Wednesday, August 31, 2005

How to Pray For and Help Those Affected by Hurricane Katrina

It is obvious that we should pray for those whose lives have been, or will be, disrupted by Hurricane Katrina. What is sometimes less obvious is how to do so. Here are some suggestions:

The Direct Victims
- For protection, strength, provision, and rescue for those still trapped/stranded.

- For comfort, patience, strength, provision, and special grace for those in shelters and for the amelioration of conditions there.

- For comfort, peace, patience, strength, provision, and special grace for those who are now homeless.

-For the elderly, young, sick, injured, orphaned, poor, and others who are particularly vulnerable.

- For those who are particularly isolated.

- For John and Robin DeLamatre, their friends, family, neighbors, acquaintances, and colleagues.

- For Greg Eiden’s daughter and her friends, family, neighbors, acquaintances, and colleagues.

- For all those who have been, or will be, unemployed as a result of the storm.

- For those who are unable to get a hold of friends and loved ones.

- For those whose educations have been, or will be, disrupted.

- For those who are, or have family members, on active duty with the military or who are otherwise unavoidably away from home.

- For all the churches, para-church organizations, their staff members, their members, and clergy affected by the storm and it’s aftermath.

- For those in rural areas.

- For all those who work in agriculture, the energy industry, fishing, tourism, hospitality.

- That disease not spread.
- That levies, pumps, utilities, communications and transportation systems be preserved or repaired as soon as possible.

Those Involved in Rescue and Recovery Efforts
For wisdom, strength, energy, compassion, and endurance for:
- All civilian federal, state, county, and local officials/employees and their families.

- All those serving in the active duty military, national guard or reserves, law enforcement, and public safety organizations and their families.

- All those working in non-profit groups like the Red Cross and their families.

- All Christians working to help others, that they may truly be “Jesus with skin on.”

- All those in the medical professions and their families.

- All those that work for or with utilities and their families.
- All those working in sewage treatment or disposal, waste treatment and disposal and other sanitation related areas and their families.
- All those working in funeral homes, mortuaries, morgues and related areas and their families.

- All those in construction and their families.

- All those in transportation and their families.
- All those working for the relief organizations listed below.

All of Us
- That we learn what God wants us to learn from this catastrophe.

- That the adverse enviornmental, economic, and social impacts be minimal.
-That we each do what we can to help.

Material Support
(Images about prayer were posted September 17, 17a, and 17b; October 8 and 17, November 13 and 19, 2004 and May 27, 2005.
Images about the fact that God blesses us in order for us to bless others were posted September 12b, 18c, and 18d, 2004 and August 27, 2005.)

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