Few of us can have been left unconcerned or unmoved by the recent outbreak of the devasting new coronavirus outbreak in China. Our hearts go out to the people of Wuhan in everything they are facing, and to all those elsewhere who have succumbed to a disease that seems to be daily spreading. The fear of many, of course, is that this become a major pandemic, perhaps mutating so as to become resistant to antibiotics, with who knows what consequences. In this new prayer I have written in response, we seek God ’ s help and strength for all those who have been, or may yet be, infected by the virus or involved in fighting it and stopping its spread.
Lord of all,
hear our prayer for the people of Wuhan,
wrestling with the outbreak of the new coronavirus –
enduring all the fear,
confusion,
tragedy
and loss
associated with that.
Hear our prayer for those in China,
where the disease has already spread among many,
the death toll daily rising,
and where measures to quarantine those infected,
and control the epidemic,
already seem to be a losing battle.
Here our prayer for the wider world –
for countries where some are already suffering from the virus,
for those worried that it may appear there at any time,
for those fearful that this may be turn out to be the stuff of their worst nightmares:
a wholesale pandemic.
Hear our prayer for those in hospital receiving treatment,
those with underlying health issues for whom treatment may not be enough,
those already mourning the loss of loved ones,
those virtually imprisoned in their homes or town,
those stuck in a foreign land finding it impossible,
due to travel restrictions,
to get home.
Hear our prayer for those battling against the disease –
doctors, nurses and care staff putting their own lives at risk to do so,
governments searching for the best way to respond,
scientists striving to find vaccines and cure for the disease.
Lord of all,
give reassurance to those terrified they may have contracted the illness,
strength to those who have done so,
comfort to those it has left bereaved,
support to those in hospitals at the front line in combating it,
and wisdom to those entrusted with not only limiting its worst effects,
but finally, somehow, defeating it.
Reach out, we pray, in love and mercy,
to help and heal,
sustain and deliver,
in the name of Christ.
Amen.