It happened again over the weekend – another heartbreaking story of loss, this time of 19 firefighters who lost their lives battling the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. I’ve mentioned before how my first tendencies are to block it out and pretend stories like this don’t happen. That’s easy to do when the tragedy is hundreds of miles away and I have no personal ties to anyone involved. But that’s not right. God did not grant us a pretty little bubble that we could climb inside and float around untouched and unaffected by the world on a global scale. No, because He cares, we should care too.
But the truth is, even when we want to help and want to pray, we’re not sure how much or how little to do. Over the years, I’ve found two suggestions to be helpful:
1) You should pray
This sounds so simple, but it is oh-so-important. It doesn’t matter if the people affected by loss never know you’re lifting them up in prayer. God knows, and He listens. If you’re uncertain what to pray for, this post will give you five specifics.
2) You should pick one person/family to focus on
Rather than pray for an entire, huge, tragedy, pick one specific victim and pray for that person’s family instead. I remember the day of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. I was so devastated by the stories coming out of Connecticut, I could hardly sleep at night. I felt helpless. But when I learned that one the little girl had a birthday just three days after my own son’s birthday, it became more personal. I connected with that girl’s parents, and I chose to pray for her family members by name. Likewise, when the horrible news came out of Arizona about the firefighters who were lost, I immediately connected with one of the widows – a young mom, with three boys and a girl, all ages 6 and under – just like me.
If I were ever involved in some kind of tragedy like these that seem to happen way too often these days, I know it would mean more to me if I had a handful of people praying for me and my family by name than if I had hundreds just praying for “those people involved.” I think it shows respect and genuine concern. What do you think?
Q: What about you? Do you pray for strangers by name?
Emiky,
I do pray for strangers. Their adversity doesn’t necessarily have to impact or remind me of my own experiences or life. Just the fact that they need prayers is enough. My hope is that they are persons of faith and God will be by their side, and if they are not then their adversity will bring them into the body of Christ. It is impirtant that we don’t become to emotionally tied to others adversity that we cannot fulfill God’s work that we have left to do.
I thoroughly enjoy your ministery and look forward to each and every one. May our Father richly bless you for the hearts you touch.
Blessings