Wildfires are terrifying. They’re nearly uncontrollable, unbelievably fast-spreading, and incredibly destructive. When you watch on TV the fires engulfing homes, forests, and cities, you finally understand the cliché “force of nature.”
As evidenced in the fires devastating both Northern and Southern California over the past week, natural disasters—wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes—know no boundaries. They show no partiality. They consume without regard to wealth, status, or religion.
At times like this, when we’re confronted with the fragility of the things of this earth and the impermanence of this life, we remember Christ, our only hope. When we lose everything, Christ remains.
Join us in praying for all of those whose homes, cars, and lives were lost in the fires.
O Lord, hear us! O Lord, be merciful! O Lord, take note and do it, and do not delay, for Your own sake, Lord our God. Lord God, Father in heaven, have mercy upon us! Lord God, the Son, the Savior of the world, have mercy upon us! Lord God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy upon us! Be merciful unto us; spare us, dear Lord God. Be merciful unto us, help us, dear Lord God. In this great distress of fire, protect us, dear Lord God. Christ, the Lamb of God, who take away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us! O Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon us. Amen.
This prayer was adapted from the Lutheran Prayer Companion. Download free sample prayers here.
