Lord, we are desperate to release our burden for the grieving people of Oklahoma as we lift their needs before Your throne of mercy… Encourage those who sit amidst the ruin and rubble of what was once their homes, like Jeremiah weeping, and help them to rebuild and give them a faith beyond their own to sing into the turbulent skies, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”

Oh, God our Father,

Our hearts are broken. Our minds cannot conceive of the destruction. Our spirits are numb as we listen with stunning stillness to the death count and the stories of human carnage. We as a nation lift up the victims, families, and responders in Oklahoma.

“Everything is gone!” A frightened, young mother tells a reporter. And we want to help her and many like her. Where shall we go but to You?

In faith we acknowledge your Fatherly love and care over us, your sons, daughters and children. In hope we trust in your divine providence of giving us wisdom and courage as we face the challenges and mysteries in this life. In love we plead for your help during these days of devastation following the tornadoes in Oklahoma.

Lord, we are each reminded that ours is a fallen world, that heaven is not on earth and that creation is yearning for redemption from the sin that has come into the world. Lord, we are moved to repent for calling upon you when we are in need and desperation but forgetting You and Your gospel in good times. Father, the wounded creation has wrought chaos and death. Will You, once again, reveal Your glory to bring order and life?

Lord, we are desperate to release our burden for the grieving people of Oklahoma as we lift their needs before Your throne of mercy:

We entrust the souls of those who lost their lives to your infinite mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord. Embrace the children who died. Help those who are hurt and heal those who are broken. Bring hope to those in shock and remind them that Your presence and power which transforms the cross from shame to salvation and the empty tomb which assures them of the renewing of all things.

Encourage those who sit amidst the ruin and rubble of what was once their homes, like Jeremiah weeping, and help them to rebuild and give them a faith beyond their own to sing into the turbulent skies, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”

Guard and give strength to all those who extend their hands of compassion to those in need of food, shelter and clothing, who share their lives with others for they imitate You in their ministry of mercy.

As the breaking of spring has brought not only the beauty of the earth but terror from the sky, remind us, too, that these things shall not always be: for in Jesus Christ a new Kingdom has come, and will at last yield a more glorious, eternal spring when glory appears in the sky at Your second coming. Until then, grant these dear people help and hope in the hurtful times, and send revival and renewal for the love of Your own creation and for through and in the name of Your Son I pray. Amen.

Michael Milton is a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and was most recently Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary.