Category: Prayer

A Prayer for Schools

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for keeping me and my loved ones healthy. It was just a few weeks ago that I listened to a risk manager at a public school talk about the district’s plans to add a week to spring break hoping that two weeks would be enough time to protect students and employees from the corona virus. Since then, schools across the country have closed their doors for the remainder of the school year. I pray that you will help the teachers, the students and the parents and grandparents as schools transition to online and at-home schooling.

Dear God, thank you for teachers! Thank you for their dedication and commitment to teaching and giving kids a safe environment in which to learn. Thank you for school administrators, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, school nurses and aides, janitors and everyone else who serves in the education industry. I lift up to you friends and loved ones who teach or work in schools: David, Justine, Nikki, Mary, Brian, Darlene, Andi, Traci, Jennifer, Dawna, Suzi, and many more. Bless and protect them from harm.

During this difficult time, I pray for the children. Millions of kids do not get enough to eat at home and are dependent on school breakfasts and lunches. Thank you for all the school leaders and community volunteers who have stepped up to keep school meal programs going. I pray that you will help children handle the disappointments that come from not being able to do the things they were looking forward to. For seniors, like Dakota, who were looking forward to graduating with their classes in May. For kids who won’t get to go on school trips or to participate in sports or other activities.

Lord Jesus, my faithful friend and Teacher, I pray that we will learn important lessons from the things we are going through today. Above all, help us to love as you taught us to love.

Amen,

****

Photo by Kuanish Reymbaev on Unsplash

A Prayer for Essential Workers

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

Dear God, thank you for this day. Thank you for the quiet time I have had during this crisis to reflect on Your love and mercy. The forced solitude has given me time to think about how grateful I am for what other people do for a living and to appreciate how devastating this crisis is to the lives of other people. I pray for those who have lost jobs or gigs through no fault of their own. I pray that You will meet their financial, physical, and spiritual needs and that people will know that they can call out to You.

Lord, millions of workers have been ordered to stay home to reduce the spread of coronavirus. I am fortunate to have a job that lends itself to working from home. Today, I pray for people who are considered “essential” workers who can’t stay home.

There are millions of essential employees and businesses who provide the goods and services we need. Health care workers, law enforcement, and first responders are at the top of my list for obvious reasons. I pray for the safety and protection of those who serve and protect the public.

Food, energy, water, wastewater treatment, and garbage removal are essential needs. Thank you to the agricultural workers and to all food industry workers who ensure that grocery stores and restaurants have food. Thank you to the utility companies and workers who ensure that we have water, gas and electrical service in our homes and businesses. Thank you to those who do the dirty jobs of handling our waste. I pray for the health, safety and protection of those who provide these essential services, like my brother Marion. I pray for food and beverage service employees, waitresses and waiters and bartenders, who are out of work because restaurants and bars have had to close their doors. I pray for the small business owners who may be forced out of business.

Lord, we often take it for granted that someone will make and package and deliver the things we want or need. Thank you to the people who manufacture goods. Thank you to those who deliver mail and packages, like my brother David. Thank you to the packers and movers. Thank you to truck drivers and transportation employees.

I am grateful for those who work in the construction, communication, IT and retail industries. As I walk through my neighborhood and by construction sites, I see men who are still replacing roofs and constructing buildings and repairing our roads. I see cable companies installing service to homes in my neighborhood.

Father, there has been much debate about whether it is more important to keep the economy going or to shut things down to save lives. We really have no choice but to work to keep things going. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. I have learned that suffering leads to perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Give us the strength and perseverance to work through this crisis.

Amen.

***

Photo by Fran Hogan on Unsplash

A Prayer for Mental Health

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

Dear God, thank you for this day and thank you for always providing for me. These days, when we go to the grocery store, we find empty shelves. Hospitals and clinics can’t find the equipment they need to care for the sick. I know I need not worry about a single hour of my life – about what I will eat or drink or wear or about my health. Your eye is on the sparrow, and I know you watch over me.

Lord Jesus, the world is struggling with all the consequences that a pandemic brings – death, illness, a lack of resources, social isolation. I pray for all the people around the world who are struggling with fear, worry, anxiety, loneliness, depression or despair. Comfort them with your loving presence.

Lord, people have always struggled from mental health issues. This crisis only makes things worse. I pray that people will get the help they need. I pray for the psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, psychotherapists, counselors, and other professionals who dedicate their lives to helping people with mental health issues. I pray that you will give them the resources and means to treat their patients while maintaining physical distance.

I pray that you will help me to have more compassion and empathy for others. Help me to understand what other people are going through. Show me how I can help others in need.

Amen.

****

Photo by Tom Pumford on Unsplash

A Prayer for Healthcare Workers

by Innermost Being, posted in Prayer

Life as we know it, has been turned upside down by a novel virus. People are hoarding TP, emptying grocery store shelves, stockpiling supplies like it’s 1999. Job losses. Worry. Fear. Denial. Social isolation.

In times like this, it really hits home how much we need each other. We are grateful for and need the healthcare workers who put themselves at risk everyday to help other people. We are grateful for and need teachers who not only educate kids but also keep them occupied for hours so their parents can work. We are grateful for and need restaurant and retail workers and all the people, too numerous to list, who provide goods and services to the public.

Several days into this global health crisis, as I read post after post on social media, I had an idea – share a prayer. I pray silently. I am not good at praying in front of other people. As I share my prayers on social media over the coming days, I hope that my personal prayers will help even one person who is struggling during this difficult time.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your love and protection. Lord, I pray for people who are living in fear of coronavirus. I pray for those who worry about how they are going to pay their bills or pay their employees. I pray for those who have already lost loved ones and for those who are fighting COVID-19 right now. I pray for all of us, the whole world, as we struggle with things that are beyond our control.

Lord, I pray that something good will come from all of this. That we will learn to love one another as we love ourselves.

You’ve got the whole world in Your hands.

God, I thank you for uniquely gifting each of us. Today, I especially thank you for blessing healthcare workers with their talents and for giving them hearts that care about others. Today, I lift up the people in my own extended family who work in the healthcare industry: Cindy, Jamie, Ashley and Gary, Adrian and Cassandra, Garrett and the girlfriend I have not met, Lindy, and anyone I unintentionally missed. Protect them from this deadly virus. Give them courage. Erase all fear. Lord, at the end of their long and stressful days, I pray that you will give them rest.

I lift my eyes up to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

Amen

As I think about how we are all connected, I remember what the Apostle Paul said to the church about unity and diversity in the body (1 Corinthians 12). The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable…

We need each other.

****

Photo by Luis Melendez on Unsplash