From Back To The Bible:
http://www.backtothebible.org/hurricane.htmTen Ways You Can Pray for Hurricane Victims - Page 1
Before the tragedy gets pushed to the back of your mind
Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast, with every passing day the stories fade from the front pages. One of the worst hurricane seasons to blow onto American shores and the largest displacement of people in our history should have more "shelf life in the mind," but it doesn't. Time marches on.
So lest you and I forget about the hurricane victims as the media turns to other stories, here are some specific things you can pray for to help them.
1. Pray for the families who have lost loved ones. Pray for the comfort that only the God of all comfort can give (2 Corinthians 1:3). It's hard enough to lose someone you care about, but to lose them and perhaps not know where they are or to know that the authorities weren't able to get to their body quickly for burial has to have caused deep scars on the souls of the victims. Compassionately pray for those who have lost the dearest on earth to them.
2. Pray for those who have lost their homes and all their possessions. While Christians know we are to "set our affection on things above" (Colossians 3:2), losing your home, your belongings, your Bible, your photo albums, the things you hold dear is a trauma very few have experienced. Put yourself in the shoes of the victims and pray for them to regain specific losses.
3. Pray for those who are still living in shelters or in homes with those who were strangers until they took them in. It is heart-warming to see families open their homes to people in need. This is what Jesus wants us to do (Matthew 25:35). We should be grateful that shelters were established for those who had nowhere to go. But disassociation from all that is familiar is traumatic. Pray that victims will soon have a place of their own so that some degree of normalcy can return to their lives.
4. Pray for families that have been split apart by the hurricane. As the days continue since the hurricanes hit, more and more families are being reunited. But there are still people who do not know where their family members are, whether or not they have survived, whether or not they are injured. How painful it is not to know (Psalm 9:9-10; 42:5). Pray that those agencies involved will quickly and efficiently bring displaced families together.
5. Pray for those who have become embittered by the storm. Anger and bitterness are often the results of being overwhelmed and there is little question that both the people of the Gulf Coast and the local, state and Federal governments were overwhelmed by these disasters. Pray that those who are bitter at God, at government, at others will imbibe the apostle Paul's admonition about putting away all bitterness, anger and speaking evil of those they feel let them down (Ephesians 4:31).
6. Pray for those who have come face-to-face with their own mortality as a result of the hurricanes. Pray that this trauma will also bring them face-to-face with Jesus and that the Spirit of God will draw them to Himself (James 4:11 ). Pray for spiritual influences in their lives to be faithful in presenting the claims of the Gospel. As the old spiritual says, "Some through the water, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the blood." May this tragedy bring many into the Kingdom of God .
7. Pray for those agencies (the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, etc.) that have been on the frontline of providing aid and shelter to hurricane victims. Pray for strength and stamina as the weeks and months wear on since the storm (Galatians 6:9-10). The staff of these relief agencies is undoubtedly exhausted and discouraged, but the need for them to assist the victims continues and so they must. Pray they will have godly wisdom in allocating the millions and millions of dollars that the American public has donated for relief.
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