Pray for Turkey and Syria (Earthquake 2023)

 

(Photo: BBC. The article is here: "Turkey earthquake: Where did it hit and why was it so deadly?")

Pray for Turkey and Syria

O Lord of creation, you once made all things good and very good. Your creation, now subject to futility, groans. Creation creaks and crashes, groaning in pains of childbirth, thrusting up and sinking down, writhing in grief (Romans 8:19-22). And once more, earth and mountains, rocks and caverns have ground and bucked in their agony. The devastation has spanned hundreds of kilometers, enfolding multiple regions. Some places still reeling from civil war, others cut off because both Syria and Turkey hold them as enemies. The whole region is racked with ruin!

We implore your mercy on those who have survived, that in their grief and shock they may sense your compassion.

We implore your aid. Draw in alleviation and help, manpower and muscle from many places. Time is of the essence for any presently alive, but buried under the wreckage.

We implore your mental, emotional, and physical assistance for the rescuers, heavy machine operators, and medical personnel as they give and give and give.

We implore your pity, as the region is in the midst of a hard winter with freezing temperatures. For those exposed to the elements and no shelter other than tents, the misery will continue.

We implore your tenderness as mothers and fathers will now be bereft of their children, and children have become instant orphans.

O Lord, with creation we look in hope to that day when "creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" (Romans 8:21-23). Oh, hear our groans and grief, for Christ's sake. Amen.

**Note #1: My wife and I were stationed in Turkey from 1981-1983. This is the country where we became Christians. It has always held a warm spot in my heart.

**Note #2: If you are looking for one way to help, please consider The Compassion Fund that has been set up for this catastrophe, with my denomination's Mission to the World. You can click The Compassion Fund. 

Pastor Mike

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