911 prayer

Do It Again, Lord

Dear Lord,

We're still hoping we'll wake up. We're still hoping we'll open a sleepy eye and think, What a horrible dream.

But we won't, will we, Father? What we saw was not a dream. Planes did gouge towers. Flames did consume our fortress.

People did perish. It was no dream and, dear Father, we are sad.
There is a ballet dancer who will no longer dance and a doctor who will no longer heal. A church has lost her priest, a classroom is minus a teacher. Cora ran a food pantry. Paige was a counselor and Dana, dearest Father, Dana was only three years old. (Who held her in those final moments?)

We are sad, Father. For as the innocent are buried, our innocence is buried as well. We thought we were safe. Perhaps we should have known better. But we didn't.

And so we come to you. We don't ask you for help; we beg you for it. We don't request it; we implore it. We know what you can do. We've read the accounts. We've pondered the stories and now we plead, Do it again, Lord. Do it again.

Remember Joseph? You rescued him from the pit. You can do the same for us. Do it again, Lord.

Remember the Hebrews in Egypt? You protected their children from the angel of death. We have children, too, Lord. Do it again.

And Sarah? Remember her prayers? You heard them. Joshua? Remember his fears? You inspired him. The women at the tomb? You resurrected their hope. The doubts of Thomas? You took them away. Do it again, Lord. Do it again.

You changed Daniel from a captive into a king's counselor. You took Peter the fisherman and made him Peter an apostle. Because of you, David went from leading sheep to leading armies. Do it again, Lord, for we need counselors today, Lord. We need apostles. We need leaders. Do it again, dear Lord.

Most of all, do again what you did at Calvary. What we saw here on that Tuesday, you saw there on that Friday. Innocence slaughtered. Goodness murdered. Mothers weeping. Evil dancing. Just as the ash fell on our children, the darkness fell on your Son. Just as our towers were shattered, the very Tower of Eternity was pierced.

And by dusk, heaven's sweetest song was silent, buried behind a rock.

But you did not waver, O Lord. You did not waver. After three days in a dark hole, you rolled the rock and rumbled the earth and turned the darkest Friday into the brightest Sunday. Do it again, Lord. Grant us a September Easter.

We thank you, dear Father, for these hours of unity. Disaster has done what discussion could not. Doctrinal fences have fallen. Republicans are standing with Democrats. Skin colors have been covered by the ash of burning buildings. We thank you for these hours of unity.

And we thank you for these hours of prayer. The Enemy sought to bring us to our knees and succeeded. He had no idea, however, that we would kneel before you. And he has no idea what you can do.

Let your mercy be upon our President, Vice President, and their families. Grant to those who lead us wisdom beyond their years and experience. Have mercy upon the souls who have departed and the wounded who remain. Give us grace that we might forgive and faith that we might believe.

And look kindly upon your church. For two thousand years you've used her to heal a hurting world.

Do it again, Lord. Do it again. Through Christ, Amen.

In the midst of all that destruction and the evil intent that caused it, it's amazing to see
God's hand in so many instances during the events of 9/11 because many were saved "miraculously" in seemingly impossible circumstances.

The story that impresses me most is that of the heroic passengers who would overtake the terrorist hijackers on Flight 93, thwarting them from crashing it into the US Capitol or
the White House. Not only the individuals on the plane - nearly all of whom were extremely athletic and strong, but where they were seated in relation to one another that enabled them to formulate a plan to overpower the hijackers as a team:

Tom Burnett, Jr. 38, genius IQ, a master at strategies & quick plans for action
Todd Beamer 32, ("Let's roll") athlete
Louis Nacke, weight lifter
Mark Bingham, 31, 6'5" rugby player, known for never backing down from a fight
Jeremy Glick 31, judo champion
Billy Cashman, Air Force vet, Ironworker, red belt in Karate
Toshiya Kuge, linebacker
Patrick Driscoll, former 101st Airborne Paratrouper
Cee Cee Lyles, crew member, 6 yrs undercover cop
Richard Guadaqno 38, Fish & Game Officer fully trained in federal law enforcement
Linda Gronlund, 46, EMT
Debbie Walsh, 6', Sr Flight Attendant (once wrestled a drunk into submission)
Sandra Bradshaw, 38, crew member, boiled water to throw on the hijackers
Lauren Grandcolas, EMT
Hilda Marcin (she previously beat off a would-be burglar with a club)
As well as Pilot and Co-Pilot Jason Dahl and LeRoy Homer, respectively, and others.

The total on board:
Passengers 33 plus 4 hijackers
Crew 7


Just a coincidence? You decide.

For a complete passenger list and details go to:
http://pittsburgh.about.com/od/flight_9 ... engers.htm
listed:www.unitedheroes.com/whotheywere.html

Thanks cabinish...