Pray With Us for Their Healing

On Feb. 14, a day that should have been marked by the celebration of love, hundreds of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, fled the raging bullets of a 19-year-old gunman.

Students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia

For some, the deaths of 17 innocent people—14 of them high school students—on Valentine’s Day will become just another sad news story in the days to come. But for 17 families grieving in South Florida today, it is the end of a story of hope, love and the promise of a bright future. It is the beginning of a story of grief that may last a lifetime.

This is a time for mourning—the first step in the process of healing. We may not be able to understand the depth of their pain, but however deep and dark it is, we can pray for their healing.

At our morning prayer meeting the day after this horrific event, a Gospel for Asia staff member who grew up near Parkland, Florida, where the school shooting happened, shared prayer requests for the people affected. Visibly shaken, she told us of the people she knew who were either students or teachers at the high school. Thankfully, her friends were able to escape.

Please Pray for Florida School Shooting - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia

We encourage you to pray with us for courage and comfort for those who have suffered this great loss. We should pray with the understanding that healing is always preceded by pain, and that it is in these times that hearts are most open to the comfort and consolation that only the love of God can supply.

Pray with us for the families. Pray with us for the classmates who will sit next to an empty desk. Pray with us for broken hearts to be mended.

Heavenly Father, we adore You, even when we do not understand the how and the why of what is happening around us. Because we do not understand, we trust You. Right now, we trust You together to comfort those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones. Comfort them with Your presence. Overshadow them with Your love. As they desperately seek hope, may they see You. We trust You to use these circumstances to restore lives and to glorify Your Holy Name. May they find their peace and renewed purpose in You. Amen.

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