April 24, 2019
As the Sri Lanka Easter bombings death toll rises and the news reports grow increasingly grim, Nathan Somanathan M.A. '19, Graduate Student Chaplain and student of Historical Theology in the Wheaton College Graduate School, shares some practical prayer points for his home country.
Praying for Sri Lanka
As we read the grievous and horrific news of the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka, our hearts sink and we wonder how we can best pray for our brothers and sisters suffering such tremendous loss. Nathan, a graduate student from Sri Lanka, offered these suggestions for those who seek to understand and pray for the situation:
- Pray for families and Churches to be safe, and for people to have space and time heal and grieve through the terror and confusion. The loss of many lives of young children is especially painful. The big question is "why Sri Lanka? Why us?"
- Pray for all bombs to be detected, for all threats to be addressed, and for alleviation of fear in the face of the unknowns. Many pastors and their families (including my own family) live in, or on the campus of, their churches, making them especially vulnerable to attack.
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Pray for protection against retaliation, and for the safety of the Muslim community. Muslims are a minority in Sri Lanka and thus are threatened by marginalization and religious and ethnic violence. Misdirected and misplaced anger and blame against the group of radical terrorists who carried out the attacks puts innocent and peaceful people at risk of retaliation and revenge attacks.
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Pray for the Sri Lankan economy: a large percentage of the economy is fueled by tourism. Fear may now keep tourists out of the country, causing economic crisis.
Thank you for praying with us.
- Nathan Somanathan with Hannah Hempstead
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Sri Lankan Market Photo by Eddy Billard on Unsplash