A Call to Prayer

Let's take a brief respite from my usually sarcastic self, m'kay?

Today is a day that will live in the world's collective conscience for quite some time, but not fort any good reasons.  This morning, a devastatingly powerful earthquake off the coast of Japan triggered a tsunami.  Chances are pretty good that you already knew that.  Hundreds are dead and countless more are missing in these early stages of rescue and recovery operations.  You already knew that, too.

You can help.  You can, I promise.  You don't need to fly or swim to Japan and start digging out survivors and bodies.  You don't need to give money or set up a Web site to collect donations, although these are all great ideas.

In fact, you shouldn''t do any of these things if you don't feel called to do so.  That's not part of God's plan.  But what is always part of His plan is for you to pray.

Pray unceasingly.  Pray for the safety of those still in peril.  Pray for protection for those who are involved in rescue ops.  Pray for the souls of the deceased.  Pray for healing for the injured.  Pray for comfort and clarity for the family and friends left behind.  Pray for each and every homeowner and shopkeeper as they begin to rebuild their lives from the soggy ground up.  Pray for order to reign supreme in the coming weeks and months.  Pray that those who are believers keep their hearts and minds aligned with God rather than turn from Him in anger.  Pray that those who don't know Him will find him through this disaster and choose to lean entirely on Him.  But, above all else, pray for Christ to return quickly, so that we never have to go through these types of disasters again.

Pray, and don't stop doing it.