Archbishop Glenn Davies has appealed for Christians to be in fervent prayer as New South Wales enters a State of Emergency because of bushfires raging around the state.
As the state of emergency was declared, at least 17 people had died in Australia and more than 1,400 homes have been destroyed in bushfires since October. Three bushfire fighters have lost their lives in New South Wales.
Archbishop Davies wrote to churches noting that many, especially in the Wollongong Region have been arranging special prayer meetings as well as practical offers of support to those affected.
“Our January Sunday services will give us all an opportunity for bringing our prayers to God for his mercy to flow, and indeed for rain to fall.” Dr Davies said.
The Archbishop issued a special prayer, which asks for protection for the firefighters.
“Our hearts cry out to you for those who have lost loved ones, and those who have lost properties in the wake of these ravaging fires. Father we pray, in your mercy, restrain the forces of nature from creating catastrophic damage; in your mercy protect human life.” the prayer reads. “Guard those volunteers, rural fire service personnel and emergency services who selflessly step into the breach to fight these fires. Guide police and authorities who help evacuate and shelter those who are displaced. Bring comfort and healing to all who suffer loss.”
St Andrew’s Cathedral will be holding a prayer service on Sunday 19 January, as well as offering special prayers each Sunday.
Dr Davies also commended the work of the Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid, which continues its drought and bushfire appeal which has raised more than 300 thousand dollars and the work of Anglicare’s Disaster Recovery Response, where teams of trained Anglicare volunteers give practical aid such as helping prepare meals, providing clothing, bedding and towels for showers and helping with displaced pets.
The full prayer reads:
A prayer for Australia in drought and fire
Our heavenly Father, creator of all things and especially the creator of this land and its original peoples, we call out to you in these desperate times as fires have swept across several parts of our country.
Our hearts cry out to you for those who have lost loved ones, and those who have lost properties in the wake of these ravaging fires
Father we pray, in your mercy, restrain the forces of nature from creating catastrophic damage; in your mercy protect human life.
Guard those volunteers, rural fire service personnel and emergency services who selflessly step into the breach to fight these fires. Guide police and authorities who help evacuate and shelter those who are displaced. Bring comfort and healing to all who suffer loss.
Remembering your promises of old that seedtime and harvest will never cease, we pray that you would open the heavens to send refreshing rain upon our parched land.
In your mercy, we pray for drenching rain.
We pray that despite the forecasts, in your miraculous power you would bring forth rain to quench these fires and to bring life back into the earth, so that crops may grow and farmers may bring forth the harvest of the land again.
We bring these requests before your throne, in the name of your Son, who died and rose again for our deliverance,
Amen.
Very much ‘Old Testament’. I know there are Christians who believe in a God who controls the weather. Some friends of mine prayed for fine weather on their wedding day. It seemed their prayers won out over the prayers of those who prayed for rain because of the drought. Sometimes what we might pray in private may be better not included in public prayer. Is God running a kind of divine welfare state? I know people who pray for a parking space when they go shopping. Surprisingly their prayer is often answered, or so it seems. Maybe we need to ask ourselves what business God is actually in? Is He in the firefighting business? Is He in the “restrain the forces of nature” business? Or is He in some other business altogether?
Having just come inside after doing some clearing of our yard for tomorrow’s next 42C day and the possibility of losing our house or seeing neighbours lose theirs, I have no hesitation in praying for rain. Much of Australia is in severe drought and that also encourages me to pray for rain. The computer predictions for the next eight days show a likelihood of some rain over most of the continent, and whatever God’s reasons for that, I thank him for it and will thank him even more when the rains come!
My wife and I are praying for rain too, and for safety for those threatened by fire, and for God’s comfort for those who have lost homes and loved ones. Like you we don’t hesitate to pray for these things or indeed anything that we feel we need to speak to God about or share with God for any reason. In private. But formal, public prayers that are written down for all and sundry to read, and in many cases to ridicule, should be more carefully worded in my view. I would certainly not print and publish in newspapers a prayer asking God to miraculously suspend the laws of nature. This appears ludicrous to most people. But to pray that people would know God’s comfort at this time, and turn to God in their troubles, makes perfect sense and helps to reveal to people God’s core business, which is personal.
I have no hesitation in joining Dr. Davies in praying for rain and for safety for all Australians. May the Lord in his mercy keep you all.
I’m praying the Clinton Foundation will give back the $85 million coming from Australia in their pay-to-play scheme for fire fighting efforts.
The Bible says – “IF my people, which are called by my name, shall HUMBLE themselves, and
PRAY, and SEEK my face, and TURN from their wicked ways; then will I HEAR from heaven, and will FORGIVE their sin, and will HEAL their land.” (2Chronicles 7:14 KJV)
Today’s modern church has departed so far away from God that if He didn’t bring His judgment upon Australia in some form, He would have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah for turning their cities into dust and ashes, as mentioned in Gen 19:27-28.
When we witness (so-called) ‘Christians’ admitting to being into pedophilia, pornography and many in the churches turning a bling eye to institutional child abuse (the Royal Commission) together with churches marrying same-sex couples (even their priests marrying) – can Almighty
God ignore such offensive behavior – Lev 20:13?
‘The Church’ has a lot of sins to repent from. If it fails to realize its current decrepit and irrelevant state within society and towards representing Jesus Christ as one of His ambassadors on Earth (2 Cor 5:20), then the following scripture verse is likely to become fulfilled before our eyes:
“For the time is come that JUDGMENT MUST BEGIN at the house of God [i.e. today’s churches]: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them [the offending Christians] THAT OBEY NOT THE GOSPEL OF GOD? 18 And if the righteous [Christian] SCARCELY BE SAVED, where shall the ungodly [Christian] and the [unsaved] sinner appear?” 1 Peter 4:17-18
“And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: 28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.” Gen 19:27-28
It is sounding like this isn’t really an outlier weather or climate event. All of the statistics are within the norms. Arson is unusually high. Proper husbanding forests and brush is another factor. Controlled burns during the rainy season is an excellent tool. My last trip through Yosemite National Park in California was pretty smoky because of these burns.