It seems like it happens too much these days. Every week, there is another tragedy in the news which seems to defy all logic. How can this happen? How could someone do that to another person? How have we not figured this out by now?
We can feel pretty helpless in these situations. But one of the greatest gifts God has given his people in this broken world is the gift of prayer. He has empowered us with his Holy Spirit to intercede on behalf of all creation.
While many of us might know this as reality, it always bears remembering. What’s more, many of us struggle with how it is that we actually pray for tragedies, whether near or far. In a way, simply coming before our loving Father is enough. As the Apostle Paul said,
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.” (Romans 8:26–27, NLT)
Whether you have words or not, your prayer matters. But…below are three things to pray for in the midst of a tragedy:
- People – We can’t forget that at the forefront of any tragic headline in the newspaper, there are real people present. They undoubtedly experienced unspeakable pain and loss. So, pray for the people involved in any given situation.
- Peacemakers – We also see that there are a number of first responders on the scene of any tragedy – often in great danger themselves. They offer real aid to the people involved and have real needs in their own right. Pray for the peacemakers like police, firefighters, EMS, aid workers, military, etc.
- Pastors – As tragic as any event is in its time, eventually, the news media stops paying attention. But the problems have not gone away. I guarantee that there is a Pastor somewhere in the mess who is helping a family grieve the loss of a loved one. What’s more, there’s probably a pastor preparing a funeral service. Pray that the Pastors might be conduits of God’s healing, grace, and love.
At the end of the day, this is just a list. But, my prayer is that it will guide and help you as you intercede for the broken world around us.