lenten journey, day 25 — a prayer for bam

When it comes to natural disasters, we have a pretty short attention span. Think hard…when was the last time you heard an update on the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people on December 26, 2004? It’s been just two years, yet we’ve moved on in every way possible. I wonder if any of the devastated nations have even begun to recover?

And what about Bam? You know…the city in Iran that was almost completely flattened by an earthquake on December 26, 2003? (Notice anything coincidental about the dates of these two disasters?) More than 25,000 died that day, and 200,000 were left homeless. Are we to believe that all is well now in Bam?

As it turns out, things are not going that great for the survivors in Bam. The Red Crescent (the muslim counterpart of the Red Cross) has a series of upbeat reports on its website, but reading between the lines shows how much more needs to be done:

• 119 clinics and hospitals were destroyed by the earthquake; 4 have been rebuilt.
• 131 schools were reduced to rubble; 9 have been reconstructed.
• Two years after the disaster, only 1,700 of 20,000 destroyed homes within the city itself had been restored.

As I was searching for information on Bam, I was not able to locate a single organization besides the Red Crescent that is still actively funding reconstruction or ministering to the still-hurting people of that city. Because Iran is essentially closed to missionaries, the church is limited in its ability to respond in a hands-on way.

Has the world’s commitment to help faded now that the media spotlight has moved on? Or maybe it’s just that there are so many desperate needs in the world, that we can’t possibly help everyone needing long-term assistance.

What I have realized in these 25 days of prayer so far is that I need to spend a lot more time on my face before God, pleading with him on behalf of the billions of hurting, hungry, sick, desperate, and thoroughly lost people of this world. I may not be able to hop on a plane and build houses for earthquake victims in Iran, but I certainly can intercede for the people of Bam, and the people of Iran, and the people of the Middle East, and the people of Asia, and the people of the northern hemisphere, and all the people on earth. May God’s light shine in the midst of despair whenever the tears of the saints are shed for those who hurt.

Father, sometimes it seems that there is so much to pray for. How can we possibly keep up? Thank you for gently reminding me that the Holy Spirit will help me pray when I simply don’t have the words to do so. Oh Lord, would you make your presence felt in Bam tonight? Would you send enough provision for each day’s needs as the people of that city struggle to reclaim the lives that were so devastated three years ago? Would you open the door for believers to lovingly minister to the hurting and the brokenhearted people of Bam? Lord, please, be not far off for all who need you tonight. Yes, and amen.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. — Romans 8:26

May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. — Psalm 141:2