Ways to Pray During a Crisis

Do you need some ideas of ways to pray during a crisis?

I know that having a list when I sit down to pray really helps me focus my prayers. If I don’t use a list, halfway through praying I’m drifting into the thousand other tasks swirling around my mommy brain.

First, I thought of all the people and groups for which we should pray and ended with ways we can pray.

Pray for our leaders

In any crisis, our governmental leaders have to make many difficult decisions. They try to weigh out the cost-benefit ratios, but in the end, can only do their best to make wise choices.

They have a difficult job. The fate of our nation and our neighbors rests on their shoulders.

Pray for wisdom as they listen to experts reporting on the situation. Give them a humble attitude to be willing to take recommendations from the right people.

Pray for emotional and spiritual protection as they deal with long days, frayed emotions, competing values. Many difficult decisions won’t make everyone happy and there are always consequences.

Pray for their physical health. Long challenging days are exhausting and leave them vulnerable to illness.

Especially during the Corona Virus crisis we are facing currently, they need our prayers to stay healthy so they can continue to serve our country.

Include the state and local officials in your prayers as well. Many local decisions will affect you and your family more closely. And we tend to have more direct access to local leaders.

Our mayors and governors and school superintendents will have to make decisions that can really upset people. Take this opportunity to pray for people to stay calm and be gracious even when we disagree with some decisions.

Pray for our communities

Pray during a crisis for protection for the people in our communities who can’t just stay home.

• First responders – police, firefighters, ambulance drivers, EMTs
• Medical personnel – nurses, doctors, radiologists, x-ray technicians, etc.
• City workers – water, electricity, utilities. As long as we have running water, electricity, tv, internet, most of us will be fine in our homes for several weeks.
• Store employees – cashiers, clerks, personal shoppers, etc. While the shelves might be bare, these people have dealt with some of the worst of this crisis so far and are so necessary as we move forward.
• Postal employees – USPS, Fed-Ex, UPS They are getting what we need to our doors.
• Online shopping warehouse employees – God bless Walmart.com and Amazon right now.
• Military and National Guard – they are prepared for any crisis even when everyone else stays home
• Farmers – continue to grow food, provide meat, milk, cheese, oats, wheat, vegetables
• Truck Drivers – move goods around the country so we are not at the mercy of the local economies.
• Manufacturing employees – Charmin, Lysol, Purell

While staying home is inconvenient and might be limiting or boring, as long as these people keep doing their jobs, we will be able to survive a crisis.

Pray for them to be physically protected from the virus and able to continue to do the things that allow us to function in a quarantine situation.

They keep showing up and making sure we are cared for so we can stay quarantined.

Pray for the Pastors and Churches

While many churches are closing Sunday services to protect worshippers from spreading the virus, most pastors are not staying home.

Our worship team, pastor, and audio-visual team met to have service online for us.

Many pastors are trusting God to protect them while they continue to minister to the needy around them. They are still bringing groceries, checking on shut-ins, providing meals and more.

Please take a moment to pray for these servants of God who are serving Him in the midst of this crisis.

Pray for the elderly and medically at-risk

Many of our church members and communities are older. Pray for them to stay safe. Pray for people in their neighborhoods to step up and check on them (safely).

Do more than pray if you are able. Get them groceries. Put yourself on severe lockdown so that you are able to volunteer at the nursing home if that is possible. Call the local nursing home or senior living community and see what you can do to be a safe volunteer.

Call your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. We may have to quarantine physically, but we can make sure we’re reaching out as much as possible.

Pray for yourself and family

Sometimes, I’m hesitant to pray for myself. It feels selfish, but God tells us to come to Him with all of our requests. I am praying for me to stay healthy and to be wise. I’m praying not to have a spirit of fear, but to also be cautious and wise.

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control

Pray for your family, children, spouse to stay healthy and safe. Financially, our country is facing a challenging time after a period of great prosperity. It’s ok to pray for God to protect your family’s finances, home, jobs, etc.

Pray to be a light in the dark times.

As Christians, we know how the story ends. We have no need to fear. Any difficulties and suffering are temporary. We have hope in an eternity without sickness, without pain, without death. Pray to let those around you see the peace of Christ in you.

We need to remember to be that light for those that we know who don’t know Christ or who need encouragement and hope in this crisis. Pray for those who need salvation. Be open and available to share your testimony.

Learn HOW to talk to people so they will listen. Greg Koukl’s website and book Tactics is a great way to learn how to lovingly, gently open the door to conversations about faith.

Especially since much of our communication will be online for a few weeks, please pray for Christ to shine in your social media message.

Lastly, WAYS to Pray in a crisis when we’re not supposed to meet.

Write your prayers. Keeping a prayer notebook or journal is a great way to focus your mind as you pray and have a place to record how God answered your prayers.

Organize on Facebook. You can create a post asking for prayer requests on your timeline. Creating a prayer group on Facebook or in Messenger are other ways to commit to praying as the body of Christ.

The YouVersion Bible App now has a prayer request feature. And you can stop and pray for these requests when you log in to do your daily reading.

Use technology! We can pray together over the phone, in an email, with video chats, or even audio or video messaging apps.

Pray scripture!

While we can’t always claim the Old Testament promises to the Israelites for ourselves, they do demonstrate the character of the God we serve. And we can pray to receive these promises today!

2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (ESV) ¹³ When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, ¹⁴ if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Verses like this are strong reminders that no feast or famine is beyond God’s providence.

Our world has become exceedingly Godless. We should expect God to try to reach us through some fairly drastic measures. People seek His face the most during a crisis.

The best way to pray during a crisis is for God to move in the hearts and minds of the people who need to know Him.

And be ready to answer questions for those seeking the peace we have in Him.