It doesn’t take much more than a quick glance across the Internet today to realize there’s a whole lot of people out there in need of prayers for help and comfort.

* For those killed when their Alabama high school was hit by a tornado today. Prayers for God’s love and mercy on their souls, and His comfort to those friends and family members who grieve their passing.

… and the same for that 7-year old girl who life was taken by a tornado in Missouri.

* For those who are traveling and stuck in airports, and away from their loved ones due to the rough weather in our nation’s mid-section. Having talked with a couple of my co-workers who have been traveling today, it’s been a nightmare out there. Prayers for patience and understanding when we have to cope with those events and things that are beyond our control.

* For the families of all those brave men and women stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, who worry constantly about the safety of their loved ones. Prayers for God’s protection and mercy on all who are stationed in hostile places and places, far away from their homes and loved ones.

* For those in Iraq who have been killed and maimed by the senseless violence that continues to afflicted that nation. And, not only do we pray for the victims of such evil and senseless acts, but also for an end to the bloodshed there, and a change of heart and mind to those who would corrupt and pervert the teachings of their religion by encouraging and supporting such evil.

* For Dr. Todd (our veterinarian) and his church group, about to leave for the Dominican Republic to construct a peanut processing facility in a small town there, so that its residents can store their harvest for selling when the market demand for product is at its height. Pray not only for their safe travel and return, but that, in some small way, their actions will serve as a model and example to others of the good that Christians can do in a society increasingly dismissive of their faith and works.

* For those who promote pornography, and those whose minds, infected and possessed by its destructive power, prey upon children to commit unspeakable acts upon them. Pray for a change of heart and mind in those who would promote its spread, and, for those in need of professional help and guidance, the will and desire to cast aside the darkness in their souls in exchange for God’s light, love, and peace.

* For those who would plot to commit senseless acts of violence. Pray for a change of heart, mind, and spirit, and the rejection of the Evil One whose only desire is the spread of the forces of fear, chaos, hopelessness, and disillusionment.

Sometimes its hard to see God’s presence in a world that appears so afflicted and so broken, but, as Dr. Todd said, when discussing the area where his church group was going to build that peanut facility – in the most desperate of Third World conditions, sometimes you just have to look harder to see God’s glory at work in the world.

May we all seek to find the desire and will to reject those forces that would otherwise harden us, and keep our eyes from seeing God’s glory at work in the world around us.