Lord,
Our world has been upended.
The forces of nature appear to be conspiring against us.
The homes and possessions of families, friends and strangers
things for which they’ve worked all their lives,
for which we’ve worked all our lives
have been destroyed.
Our sense of Hope has been washed away in a flood.
We are surrounded by suffering, devastation, and death.
Your presence is virtually undetectable.
But then I remember that Your beloved Son suffered too,
That he spoke the words,
“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me”
while hanging on the cross.
Yet the truth is that You never did forsake Him.
Instead, You walked with Him through His pain;
Quiet, yes, but ever-present.
In turn, we have a Savior who can identify with our own sufferings,
Who doesn’t look down on our pain from some high perch,
But rather stands next to us helping us endure the unimaginable.
He makes His presence felt through comforting acts of kindness
And through the consoling prayers of a nation.
As we grasp onto the tiniest spark of hope for the future,
No doubt, the road ahead will not be easy.
Open our minds and hearts to Your wisdom,
courage and guidance on the journey;
Bring us comfort when our hearts are breaking;
Carry us when we are weary;
Give us strength as we rebuild our lives.
Help us to always remember Your assurance,
“I am with you always until the end of the age.”
Tony Rossi, Director of Communications, The Christophers, Catholic ministry, NY
Christopher Closeup – Patheos blog, slightly edited
___________________
What, then, shall we say in response to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—
how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
prayer & verse 
Psalm 79 was written in the wake of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and is informative for us as a prayer as well.
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