Response to Las Vegas Shooting
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and today, like you, I’m praying.
Because sometimes there is no better response. Sometimes the circumstances, especially tragic ones, demand that you just drop to your knees and ask God’s mercy; ask for His healing and grace.
I say this because yesterday, I woke up to the news that at least 58 people were killed, and over 550 were wounded in that horrific shooting in Las Vegas. You woke up to the same. You know the story: A gunman turned a concert into a killing field Sunday night from his perch on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay hotel in Las Vegas, using at least 10 guns to rain down a steady stream of fire in the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history. I was still in bed when I heard the news – my two girlfriends had come to get me up on Monday morning. They shared it with me when they they came into my room to help me get ready for the day. I was stunned lying there, to say the least, and the first thing we did was stop and pray.
But how do you pray during such a time? Well, first, you grieve – just like God grieves, just like His heart breaks. You mourn and lament over the devastation that sin has brought into this world. You feel sorrow and sadness and you cry out to God for mercy, for His healing and help. And so, as I was still lying in bed, my friends and I did just that. And I haven’t stopped. I am still praying today, as I know you are. In fact, would you in your heart join me now and together let’s go before God humbly, mournfully, and ask for His healing and help, not only on our deeply troubled nation, but help and hope for the families and loved ones. So, join me, would you? And let’s pray…
“God of all mercy, we are heartsick over the ruin and desolation that sin has brought upon this world, upon our nation. Have mercy on us. And please, have mercy on the families of those who lost their loved ones in this terrible tragedy. Comfort them in their grief; show Yourself to be the God of consolation that You are. You are the healer of broken hearts, and the hearts of these families and loved ones are crushed by this senseless tragedy – draw them to your side, and show Yourself to be the answer to their anguish. And please, dear Lord, touch the lives of the many hundreds who lie wounded, and yes, even those who survived. Quiet their anxieties and their fears, and heal their wounds. Cause them, as they lie on their beds, to seek you and turn to You with their concerns. And please, Lord, restore them, heal them.
“Finally, Lord, You are sovereign, and You are the only one who can bring good out of this wretched evil. So, bind families together; unite Christians in prayer; help churches to be genuine salt and light in their neighborhoods; aid us in overcoming evil with good. Help us be vigilant in promoting peace, demonstrating love, and helping to change the divided climate in our homeland. And may we praise You for Your sovereignty, even over this awful tragedy. For you have judged it better to bring good out of the evil than to arrange it that no evil should exist. Men cannot be made good by laws; good can only spring from a change in peoples’ hearts. So please turn hearts toward Jesus Christ, the only one who can save us from ourselves; the only one who can rescue us from ruin. May this historic tragedy turn the history of this country so that we may, indeed, one day be crowned in brotherhood from sea to shining sea. In Your name, Amen.”
