The COVID-19 Pandemic is arguably the biggest event to occur in recent history. I don’t remember the GFC, September 11 or even the Iraq wars getting as much media attention as COVID-19 has. The question I want to ask today is, are we praying for the right things amidst this crisis?
The main prayer points I hear surrounding COVID-19 are for (i) an end to the pandemic, (ii) those with the virus, (iii) bereaved families, (iv) safety for medical staff, (v) resources to combat outbreaks, (vi) easing of economic hardships, and (vii) world leaders who have to make the hard decisions. These are all excellent prayers, which we must continue to bring before God.
Yet this list is missing 1 vital point, which is God’s glory. In Ezek 37 God declares that the exile and subsequent restoration of Israel was ‘not for your sake […] but for the sake of my holy name’ (v. 22). While we don’t have any prophets to tell us the SPECIFIC reasons why God has allowed a global pandemic to occur, what we learn from Scripture is that God’s main concern is to glorify that which most deserves to be glorified. If God were to glorify something above his name (and remember, a name represents a person’s entire identity), then he would be lying; i.e. declaring his name/identity is NOT the most glorious thing in existence.
So our number 1 prayer for this global pandemic is to be ‘hallowed be thy name’. This means praying (i) that people recognise there IS a God, (ii) that people understand we’re not in control, (iii) that people cry out to God for help from COVID-19, (iv) that people turn to Jesus in repentance and faith on mass, so that (v) millions more people will be declaring the glories of God when this pandemic is over. Let us not waste this crisis, but rather be praying for people to pour into God’s kingdom.
