I’ve enjoyed some extended family time.
One day, I’ll write more about my dad. But today, on the anniversary of a tragic day, I thought it appropriate to get back to blogging with a prayer for those who mourn.
Our Lord, today we cry out to you in sorrow. We know the events that took place eleven years ago didn’t surprise you. But we also as the horrific scene unfolded, your heart, like ours, was broken.
Today, I ask you to comfort those who mourn. Some remember a loved one suddenly taken from them in New York City or a Pennsylvania field. Others waver in the grip of another loss—whether a person, a relationship, a position, or something else.
No one can say the right words. No one can make things better. No one, our Father and Friend, except you. We trust you to use sadness and sorrow to draw us closer to you. We trust you to keep working out your purpose despite man’s sin-sickness. And we ask you to help us be your instruments as we comfort those whose grief endures beyond an anniversary date or a half-masted flag.
Thank you for our land of freedom, Lord. Thank you for your world and the people you created. Help us live together in peace, turn our swords into plowshares, and keep pointing people to the One who is over all. In your holy name I pray—AMEN.
Where were you when you first heard the news of the tragedy of September 11, 2001? Do you mourn a more recent loss? Feel free to share by leaving a comment. You know I’ll be honored to pray for you.
Where were you when you first heard the news of the tragedy of September 11, 2001? Do you mourn a more recent loss? Feel free to share by leaving a comment. You know I’ll be honored to pray for you.
