Prayer for Today, Saturday, August 6

O Gracious God,

Our prayer today is for those two boys, Tyler Zander and Bryce Gannon, who were severely injured in the grain elevator in Kremlin. We are stunned, shocked and overwhelmed with concern. Please be with them as they undergo multiple surgeries. Please be with the surgeons, doctors and nurses as they treat and care for these young men. Surround their families, O God, with your love and sustaining presence. Comfort, we pray, the large cadre of their friends, classmates and neighbors. May all be buoyed by our faithful prayers and the faithful prayers of others. May the spirit of Your son, Jesus the Christ who is the Great Physician, be present bringing healing and wholeness in the midst of tragedy. AMEN.
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The scripture for today is Romans 14:13-23:

Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. So do not let your good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat; it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble. The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve. But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

Grace and peace,

John McLemore