Dear friends,
More than a month has passed since Afghanistan fell to the Taliban. As the initial shock and media attention fades, we want to invite you to join us in continuing prayer for this country - for those stuck inside the country, for those abroad fearing for their family members, and for the efforts of those still trying to help evacuate those in danger.
No New Messages…
Would you take 3-4 minutes now to pray with us
Oh God who hears us and knows us
God who knows our hearts and our concerns before we ask
I am really glad about that because so often I don’t know what to ask
We cast all our cares on you
Or
We try to cast our cares upon you but our cares are often too numerous to throw
…
We’re grateful for the moments of hope we see
Grateful for the over 120,000 who have been evacuated from Afghanistan
We pray that they find welcome and love
We pray that they encounter people who see the image of God in them
Who want to help them start this new chapter in their life
Wherever that might be …
And we pray God for those who won’t find their way out of the country
We pray that you protect them in what must be a terrifying time
We pray for the families of those killed and injured in the recent violence
Comfort them, protect them
… So many of them are still in the country
We pray for those families who are separated and wait for news of their loved ones
Jesus be with them
…
We pray for those who have been in service
For whom these past months have been traumatic
May we find ways to support them in their struggle
Comfort them oh God as they endure this
We pray for those enduring other kinds of trauma through natural disasters and the ongoing pandemic
We pray as many around the world try to manage environmental crises in the midst of a health crisis
And all of that, oh God, in addition to the personal concerns we have
Diagnoses, grief, ongoing anxiety and concern …
We see so much and it’s so hard.
We know the world wasn’t created to be this way and
we know we weren’t created to be this way
We know the human heart wasn’t made to look on all the tragedy of the world in real time
Too much ignorance, too much hatred, bigotry and violence
Far too little compassion and kindness and
We are just too tired to cast our cares upon you sometimes
…
May we remember
Oh God
We have a God who cares about us
…
May the incarnation remind us you lived in a time of disease and bigotry and violence
May our worry and fatigue never cause us to show indifference to evil …
May we, like you
Never weary of doing good
…
Until your kingdom comes, oh God, comfort us with your voice
May we hear it when you speak in the least of these and the prophets of our day …
Help us to crucify our lives, our bigotry, our violence
…the times when we create you in our image
Help us destroy the masks of our hypocrisy
And resurrect you in our lives
Your love
Your kindness …
Create us in your image, that others may see Jesus in us
Teach us not only to pray for the persecuted
… But also for the persecutors
Help us to have hearts filled with mercy towards those caught up in the ways of darkness and violence
Heal the wounds of their hearts, and may they encounter your transforming love
Prepare our hearts to truly obey your command to love our enemies
…
For those of us for whom prayers of lament are new and uncomfortable
May we learn from those who unfortunately have much more experience in this area
“God of our weary years, God of our silent fears
God who has brought us thus far on the way
Who has taught us by your might
Let us into the light
Keep us forever on the path” **
We pray
Amen
Destruction of Home - Live on Instagram
** From the Poem Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson
A thanks to Rev. Dr. Robert Wallace for sharing his prayer with us
Thank You for Praying With US
Henk and Allie Oosterhuis
If you're like us, you have a hard time standing by in the face of such calamity and human suffering. But we are not powerless. We can inform ourselves, use our voice to speak up on behalf of the voiceless, and welcome those God puts on our path.
The Afghan Evac website gives up-to-date information about the evacuation of Afghans as well as resources on the nine refugee resettlement agencies in the United States, one of which is World Relief.
We highly recommend World Relief as a resource on how we can volunteer to help Afghan refugees who are arriving in the United States, as well as advocate to the government to protect vulnerable Afghans.