Thank you for the link ... how sad
PRAYER WARRIOR FIELD TRIP!!
Please check out post 336 of the "Holiday Appeal for Walter Reed Hospital Soldiers in which Ragtime Cowgirl included a report from TruthNtegrity on a visit she made to Walter Reed to see some of our injured heroes. (Tissue alert.)
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1029409/posts?q=1&&page=301 Truthie and others in the DC area are making plans to visit them this Easter Weekend. Please join them in spirit, or if there is a nearby Veteran's Hospital, go visit some of your local heroes and let them know they are appreciated!
If this catches you in time, Truthie, please consider taking this prayer to the guys and gals in Walter Reed when you visit them this weekend. I feel certain that I am not the only one praying in this way.
MERCIFUL FATHER ABOVE,
Blessed Father, there are so many of us who are out here in the heartland thinking of our heroes who have been so willing to serve this nation in the face of a borderless enemy who desires to kill all of us, if they are given the chance.
We are moving into the High Holy Days of Easter, and of Passover. Those of us who are Christian are mindful of the sacrifice of our Lord who was willing to undergo horrendous suffering for God's children. Those of us who are Jewish are mindful of God's love of his children through their deliverance from slavery. We are grateful to be your children, our Father, no matter how we got that way! We are reflecting that the young people in our armed services are performing selfless actions which commemorate the best of both religious traditions. Those who have lost life or limb have truly laid their lives down for their friends, in the very best of the Christian tradition. They have also been involved in the liberation of others of your children which is in some way a memorial to the very best of the love of Freedom in the Jewish tradition.
We know that among our heroes are those who have given all. We certainly remember, honor and esteem them. Our gratitude is not enough, but it is what we have. We pray that you will surround their families and loved ones during their time of grief. We ask that those who are among our armed forces, our allies, and our support personnel who stand with them, who have lost their buddies will also be supremely blessed and granted peace of mind despite the scars of what they have had to witness.
We are mindful that we have many who have been returned to us from deployment with injuries to their bodies, minds, emotions, and souls. We give thanks that their lives were spared and that we are allowed to have them among us for a longer time. Father, we love these fine young men and women who have surrendered the perfect health of their bodies and souls in order to confront and fight the evil which threatens to overtake our nation and civilization. We ask that you will swaddle each and every one of them in a garment woven from our prayers and wrapped around them with your loving arms. Let legions of angels (both seen and unseen) walk the halls of Walter Reed and all our other Veteran Hospitals to bless each and every one of them who bears the scars of battle.
Enfold, guide, and direct each and every doctor, nurse, and health care professional who is caring for these young people. Let all medications, pain therapies, physical therapies, surgeries, and all other interventions and therapies be 100% effective. Reach into the very cellular levels and heal all tissues! Let that which which may not be thought by medical science to be capable of healing be rendered capable! We call forth miracles of healing, and have the trust of the little children, which we are to you, that you will answer.
Father, we ask that the families and loved ones of these young heroes are granted infinite insight, love, courage, strength, faith, and patience while they hold vigil and work with their loved ones during convalescence, recovery, and the whole healing process. We ask that you will help all these families pass through victoriously all the challenges which are facing them at this time.
Some of us witnessed the interviews Oprah Winfrey broadcast on her show recently of some of our injured soldiers. Father, the upbeat, courageous, and steadfastness of these remarkable young men and women was awesome and inspirational. They each and every one of them stated that they were proud of what they had been doing in their overseas deployment, they said their injuries were worth the sacrifice, and furthermore, they would do it again. Father, on bent knee, this supplicant thanks you for sending to us in this critical hour these magnificent young people who "placed themselves between their loved homes and the war's desolation."* Please, Father, God, mend the bodies and souls of these who will bear scars throughout their lives.
We mourn the loss of some of the plans for the future which these who have been injured have had to surrender in some cases. Father, please place your hand tangibly on each of these and guide them into what your own true Vision is for each of them. Somehow, FAther, grant that these know that their sacrifice is appreciated and not taken for granted. Bless them throughout their lives. Let them take from their hospital beds an iron-clad certitude that you are extraordinarily close to them and that your hand is and shall always be upon them. Let them be granted abundant faith that will allow them to remain always aware of that closeness; that you will never ever leave or abandon them. Nor, by your Grace, shall we, their compatriots.
Father, if it be according to thy Will, let each of them be able to feel that love of our hearts enfolding them wherever they may be. We pray for them and trust that because you are indeed our beloved Father, you will not give a stone when a crust or a hug is what is needed. We thank you for hearing our prayers, and we expectantly and gratefully await learning of the miracles, both big and small, which you have planned for them.
Amen
*words from the Star Spangled Banner