Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today! The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
Psalm 95:6-8
Dear God, it feels like the world is going crazy and we are just a couple of steps away from martial law. They are canceling public events. They are canceling travel. People are hoarding toilet paper (of all things). Fear is spreading at a rate I don’t think I’ve ever seen. If a terrorist group ever wanted to see what dropping a virus that starts a pandemic would do to our society, this is a great test case for them. They couldn’t have damaged our economy within two weeks more than this virus has damaged it.
It just feels like there is something I should be praying about here. It feels like this is something that we should be bringing to you in prayer. Not that we should necessarily be asking you to do something, but that we should be looking at ourselves. Are we too fearful? Are we not faithful enough? Have we lost our first love? Have we lost the love of our neighbors? I’m not even saying that we shouldn’t be canceling some of the things we’ve canceled and doing some of the things we are doing (although, again, toilet paper?!?), but I’m saying that we need to be coming to you in worship. We need to not be hardening our hearts. We need to be a source of your presence in the world.
Father, make this count, and make us part of your plan. Help us, your people, to not miss the opportunity before us. I don’t even know what that opportunity is, but I know that I don’t want to miss being used by you. I probably won’t know if I was or if we were until it is all over. This is an opportunity for us to grow closer to you through struggle. Please make this count. The deaths, economic hardships, etc. Make them count. Make them count for your glory and use us to be your light in the midst of this.
In Jesus’s name I pray,
Amen
Emails to God 
JD
March 12, 2020 at 9:36 am
Amen!
john cruz
March 12, 2020 at 8:50 pm
Thanks John for sharing! We began 2020 as church body in coporate prayer and fasting while reading the New Testament aloud. For weeks now we’ve been in prayer for family, church and world. We talked to our adult children to prepare for our society’s reaction to when the virus came close to home. It is human nature to react in the manner some have – but we as Christians, Christ followers – have a supernatural power through The Holy Spirit to guide and protect us who have professed Jesus Christ as Lord – for greater is HE in us than he who is in the world. We follow His example in dealing with crisis – whether personally or others. Therefore we should have a peace that transcends this world due to the source of our prosperity, provision and protection in body, mind and spirit are beyond this natural world through God our Father in our relationship with His Son – our Savior – Jesus Christ. We have the victory in Jesus Christ – May His will be done! Serve and pray for others in this stormy time – spread the Good News of Christ who has authority over the storm and a love with grace for all who come to Him in humility and a repentant heart. Jesus Christ is our healer and restorer in the physical and spiritual realms. Let’s wipe out the fear of the unknown with the eternal words and love of our God that brings peace. God bless you and your family!