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We view the Bible as our daily problem solver.
We turn to the Bible for inspiration, insight,
comfort, guidance, and answers for our troubled
world.
Healing Messages includes passages
from the Bible that help us think or act differently
or that have resulted in healing heart, mind,
soul, or body. This month's Healing Message reminds
us of God's tender care for each of His children.
Foreign
Affairs Officer, Meggen Watt, shares how the Lord's
Prayer comforted her during the attacks on 9/11.
THE LORD'S
PRAYER -- AN ANSWER TO 9/11
On September 11, 2001, I was
working in Washington, DC. It was a day I do not
need to re-describe here, one in which the city
went from its regular pace to being a city under
siege in a matter of minutes. It was accompanied
by the startling sight of fighter planes flying
overhead and smoke rising out of the Pentagon.
That morning, I knew that if everyone left their
offices all at once it would create a major traffic
jam. So I decided that before I went home, I would
take time to pray until I really felt the calm
of God's presence, right there in my office. I
started with the Lord's Prayer. The notes below
show the progression of thought that day as I
turned to God. I share it now as a continuing
prayer.
September 11, 2001
They told us we could go home -- encouraged
it, in fact. But I chose to stay a little while,
to clear my thoughts, to reach an inner calm.
I am suddenly and acutely aware of where I am,
working as part of the national security establishment
of the country, in an office in a federal building,
right downtown on the Mall in Washington, DC.
I offer words of comfort to people in the office.
Everyone is startled and wonders what will come
next. There's an overwhelming feeling that "there's
nothing we can do." We huddle around the
radio. It narrates. It gets repetitive, as if
hearing it the first time weren't enough.
We hear about the two towers collapsing in
New York. We hear about parts of the Pentagon
collapsing. It seems impossible. People are
evacuating most offices in the city…
I think there is something I can do. It's to
be actively conscious of God.
Where is that feeling of safety? It comes with
charity, a feeling of brotherly love for our
fellow man. "Our Father, which art in
heaven…." I feel pity for the
people who feel driven to inflict such horror.
I feel compassion for the unwitting victims
of this tragedy. We're all connected. It's not
"over there" somewhere. There must
be room in my heart to love unconditionally.
This is going to take work.
"Hallowed be thy name." Nothing
like this can be done in God's name. God's name
brings peace, calm, assurance, comfort, the
expectation of good. All immediately come to
their neighbors' assistance. Bosses usher their
flocks of employees to safety, out of the building,
out of harm's way.
"Thy kingdom come." In my
consciousness, God's laws prevail. It is not
a place of mass hysteria, gridlock, panic, terror,
or fear. Those are what you see and feel when
you take your eyes off of the spiritual reality.
God's kingdom is permanent. Only good can be
permanent.
"Thy will be done in earth, as it is
in heaven." God is victorious, not
vengeful. The motive is to heal, guard, and
protect, not kill. As we heal, we grow spiritward.
The Lord's Prayer gave me comfort and helped
me move forward through the difficult days and
weeks that followed. It remains close to my heart
-- a prayer I often turn to with confidence and
trust. On September 11, more than ever before,
people were openly talking about "God"
in the work place and praying for each other.
It was a pretty powerful shift, and I'm sure a
lot of people felt that. Like Daniel's consistent
prayer described in Teen
Time's Hot Topic on Terrorism, turning to
God in moments of crisis -- and at any time --
replaces the "spirit of fear" with "power,"
"love," and "a sound mind."
"For God hath not given us the spirit
of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a
sound mind." KJV, II Tim. 1:7
--Meggen Watt, Washington, D.C.
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