I’m writing to request your prayers for Australia, especially over this coming weekend.
Large portions of the country are on fire, thousands of people evacuated by the army and navy, more than 500 million animals and plants have died, and possibly whole species made extinct, a number of tragic human deaths, 2000 homes lost… the country is in the grip of an unprecedented crisis.
This weekend sees worsening conditions… please send your prayers, love, the healing power of rain…
Dear Nirtana,
You are all in my prayers. The land, water, air, rocks, all the living creatures are in my prayers. Breathing in Ya Shafee, I remember the bright green leaves sprouting all along the length of blackened twigs in Royal National Park after a severe fire a few years ago. The divine healing power surging forth, unstoppable. That fire was so bad, I thought everything would die, but somehow plants and animals came back. Not minimising our grief and loss, but also affirming that life lives. Breathing out Ya Kafee as the water breath, imagining cool, gentle rain falling on the land, soaking in deep, healing.
I am praying for healing, for protection of this precious continent, and for awakening of conscience. La illa ha illa 'Llah Hu. One planet - one Life - one Love.
Nirtana,
My prayers, as well as my hopes and fears, are with you, and all of the living web of ‘OZ”.
As I regard the incomprehensible destruction and the seeming incompetence of your federal government’s reponse to same, I can’t help but feel the echo in our own circumstances. What may feel at one level to be a cataclysm on the other side of the world is in reality right here in our ‘very human back yard’. We are all in this together.
God of all creation, we weep at the destruction wrought by wildfires in Australia. The images of land, homes, people and animals decimated by flames and smoke evoke cries of “How long, O Lord?”
Bring relief to those suffering unspeakable loss. Grant respite for firefighters and first responders, helpers of all kinds and leaders making difficult decisions. Even as the land is engulfed in devastation, grant hope for new life and restoration. Grow our resolve to do all that is in our power to stop the conditions that are the catalysts of countless natural disasters.
Envelop your beloved world with a vision of your promised future, where crying and death are no more, where the river of life flows, trees shelter all nations and every creature is cared for with compassion. May your peaceful and certain future compel us to actions that give glimpses of its beauty today, especially in those places most in need of your healing.