A Prayer for COVID-19

Dear Heavenly Father,

My heart aches. It is so heavy right now, Lord.

It aches for

• The healthcare worker who just got off a 12 hour shift trying to fight the virus, risking their own health and their families’ health for the sake of others
• The elderly who are forced to stay inside, talking to their family members through a window over the phone
• The person suffering from loneliness, shut in their own apartment as part of shelter-in-place, desperately needing to see another smiling face
• The person who desperately needs a hug or physical touch in a time of social distancing, where we can’t get within 6 feet of one another
• The person who is not able to get basic supplies because hoarding has cleared the shelves of our grocery stores
• The college student who put their blood, sweat, and tears into getting their degree, just in time to see their commencement ceremony cancelled
• The 5th grade school child who probably won’t be able to see their friends at school until schools open again
• The entrepreneur who has been saving up their whole life to open a coffee shop, just to see their customers vanish right before their eyes
• The server who no longer has a job and can no longer pay rent because restaurants are being forced closed and furloughing their employees
• The retiree who just started to live off their 401(k) only to see the stock market tank and their savings diminish
• The Olympic athlete who has trained their whole life for the 2020 summer Olympics, just at their peak of performance, just to have the games postponed
• The family who was up to their neck with activities and stress desperately looking forward to their spring break at Disney World, just to have it cancelled right before their eyes, when their excitement and need for a break was at it’s peak
• The parent who is now responsible for working from home, taking care of the house, and now teaching their children and answering questions about their assignments, and keeping up with modified schedules

Show me ways to love these people, Lord. Show the church how to love these people. Show the church how to respond to this crisis, so that all will be able to see a glimpse of Your love, and that we love others because You first loved us.

Thank you for your compassion, Lord, which Jesus showed us. You wept with Lazarus’s grieving sisters, and spent time weeping with them just minutes before turning their weeping into joy through your miracle. You showed us the weight of the suffering we experience on this earth.

Lord, I don’t know why you’re allowing this to happen but I know that it is ultimately for Your glory. I cannot see what you see, but I trust that you know immeasurably, infinitely more than I ever could imagine. You know what you are doing, Lord.

Heal our land, Lord. I pray that you would stop the spread of this virus. I run to you, the God of comfort, the God of peace. I cast my anxieties on you, Lord. You have told us that your yoke is easy, and your burden is light.

I pray that people would realize more of what matters in life. That differences of opinion can’t stop us from loving our neighbors. That no material good can replace your gift of grace and your presence in our lives. That they would turn to You in their affliction, even if they don’t have a relationship with you and are talking to you for the first time, that they would feel your presence and your eternal joy. Heal our land, Lord.

I ask these things in the name of Jesus.

Amen.