Some headlines are hard to believe. And today’s news about a second quake in Nepal flashing up on our screen as we were about to begin morning worship at the Sanctuary was one of them. Shock. Big questions. Horror and sadness at the thought of what this nation is facing. We’ve been remaining with Nepal almost every day for the last two weeks – our hearts are half-way there most of the time. And now this – what must they be feeling?
In the shock and struggle to find words to pray, the ones we wrote two weeks ago are helping us cry out to God again today – more poignant than ever, they read with twice the impact and we’re praying them with twice the heart for this nation. Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.
We’re posting them again so you can find them instantly.
You might also find Healer of nations helpful. We used it this morning when our own words ran out. And it helped us cry out for God’s mercy for this nation.
A listening prayer asking for God’s heart for Nepal
Walk my heart through Nepal with you Lord –
to see it through your eyes.
Over distant mighty mountains and across shaking earth –
to share your perspective.
I seek not to understand –
it is beyond me.
But I long to trust you and pray in harmony with you even here –
as suffering’s same refrain finds new voice
and pierces emotion and intellect again with pain and question.
Walk my heart beside Nepal’s people Lord –
to see it through their eyes.
Dwarfed by mighty mountains and fearing quaking land –
to share their perspective.
I seek not to understand –
it is beyond me.
But I long to feel true compassion and hope –
enough to linger in sustained prayer
that mourns and hopes and acts alongside those who have no choice not to.
A prayer for Nepal’s response and restoration
Lord Jesus, our hearts are heavy with even a fleeting shadow of Nepal’s pain. Thank you that you are there, grieving more fully than anyone and truly understanding the depth and breadth of loss as only the everlasting father of each precious child could.
Lord Jesus, come and bring your healing comfort and peace but please also help the Nepalese mourn well and fully. And in your infinite mercy and creative restoration, use this heartbreak to weave unity and healing through previous divides, bringing the peoples here together with a shared vision for – and commitment to – Nepal’s future.
Lord Jesus, please move the hearts of the international community especially tourists, mountaineers and the companies that facilitate their journeys to Nepal and release generosity to this nation through all who have been blessed by Everest’s beauty and scale – at a distance or up close.
Lord Jesus, please speed the strategy, expertise and resources required to rebuild in every way needed – physically, financially, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. And lead your people – in Nepal and all over the world – to pray and act in accordance with your heart, design and guidance.
We ask these things for the sake of the future you have planned for this nation and the love you hold for each unique individual living there,
Amen.