Praying for Charlotte

Here are ten things to pray for in light of the tragedy that took place on the campus of UNC Charlotte on April 30, 2019. This list was adapted from "Ten Things to Pray for in Light of the Tragedy in Las Vegas" and was written by David Platt after the events that took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 1, 2017.

1. Pray for hurting families and friends who awoke to news that a loved one was gone. Pray that they might know and experience God’s mercy, comfort, strength, and sustenance in their every hurt, every pain, every thought, and every emotion (Psalm 34:18).

2. Pray for those who are injured– that God might use His common grace in doctors, nurses, emergency rooms, and hospital beds to bring about their healing (Psalm 6:2).

3. Pray for those who are helping the injured. Pray for wisdom, strength, and skill for these doctors and nurses who are attending to massive physical needs all around them, many without sleep or rest (Isaiah 40:29).

4. Pray for justice. Pray for justice for anyone and everyone who played any part in this evil event, and for grace and wisdom in our civil government for executing justice (Proverbs 21:15; Romans 13:1-7).

5. Pray for mercy. Plainly put, in the city of Charlotte and all across our country, we desperately need the mercy of God. Let’s all plead for it (Luke 18:9-14).

6. Pray for HGBC, in particular our college students, to indeed hold onto and hold out the hope of Christ in the midst of despair (Romans 15:13).

7. Pray for people who don’t know Christ. Whether in Charlotte or anywhere else in the world watching what has happened, pray that more and more people in a world of sin, suffering, evil, and death would know the peace, hope, love, and security that are found in Christ alone (Luke 19:10).

8. Pray for repentance. The sight of sin and evil in the world around us should not just provoke us to look at the horror of sin and evil in others, but to turn from the horror of sin and evil in each of our own hearts (2 Peter 3:9).

9. Pray for perspective. Events like these remind us that every one of our lives is a mist- here for a moment and gone tomorrow (James 4:14). We all stand on the porch of eternity, so let’s pray that today we might live for what’s going to matter.

10. Pray for the coming of Christ. The good news is that one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth where everything will be safe. Let’s pray and plead for the coming of that day (Revelation 22:20).