Loving God and Heavenly Father,
Please slow the spread of this virus throughout our land, and please protect the vulnerable from its deadly touch. Please lay your healing hands upon those who are now infected—please restore them to health and strength.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the gift of modern medicine, and thank you for the passion and dedication of medical staff everywhere. Please give each one of them your wisdom in every decision they make; please protect and sustain them, and give them the strength, energy and courage they need to carry on.
Please guide the minds of our leaders in the decisions they make that will affect all our lives. Please lead them to act wisely, carefully and in the best interests of all Australians. Please shine your light on the path ahead.
Please draw close to the anxious hearts and troubled minds of those who now face great financial stress; please protect them and their families from long term economic damage and guide them day by day and step by step through this crisis.
Please give each one of us the calmness and wisdom we need to carry us, together, through the days and weeks ahead.
Please plant into the heart of each of us the spirit to love our neighbours as ourselves, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus in caring for those around us—friends and strangers alike—as you draw our community together in love.
Please, loving Heavenly Father, draw especially close to those who are alone or troubled at this difficult time. Calm their troubled hearts, and move their friends, family and acquaintances to call them to encourage and support them.
Please remind each of us that we do not need to make the journey of life on our own, in our own strength, but that you are here, as close to us as our own breath, to fill our hearts with your love, surround us with your powerful protective arms and guide us in your path.
We pray this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Rev Ben Bleby
Associate Chaplain
Prayer adapted from Sydney Anglicans
