As coronavirus cases climb to 321,278 worldwide, with 16,288 new cases overnight*, believers everywhere continue to cover the earth in prayer.

Salt&Light gathered the prayers of church leaders for each day of this week, so that we can, in unity, raise a hallelujah to an unerring, sovereign Lord.

Pastor Simon Murphy, lead pastor of Redemption Hill Church, prayed this prayer in the livestream service of his church yesterday (March 22).

“One of the ways that the Bible teaches us to pray is to pray prayers of lament,” said Pastor Murphy. “Many of the Psalms are laments, where people are crying out to God in the midst of their difficult circumstances, and asking God to hear them and to heal them. 

“Laments are ways of expressing real grief to God, so we can really take our sorrows to him.”

This prayer of lament follows Psalm 13.

Day Two: A lament for the nations

How long, O Lord? Will you forget us forever?
How long will you hide your face from us?
How long, Lord, must we take counsel in our soul
and have sorrow in our hearts all the day?
How long, Lord, shall this enemy (coronavirus) be exalted over us, O God?

Father with every day of the news, it seems that only affliction and death increases, and we look to you and we ask: How long, O Lord, how long?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy says, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

Father, we look to you today and we say: Consider us and answer us, O God, light up our eyes.

Let us behold You. Let us take hope in You, Lord God, may You grant us the vision of our hearts to be able to see and behold you, so that we do not lose hope and faint away, O God.

Father, we ask today that our enemies would not prevail over us, that our foes would not rejoice because we are shaken.

But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Father, we are learning to trust in your steadfast, covenantal love. Our hearts are learning slowly to rejoice in your salvation.

We ask that you would help us be a people who live by faith and not by sight. Who sing for joy to you, even in the midst of trials. Because we know that even in the midst of adversities you are the God who does deal bountifully with us.

You are our shepherd, who leads us even through the valley of the shadow of death.

Father in this light, we want to pray and lift up leaders around the world. We pray for Mr Lee Hsien Loong, O God, we pray for Mr Lawrence Wong and others in our nation who are leading us at this time.

Father, we pray for a profound sense of wisdom upon them as they guide our nation and make decisions with massive implications.

Father, we pray you would be with them, you would guide them. We pray you would give them strength and encouragement.

Father, we pray for other nations too – we lift up Italy, Iran, large parts of Europe, and America too, O God. Father, we think of some nations where there may be many cases but yet they’ve not being reported. We pray for your mercy upon these nations, God.

We pray that you would be merciful to those who are suffering and dying. To those who have lost loved ones and are not even able to gather for funerals because of quarantine orders.

We pray that you would turn the hearts of all people toward you, and you would comfort those who are mourning, O God.

We pray for leaders of nations around the world that you would be with them and empower and guide them, O God.

We think of our medical workers, those who are working on the frontlines, those exposed to others who’ve had this virus, God.

We pray for your mercy upon them and we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

*Correct at time of publishing

A prayer for healing in the nations: Day Two