Praying for our Servos

In this time of national disaster, it’s very important that we pray for the many people who serve us in our emergency services and other associated organisations. To help you pray, here is the prayer I wrote for our Tuesday ‘Bushfire Emergency Prayer Service’:

Heavenly Father, we bring before you the many people who lead and serve in our emergency services, and ask that you would protect and strengthen them in this time of crisis.

We pray for the members of the Ambulance service, who render help to firefighters and victims, and for the health and medical staff who provide first aid and long-term care.

We pray for the volunteers in the Rural Fire Service, who continue to battle tirelessly and sacrificially, and for Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, who with his team, has showed such leadership in keeping everyone informed and safe, as he manages this disaster.

We pray for the police force, and their assistance in helping evacuate and direct traffic and respond to incidents, as well as maintain law and order in this challenging time.

We pray for the defence force, who have supported all agencies from air, land and sea in many roles and capabilities.

We pray for NSW Fire and Rescue, who battle to protect and save people, animals and buildings, and for their executive management team and incident controllers.

We pray for those in the National Parks and Wildlife Service who help care for animals and assist with fighting fires.

We pray for the SES workers who restore safety to communities and clear hazardous debris.

We pray for the forestry corporation, fighting fires and managing millions of hectares of state forest.

We pray for the many people who have pushed for donations and have given time, equipment and money to assist those in need.

We pray for the many people who work behind the scenes in communication centres, who have the difficult job of determining where valuable resources need to go.

We pray for the people who update apps, warning and Facebook pages, and for the people in the media, who together work to keep information coming in times of need.

We thank you for the service of all who have travelled afar from interstate and from Canada, the USA, New Zealand, to assist us in this time of disaster.

We pray also for our Prime Minister, our Premier, our Mayor, and for all those who serve with them at this time, as they make important decisions to coordinate the firefighting and relief efforts.

And we also pray for the family and friends of all firefighters who have to say ‘farewell’ with fear and pride to a loved one, and hold down the fort while they are gone.

We pray for protection and strength for all who lead and serve us in this bushfire emergency.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: ‘Highway Patrol Images’ via Flickr.com)