A Prayer for Boston

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2

Faithful God,

When horribly devastating events like this happen in our lives, it is so hard for us to understand. It is simply beyond our ability to comprehend such evil. It breaks our hearts that this evil is so prevalent in our world that it would cause some people to destroy the lives of others. In these days, weeks, months, and even years that follow the tragic events that Monday brought us, would you help us all to lift our faces towards heaven and look to you for the help that we so desperately need! Help us to acknowledge that you are our source of strength. You who made heaven and earth are the only one that can rebuild, restore, and make new what has been broken. Your Word tells us that you draw near to the brokenhearted and save those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). Father, we ask you now to administer your healing presence to those who are suffering such great loss. For the young children who witnessed such gruesome carnage, would you shelter their precious hearts from the fallout of what they saw, and would you usher each one of them into your arms where they can find peace. For every runner in that race, God would you bring comfort to their hearts and minds and bodies of those who were injured and show them how you were present in the midst of that chaos. Would you quiet their hearts to hear the steady whisper of your voice, and would you draw multitudes to faith in you through this tragedy. When grief and heartache set in on those who have lost loved ones and on those who have lost limbs, would you lift their faces towards you and cause their hearts to swell with faith in the One who spared their lives for such a time as this. For the father who was running who lost his 8 year old son and now faces the devastating injuries that his wife endured, God would you give him hope in who you say you are and what you say you can do. Above all else, God, somehow and in some way would you be glorified through this, and would fame be brought to your name because of this. We pray that many would come to know you, Jesus, through this great catastrophe. We believe that you are still good and that you will show us your glory, even in this. God, would you comfort the downcast now. Would you draw near to the hurting and the broken. Would you reveal your love to the lost.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen