Here’s another prayer that may help you to find words to articulate some of your thoughts and fears when you’re struggling to pray during these dark days of the coronavirus pandemic, and remind you that, however much it may feel like it, you are not alone.
Reach out today, Lord, to the frightened,
anxious about themselves
or their loved ones.
Hold them and help them.
Reach out to the isolated,
the lonely,
the vulnerable
Hold them and help them.
Reach out to the sick,
those wrestling with the symptoms of coronavirus,
those whose situation is complicated by underlying health conditions.
Hold them and help them.
Reach out to those ministering to the afflicted,
offering support, comfort and treatment as best they can,
but hampered by limited resources and the scale of the crisis.
Hold them and help them.
Reach out to the bereaved,
those already mourning family and friends,
their love and companionship snatched from them.
Hold them and help them.
Reach out to those affected financially –
those who have lost jobs and livelihoods,
the future they took for granted now under threat.
Hold them and help them.
Reach out to the countries of our world most affected –
Italy,
France,
Iran,
Spain,
China,
South Korea,
Spain,
Germany,
the United States,
Switzerland
and the United Kingdom –
and to the many places elsewhere in the world seeing an increase in infections,
and likely soon to be faced by imminent catastrophe in turn.
Hold them and help them.
Reach out, Lord, to a world in need,
a world teetering on the edge of chaos,
on the brink of disaster.
Hold us,
and help us all.
Amen.