Friday afternoon, December 14th,  I sat on my bed licking envelopes with a bitter taste in my mouth and a burden on my heart. There I sat sealing Christmas cards complete with beautiful pictures of our children and healthy family. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, twenty sets of parents learned the tragic news that their precious babies ranging in age from 6 to 7, had given of their last earthly embrace. Only hours before they said goodbye to siblings and moms and dads and bounded through the front doors of Sandy Hook Elementary School. Likewise, six vibrant women showed up to work for the last time, completely unaware that they were minutes away from the threshold of eternity.

In the wake of such tragedy, I attempt to process the reality of Friday’s shooting. This horrific event is utterly unimaginable.

As we mourn with the victim’s families, I would like to offer prayer suggestions that we as believers can petition on their behalf.

You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.~John Bunyan

Prayers for the city of Newtown, Connecticut and Sandy Hook Elementary School:

• pray for the families comfort by the Holy Spirit
• pray for the salvation of each victim’s family
• pray that the marriages in the families surrounding the victims would hold together under the weight of such grief
• pray for the siblings
• pray for the unexpected Christmas that is upon them
• pray for the first responders who viewed the horrific scene and the examiners that autopsy the victims’ bodies- pray that God would grant them sleep and reprieve from the images that they will carry in their minds the rest of their lives
• pray that the students, families, and first responders would get the counseling, spiritual, and medical treatment they need to deal with the post traumatic stress of this event
• pray that out of this horrific tragedy people would become followers of Christ Jesus
• pray for the local churches to be salt and light in this great hour of darkness
• pray for local pastors as they prepare their sermons- may they be the very words of God speaking to a grieving and seeking people
• pray for the local mayor, school board, and the governor of Connecticut as they make decisions moving Sandy Hook Elementary School forward
• pray that the media would not glorify the gunman and so encourage other violent acts from mentally and emotionally unstable people
• pray for the gunman’s brother and father whose lives have been forever altered-for their salvation and peace in the days ahead
• pray for wisdom for parents as they try to communicate the events of last Friday to their children
• pray for our nation as we react to these events-may we consider the real issue of the heart of sinful man and may we respond in humility and repentance as a nation
• pray that Christians would use this as an opportunity to preach the gospel and share the comfort of the Holy Spirit

Father God,

The events of last Friday did not take you by surprise. Like us, this evil act grieves your heart. For you made man to bring you glory and we returned the gift of life with sin and evil.

Thank you Lord that you love the little children and you welcome them to come unto you. Thank you that the Bible provides hope that the children killed in Friday’s shooting have had their tears wiped away by the very hand of God. 

You are a loving and just God. We lift the above prayer requests to you and ask that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. We long for the day when you will return and create a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no more sin, striving, nor death. Come Lord Jesus and prepare the hearts of your people for your return.

We love you Lord and it is in Jesus name that we pray,

Amen.

Further Reading Recommendations:

1. The Gospel and Newtown by David Platt (here)

2. Newtown As I Know It by Jamie at Simple Homeschool (here)

3. Talking to Children After the Death of a Loved One (here)