I had just finished breakfast at the Early Bird in Beaumont, Texas. My windows were down. My coffee cup filled with my second latte of the morning. A cd was playing. My phone rang as I was about to turn from Phelan Ave. onto Dowlen Road. He asked, “Have you listened to the news?” “No, what’s going on?” “A plane just flew into the World Trade Center.” “What, no way! Oh man, somebody has made a big mistake.”
Before I got to my office at the church building my phone rang again. “You’re not going to believe this. Another plane just flew into the other tower.” “Oh no, this was no accident.”
I arrived at the office. We figured out how to use the monitor in the nursery to receive a television signal. A plane flew into the Pentagon. What on earth was going on?
We didn’t work, we went back and forth from television to radio. While watching one of the channels, news anchors were talking with an inset window focused on the towers. Suddenly there was a lot of smoke. I asked Helen, our secretary watching with me, “Wait, what just happened? Did you see that? Why is there all that smoke around the towers?” Moments later the report came that the first tower had fallen.
I went home and we watched the tragedy unfold.
On this day of memorial we need to pray as we did right after the tragedy.
God in heaven, thank you for our great nation. Thank you for our freedom to worship you. Thank you for our freedom to pray. Be with our president, our congress, our judges that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
Thank you for our safety. Thank you that 9/11 has been a freak event and not an every day occurrence in our country. Thank you that so many were kept safe on that day. Help all those who were kept safe to find their strength and comfort in You.
God, please bless those who lost loved ones on that day. Today is a huge reminder of their loss and even with time the wounds still hurt. Strengthen them to find comfort in You.
God strengthen us to have peace, individually, nationally, globally. Help us to take your gospel into the lives of one more individual today that they will be governed by peace and one less person will pursue this kind of violence.
Thank you for our eternal hope in you, that we might one day be in a place where Satan’s power of violence no longer holds sway. Thank you for Jesus, through whom we have that hope.
We praise you, O God.
Through Jesus, I pray,
Amen