Breaking All the Rurals

What can I do during a tragedy like this? I am just one person. This is how I felt after 9/11, The Haiti earthquake and now the Japanese tsunami, earthquake and nuclear crisis. There is something you and I can do…PRAY! My good friend Ron Hutchcraft has provided 7 ways to pray during crisis. Use this tool and share it with everyone you know.

Seven Ways to Pray in Times Like These
by Ron Hutchcraft
1. “Lord, heal the brokenhearted, comfort the grieving, and protect the powerless.”
But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.Psalm 10:14 NIV
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3 NIV
Only God can heal the hurting.
2. “Lord, use world events to open many doors that have been hard to Your Gospel.”
“The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm.” Nahum 1:3 NIV
“Pray that God may open a door for our message…” Colossians 4:3 NIV
God’s plan is much larger than natural disasters – He’s about getting the Good News of His Son to hearts and places it has never gone!
3. “Lord, do something that will show people Your glory over all the earth.”
“O God…let Your glory be over all the earth.” Psalm 108:5 NIV
“Be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” Habakkuk 1:5 NIV
This is a season for God to do something that no world leader, no government, no organization could possibly do – so all will know that “the Lord He is God.”
4. “Lord, use these anxious and uncertain times to bring many to Christ.”
“Pray…that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored.”
2 Thessalonians 3:1 NIV
“May God be gracious to us and bless us…that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.” Psalm 67:1, 2 NIV
God can use this uncertain time to reach the hearts of many – in Japan, in the United States and around the world.
5. “Lord, guide government leaders to be instruments of Your will on earth.”
“I urge…that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority.” I Timothy 2:1, 2 NIV
A believer’s responsibility to “honor the king” (I Peter 2:17) and to pray for those in authority transcends political labels and issues – it is a spiritual responsibility!
6. “Lord, help Your people model Your hope and Your peace, pointing the people around
them to Jesus – at a time when hearts are soft.”
“We have this Hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
Hebrews 6:19 NIV
“Open your eyes and look at fields! They are ripe for harvest.” John 4:35 NIV
This uncertain time is a life-saving moment – when those who belong to Jesus have an unusual window to introduce Him to those who don’t. But the window may not be open for long.
7. “Lord, as your people, show us what you want to say to us through these life-altering
events.”
Show me Your ways, LORD, teach me Your paths. Psalm 25:4 NIV
If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV
God uses unsettling events to prompt us to ask questions we would otherwise never ask, and change things we would otherwise never change.
“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
James 5:16 NIV