Ebola prayer–seeds of hope

Zechariah 8:12a (NLT)
For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you.

O Lord,
We yearn for a display of Your splendor–people throughout the population of West Africa established like oaks of righteousness. In a good year, an oak tree produces between 70,000 – 150,000 acorns. O, for hundreds of thousands of seeds of righteousness, peace, healing, hope, and prosperity throughout Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea! With You, nothing is impossible. Let it be! Amen.

An Ebola prayer

Via St. Martin’s Church Walsall in the UK, a very good prayer focused on the health care workers, the charities / NGOs and the military personnel involved in battling the Ebola outbreak:

Compassionate and Loving Lord, we want to give thanks and praise for all the amazing doctors, nurses and volunteers who are helping to bring the Ebola crises in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone [and Mali] under control. These are the unsung heroes and heroines who are working tirelessly, in enormously difficult circumstances, to help the citizens of these countries. Thank you for our soldiers who are now helping in Sierra Leone and for the charities, especially Medicine San Frontiers and Red Cross, who have been there since the outbreak. We pray for all the families who have experienced the loss of loved ones and especially for the children who have been orphaned. We pray that they will get the help and support they need to rebuild their lives. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

From here

Prayer points for fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone – via Christian Aid

Christian Aid (UK) is focusing its Ebola response on Sierra Leone, and they have a page of good, specific prayer points and prayers:

Prayer points for the Ebola outbreak

• Pray that the millions being targeted with potentially life-saving advice would be receptive and that it would prevent them contracting Ebola.
• Pray for the medical teams across the nine districts receiving disposable gloves, powdered and liquid chlorine for disinfection. Pray that they might be prevented from contracting Ebola.
• Pray for the 900 community health volunteers conducting door-to-door awareness raising and training 9,000 more volunteers. Pray that through their work others would be prevented from contracting Ebola.
• Pray that the widespread fear and distrust about the disease and its causes would be dispersed and that through reassurance and support many would be prevented from contracting Ebola.
• Pray for Christian Aid partners in Sierra Leone: the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone (MCSL), Network of people living with HIV, the SEND foundation, Rehabilitation and Development Agency (RADA) and Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD). Give thanks for their witness. Pray for courage and hope for them as they reach out to communities in 10 of the country’s 14 districts, pray that through their work many would be prevented from contracting Ebola.
• Pray for all those putting themselves at risk to treat patients. Pray for those who are the patients, for their recovery and cure or for a dignified and peaceful passing for those who do succumb to this disease.
• Pray that the international community would make resources rapidly available to respond to the challenge of Ebola.

Prayers

A prayer for the survivors

John 1. 1-14

Living word, who became flesh
through whom all have life,
thank you for your light
in the darkness of the Ebola Crisis.

Thank you for those who have overcome,
for those who have survived.
We pray for them as they return
to live among their families and communities.

We pray for the enlightenment needed
so that stigma around Ebola will not spread,
so that livelihoods and homes would not be destroyed,
so that those who survive can be a light of comfort and hope
among those who are afraid.

Thank you for your incarnation, living word,
full of the grace and truth that blesses all flesh.

Amen.

A prayer for the health workers

Matthew 25: 34-46
‘I was sick and you took care of me.’

Lord,
We pray for those who are taking care of you
in the body of humanity that has Ebola.

We thank you for those who have sacrificed
their own comfort and security to tend to the needs of others.

We are mindful of those medical workers who have lost their lives,
and pray that their loved ones will find comfort in your words:

‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom…
…for I was sick and you took care of me.’

Amen.

 

There are still more prayers at the full page.

 

Ebola still increasing in Sierra Leone – pray!

The Ebola situation continues to get worse in Sierra Leone, which is averaging nearly 100 new cases per day throughout the country according to yesterday’s WHO report.

As our latest graph below, tracking cumulative cases in West Africa shows, total cases in Sierra Leone are likely to soon surpass the cases in Liberia, where thankfully there has been some slowing in the numbers of new cases in the past 6 weeks.

The graph shows that there can be no let up in the sense of urgency about Ebola in West Africa and that much perseverance in prayer is still needed!

In the last month there have been:

• 433 new cases of Ebola in Guinea  (avg. 14 cases per day)
• 1110 new cases of Ebola in Liberia (avg. 40 cases per day)
• 2553 new cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone (avg. 93 cases per day)

And yet now that there are currently no Ebola cases in the U.S. or Spain, the crisis risks getting bumped out of the headlines once again.

I found the following prayer at the Catholic Relief Services website. I love the idea of contagious compassion!  May the Lord cause our hearts to respond to this crisis with prayer, with giving and with acts of love and service n whatever form we can offer.

Jesus, healer of the sick,

Your heart was filled with compassion for the sick and suffering
and you traveled to all the towns and villages, curing every disease and illness.₁

We ask that all of those infected with the Ebola virus may feel the healing power of Jesus:
Comfort for all who mourn the loss of loved ones
Protection for all those who are vulnerable
Support for all health workers who risk their own lives to care for others.

Let your compassion be more contagious than any disease or malady
so that we may generously respond as you would.

Amen.

You’ll find all our Ebola Crisis prayers using this tag.

***

I urge you all to not only PRAY, but to GIVE and ACT as well.  The New York Times published a good list of charities on the frontlines of the battle against Ebola.  From personal experience, I have a lot of confidence in the work of Doctors Without Borders (aka MSF) and Samaritans Purse.

I may try to do some research regarding which charities are most active in Sierra Leone, so as to be able to focus specifically on alleviating the crisis in that country.  If any readers have information, please let me know.

Ebola

Psalm 123:1-2 (NLT)

I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven.  We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.

O Lord God,

You are enthroned in majesty and glory in heaven.  The heavens are yours; Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Mali are yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.  You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

We lift our eyes to You, O God, for Your mercy in the Ebola virus epidemic.  Amen.

Psalm 89:11-14

Veni Emmanuel and the Ebola crisis

It is interesting how many of the verses of the famous Advent hymn are fitting for the Ebola crisis.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

Insights from Shiloh for the Ebola crisis

When the Israelites arrived in the land, they set up the ancient wilderness tent shrine (the Tent of Meeting) in Shiloh and there Joshua divided the land among the tribes. Subsequently, Shiloh became the capital of Israel before the first Temple was built in Jerusalem. The Tent of Meeting was in Shiloh 369 years.
Shiloh means place of rest. The word Shiloh is also generally understood as denoting the Messiah, “the peaceful one.” Today, the community Shiloh is surrounded by farms and vineyards.

Jesus, You are “the peaceful one.” You are our place of rest. In You, we live and move and have our being. May the fruit of Your presence be abundantly manifest in the lives of the Christians in Mali, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia.
Shalom over the Christians in these nations, Lord. Shalom! Shalom! Shalom! Amen.

Ebola aid–inefficient coordination

Ebola aid efforts are plagued by inefficiencies.

Tabgha (“seven springs”) is situated on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. It is traditionally regarded as the place of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (Mark 6:30-46) and the fourth resurrection appearance of Jesus (John 21:1-24) after his Crucifixion.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”

Our Father in heaven,
You are enthroned in heaven in manifold splendor. From Your throne come flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne are burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God.
When Jesus presided at “seven springs”, did he not look to heaven, bless the food, break it, and multiply it? When the resurrected Jesus appeared on the shore, did he not instruct the disciples to cast their net on the other side of the boat? Did he not serve them breakfast?
O Lord, may the seven spirits of God flow to Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Mali! Flow over this land, O Holy Spirit, that western Africa may become a place of miracles, instruction, and provision from Jesus. Amen.

Ebola vaccine development

Trial vaccine seems safe.

Our Heavenly Father,

We give You thanks for the scientific advances being made in the development of this vaccine.  Amen.

Ebola crisis prayer–The Lord who is present

Psalm 113:1-4
Praise the Lord!
Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the name of the Lord
now and forever.
Everywhere—from east to west—
praise the name of the Lord.
For the Lord is high above the nations;
his glory is higher than the heavens.

We praise You, Lord God, for who can be compared with You, enthroned on high?  You stoop to look down on heaven and on earth.  You lift the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.

We humbly beseech You to send our praises over Sierra Leone, Mali, Liberia, and Guinea.  You are enthroned on the praises of Your people.  We implore You to be present to these nations whose need is so dire.   Your name is Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord who is present.  Do not leave or forsake them.  Amen.

Psalm 113, 22:3

Ebola Prayer Needs – November 12: Sierra Leone & Mali

I’ve been a bit preoccupied with Advent blogging preparations, but have continued to Tweet about Ebola and related prayer needs.

The biggest prayer need right now is the situation in Sierra Leone, where Ebola is totally out of control – 90 – 100 cases per day in recent days.  Pray for breakthroughs there:  treatment facilities, staff, effective education about prevention, trust of health workers and outreach workers.  Pray too for PROTECTION for health care workers in Sierra Leone.  Another doctor there has come down with the virus.  Health workers in parts of Sierra Leone are on strike.  Pray for a quick resolution of the strike.

Secondly, please pray for Mali.  The news up until late yesterday had been very promising with no new cases reported since the initial case on October 24.  That has now changed with reports of two deaths from Ebola (unrelated to the initial case) in the capital city, Bamako.  Please pray against any further spread of Ebola in Mali!

 

A Summary of #Ebola Data and Prayer Requests – Nov 5 2014

The World Health Organization released a new comprehensive update today (Nov 5) about the Ebola outbreak.

As I’ve done previously, I tried to pick out some of the key data and develop prayer points, and posted a series of Tweets.  Here is the roundup of all 24 of our Ebola tweets tonight:

#Praisethelord #Ebola decrease in #Liberia seems real. Huge decline in number of patients in treatment centers. http://t.co/fFht6heMAk  — Anglican Prayer (@anglicanprayer) November 5, 2014

Latest @WHO #Ebola report is out. I’ll review it and will tweet data and #prayer suggestions in the next hour or two. http://t.co/CnJuKzK2Vi — Anglican Prayer (@anglicanprayer) November 5, 2014

I consider it a #miracle that #Ebola has still not spread in #Mali! #PraisetheLord – only the 1 case so far. #Grateful #pray  — Anglican Prayer (@anglicanprayer) November 5, 2014

OK, starting our #Ebola roundup from today’s @WHO rpt: #Guinea – situation remains stable, about 14 new cases per day. Down from 22 in Oct — Anglican Prayer (@anglicanprayer) November 5, 2014

#Ebola: #Liberia – the total numbers are very high: 6525 total cases. But reports indicate new cases are slowing.  — Anglican Prayer (@anglicanprayer) November 5, 2014

#SierraLeone now has highest new cases of #Ebola – about 75 caes per day, that’s a new high. #Pray for a breakthrough there!! — Anglican Prayer (@anglicanprayer) November 5, 2014

In #Guinea one area is extremely hard hit by #Ebola. Macenta district. #Pray for decrease there specifically.  — Anglican Prayer (@anglicanprayer) November 5, 2014

In #Guinea, #pray too for #Conakry, the capital city, where there continues to be significant number of #Ebola cases — Anglican Prayer (@anglicanprayer) November 5, 2014

In #Liberia, Capital city #Monrovia remains a key focus for #prayer. There were 50 #Ebola cases there in past week, — Anglican Prayer (@anglicanprayer) November 5, 2014

#Ebola transmission remains very intense in #SierraLeone, with the country reporting 435 confirmed cases in the past week. — Anglican Prayer (@anglicanprayer) November 5, 2014

115 of the cases in #SierraLeone were in #Freetown, the capital, so that city needs our #prayer!! #Pray for an end to #Ebola in Freetown!  — Anglican Prayer (@anglicanprayer) November 5, 2014

 

Ebola prayer–Roads of praise and healing

On the destruction of Jerusalem–
Lamentations 1:4 (NLT)
The roads to Jerusalem are in mourning,
for crowds no longer come to celebrate the festivals.
The city gates are silent,
her priests groan,
her young women are crying—
how bitter is her fate!

At the Triumphant Entry–
Luke 19:36-40 (ESV)
And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! Worthy is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
O Lamb of God, with seven horns and with seven eyes, we thank You for ransoming Your children in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, and Guinea! We invite You to travel the roads of western Africa.
From roads of mourning to roads of praise and healing, Lord. With You, nothing is impossible. Amen.

Ebola prayer–Every morning

Psalm 90:12-14 (ESV)

So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Return, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Our Father in heaven,

We thank You for the precious gift of time.  We thank You for the gift of time set apart as sacred, the Sabbath.  Bless the Christians in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Mali, that they may keep the Sabbath holy.

Return to Your servants in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Mali, O Lord!  How long?  Have pity, we pray.

Your steadfast love never ceases; Your mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”  We hope in You for Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, and Guinea.  Amen.

Lamentations 3:22-24

Ebola prayer–Jeremiah 43:7

Jeremiah 43:7 (NLT)

The people refused to obey the voice of the Lord and went to Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes.

Tahpanhes or Tahapanes or Tehaphnehes = “thou will fill hands with pity”

Dear Father,

Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea have certainly had their hands filled with pity.   We are mere mortals and do not understand these mysteries.  If this epidemic is somehow connected to disobedience to the word of God, then reveal to the prophets of the land what You would have them do and grant them the courage and the means to fulfill Your call.

Have mercy, Lord, for we see through a glass darkly.  Have mercy on Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Mali.  Amen.