Weekly Prayer Update
Monday, September 30, 2024
Conflict in the Middle East
In the Middle East, millions of people are suffering from conflict, displacement, on top of an ongoing lack of adequate food, shelter, and healthcare.
“Lebanon is under a massive campaign of air strikes, which is the deadliest in 18 years,” reports a leader of the Church of the Nazarene in Lebanon. “Tens of thousands of Lebanese continue to flee their homes in the face of intensifying Israeli bombardments. Thousands of cars filled with families have lined up on the highway from the south of the country to Beirut, looking for shelters among friends, relatives, or schools. As a church, we are assessing the situation to see how we can best serve those in need.”
This week, the Nazarene school in Lebanon has enrolled the children of four families who evacuated areas south of Beirut in search of safety. Pastors and leaders are in constant communication as they assess the crisis and plan a long-term response.
To help support Nazarene churches throughout the region as they respond to urgent needs, please give here: ncm.org/middleeast
Lord, we pray for peace to come in the Middle East, and we pray for local churches as their members seek to comfort all who are traumatized. May your followers speak your light in the darkness. Comfort the children of these four families, newly arrived in the city, who are in desperate need of care. May they find assurance of your love in the Nazarene school. Protect each family and child enrolled in the program. Lord, hear our prayers.
Hurricane Helene in the United States
Hurricane Helene, which swept across wide sections of the Southeastern United States this week, left a trail of destruction including significant flooding, widespread power outages, and extensive property damage. The storm made landfall late last Thursday night near Perry, Florida, as a Category 4 hurricane, inundating coastal areas with record-breaking storm surges. Helene then battered the states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio as it moved north. In many areas, historic rainfall led to life-threatening floods, prompting hundreds of water rescues. In western North Carolina, close to 30 inches of rain caused extreme flooding and mudslides that destroyed hundreds of roads and swept away entire towns. The death toll has risen to at least 130, with dozens still missing. Approximately 3 million people remain impacted by power outages as of Monday evening.
Nazarene churches in the path of Helene are in the process of assessing damages to their properties and reaching out to their neighbors to provide immediate support and relief. Some churches are serving meals, others are open as cooling centers (as temperatures are still hovering around 90 degrees Fahrenheit in Florida), or providing a place for people without electricity to recharge devices. In the days to come, long-term response plans will be crafted in order to best care for those who are most impacted.
To help support relief efforts, give to the NCM 2024 Storm Response Fund at ncm.org/2024storms.
Lord, hear our cries for those most impacted by this storm. As the needs become apparent, provide each person with the right aid need to recover. Comfort those who mourn the loss of loved ones or who will face rebuilding a destroyed home. Send your sustaining comfort and grace to all who are suffering. Lord, hear our prayers.
Hurricane John in Mexico
Hurricane John, which struck southwest Mexico as a Category 3 storm earlier this week and then dissipated, strengthened again last Thursday, adding more water to areas already inundated with heavy rain and flooding. In the resort city of Acapulco, which hasn’t fully recovered from damage from last year’s Hurricane Otis, many neighborhoods are flooded and residents were evacuated to shelters. Airports and schools in the impacted areas are closed. So far, at least 22 people have lost their lives, mostly due to mudslides. The rainfall following John’s passage has been historic, surpassing Hurricane Otis in 2023 and bringing 214 percent more water than Hurricane Paulina in 1997.
Nazarene churches located near areas impacted by John will be assessing the situation in the coming days in order to prepare a compassionate response to impacted neighbors.
Our God, we lift up the people of Mexico who are grappling with the floods, mudslides, and other impacts from this storm. So many were still rebuilding from last year’s large hurricane. Give those who are discouraged and exhausted the strength to move forward. Provide inroads for Nazarene church members to feed, aid, and comfort all who suffer, in your name. Lord, hear our prayers./em>