IMO: It's okay to only pray for those you know



Link to Google Map of Japan

 On this morning, my heart is devastated and tears are just a blink away from trickling down my cheeks. Just 10 hours ago (somewhere around 12:46 am est, about 2:46pm their time) a massive earthquake, 8.9 on the richter scale, hit the Hoshu province of Japan- that’s near Tokyo. It set off a tsunami that merited an immediate evacuation. The wave was sweeping upwards over the island.

I have a friend, Kikuko, who has lived in Sapporo (on that northern part of Japan) all her life. Her mother and sister are also there. There is, of course, no word yet. News reports say power/communication have been knocked out for now. So those of us who have pieces of our heart scattered some place we can’t be, sit, wait, and pray.

I immediately checked my Facebook page to see if she’d posted anything, and also so I could post my confirmation that she is in my prayers and in my thoughts.

After checking her status, I realized just how many friends were in the path of this thing. And then I thought back to the hundreds and hundreds of lives (more?) affected by recent earthquakes in New Zealand and Australia, and of those I know there. And further back, to the earthquake that devastated Haiti in January, 2010.

It’s almost too much to hold in one heart.

I know that the people of Haiti are still trying to reconstruct- their lives, homes, and businesses and that it’ll likely be a very long time before they are fully recovered. It’s the same in New Zealand and Australia, though their journey to recovery is still new. And now, Japan.

I feel in times like this, my mind can easily be distracted by the newest urgent matter, and that I squeeze out the old tragedies to make room for the new. And that doesn’t feel right to me. But how can I make room in my heart and mind and prayers for all the tragedy that affects all those people in so many places for so long?

Photo by Stock.xchng

For me this comes down to praying for those I know, and trusting the praying hearts around me to cover those they know in prayer. This takes teamwork. I’ll pray for those I know, and you pray for those you know, and we’ll keep praying for them. It means I pray for a few, and let go of the responsibility to pray for all affected by these tragedies. Because if I’m honest, when I’m praying for the ‘all’, I’m really praying mostly for the ones I know.

I don’t think God faults us for that. And I trust God to hold the ‘all’ even when I can’t.

It doesn’t mean I think the ones I’ve formed relationships deserve protection any more than those I don’t know, but it does mean- I don’t have the faces of the ‘all’ in my mind when I pray. I can’t visualize the thousands, but I can picture my friend’s sleek, thick, dark hair, her high cheek bones, and smile. I can hear her laugh. I can remember what it’s like to eat pizza with her and how sad she was when her dog, Milky, died a few months ago. I can better imagine what her personal devastation will be after a natural disaster like this.

So go ahead, remember the people of Japan. Remember the people of New Zealand and Australia. Remember the people of Haiti. But when I pray today, I’ll be praying for Kikuko, and Debbie, and Lauria.

For the people who’ve left a permanent mark on my heart, I beg you God to hear my prayer.
And my dear friends, I trust you to remember the ones who’ve touched your lives as well.

So be it.