A Need for Prayer

Like all of you, I will never forget the Tuesday morning of September 11, 2001. Our kids were so little, 2 and 4, that we didn't go into great detail about what had happened that day. But the following year, on that day, the kids and I put up the American Flag outside. I sat down with them, and explained to them in an age-appropriate way what had happened on that day the year before. I got out our book "Let's Roll", by Lisa Beamer. Her husband Todd was a passenger on flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania. On that day she had two boys, David 3 and Drew 19 months, and was 5 months pregnant with a little baby girl. I showed Daniel and Sarah the pictures of those boys and the baby girl, and explained to them how we needed to pray for them on that day. It was so precious to hear Daniel and Sarah pray for these children by name. It is a tradition we have kept every year. We have a time of prayer for the Beamer kids specifically and also for all the children who lost parents, for husbands who lost wives, mothers who lost sons, and so on. I know from my own life experience, the pain of losing a loved one does not go away with time. In fact, I feel that it intensifies, as you have to go on with your own life with that empty space. With each new life experience, milestone, and celebration, that loss is felt all the more. So today, will you please pray. Even though this happened six years ago, I can assure you there are still men and women, and children who are suffering today. Please pray for them. Pray that through their loss, which they are so painfully reminded of today, they will turn to God, and find the joy and peace that comes from having a relationship with Him.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

~James 5:16

Never before in my life had the difference between those who believe in the Lord and those who do not believe been so obvious to me. Following Sept. 11, I saw firsthand many dear people who were trying their best to cope with loss, hurt, anger, fear, and a host of other feelings. Some had lost a husband, father, daughter, mother, or friend. They wanted to soar like eagles; they deeply desired to get on with life. They wanted to look on the bright side and do the things the cliches recommend, but they didn't have the strength. Worse yet, they had no hope. My family and I mourned the loss of Todd deeply that day....and we still do. But because we hope in the Lord, we know beyond a doubt that one day we will see Todd again. I hurt for the people who don't have that same hope, and I pray they will see something in our family that will encourage them to trust in the Lord.
~Lisa Beamer, describing the day she and other victims' families visited the Flight 93 crash site in Pennsylvania