O God, we pray for those in the Islamabad region who are still trapped beneath shattered buildings, those desperately searching for relatives or friends, those in grief for those they have lost, the hundreds of thousands suffering deprivation as they look on in shock at what the quaking earth has done to their homes and community. We pray for those in Pakistan and India, and throughout the world who are organizing to find and deliver food, water, blankets, tents and other necessities for life.
Give us open and generous hearts for those who find themselves living in earthquake zones now in the midst of terror and chaos. Give us the wisdom to know how each of us build our daily routines before the unimaginable forces of nature. We pray now for those who must start to live again first in the open, say goodbye to their dead, as they risk moving back into buildings. As their lives are caught up with doctors and aid workers and planners bringing different and confusing perspectives give a sense of hope that life can be sure again.
Rev. Dr Dean Drayton, President, Uniting Church in Australia