An opportunity for healing

President Bush's proclamation for this year's National Day of Prayer asked Americans to remember the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy and pray for their families and loved ones. 

In his proclamation he said: "God hears the prayers of His children and shows grace to those who seek Him. Following the tragedy at Virginia Tech, in towns all across America, in houses of worship from every faith, Americans have joined together to pray for the lives that were lost and for their families, friends, and loved ones. We hold the victims in our hearts and pray for those who suffer and grieve. There is a power in these prayers, and we can find comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God." 

As the East National Area Leader of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, my wife, Nancy, received the president's request for prayer for Virginia Tech as a direct order.

To respond to President Bush's focus on prayer for the Virginia Tech victims, Nancy will be hosting a youth prayer vigil on the West Lawn of the U. S. Capitol Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. to offer quiet, reflective prayer while God's Word is read aloud during the U. S. Capitol Bible Reading Marathon.

But even before the President issued his proclamation on April 20,  Nancy had been wondering what she could personally do in response to e-mails she had been getting from a friend and former pastor of ours, Sandy Young, who is now at Blacksburg Christian Fellowship.

Young estimates that half of his church's  800 member congregation attends or works at Virginia Tech.

Pastor Sandy asked for prayer for the returning students, that they would have courage and not let the gunman have the final say. He also encouraged us to pray for the Koreans living in America. He asked us to try and put ourselves in their position.

"Imagine if you were living with a group of Americans overseas as guests in another country and one of our fellow Americans committed a heinous crime," he said.

Nancy and I participated in the Assembly 2007 ceremonies which were held in Virginia Beach this past weekend.

We had parts in the beachfront program, and during Nancy's section, she told the crowd about the upcoming prayer vigil at the Capitol for the victims and their families.

When we got back to the National Day of Prayer booth up on the boardwalk, one of the victim's families had already been by with a request for prayer at Wednesday night's vigil.  They left a family photo of Reema Samaha, an 18 year-old Virginia Tech freshman, who had plans for a summer session in France and a career in show business and dance before her plans on earth were ended by Cho's bullets.

Three Korean ministers who pastor churches in America also spoke at the Assembly 2007 event. They publicly asked for America's forgiveness and expressed their collective shame because it was a Korean-American who had committed the murders.  Their pain over the murders was great, they said, because had it not been for the American missionaries who first went to Korea in 1885, and have labored there ever since, Korea would not be the Christian nation it is today.

"We are the little children of America," Pastor Moses Lee said. "God bless America!"

Not many U.S. papers have covered the announcement of Wednesday night's prayer vigil, and so it was interesting  to read about it online in a British paper which quoted Nancy as saying, "The Virginia Tech shootings have wounded the soul of our nation and taken a toll on its youth.

The students that come to pray will ask for healing for our country and hope for the future. These leaders of tomorrow will call upon God to give them the guidance, wisdom and courage with which to face the challenges that lay ahead."

The Korean pastors told us that 65,000 Korean churches are joining them in praying for America's healing.

Maybe you can join with Nancy and me at the Capitol to pray that God's comforting hand would be felt by all those who are experiencing the pain of Virginia Tech's tragedy.