Praying for Hurricaines and Tornados to Divert Elsewhere?

[HelpingHands]

I hear stories of people who pray that a tornado or hurricaine will not hit their town. Then, if the storm diverts it’s path, they claim that their prayers were answered. Meanwhile, people elsewhere suffered loss of life and property.

Is it really right to pray for this? Should we celebrate that a tornado hit somewhere else, just because we were saved? Somehow, the whole thing seems wrong. Also, I don’t think God answers prayers like that, favoring one person over the other. What do you all think?

 

[Mom_of_one]

I always pray for hurricanes to divert elsewhere. Not because I am affected by them, but because I don’t want anyone affected by them. I pray that they will stayout/divert out to sea. And if it doesn’t seems as if that will happen, I pray for a weakening of the hurricane.

 

[CarolAnnSFO]

Mom of one:

I always pray for hurricanes to divert elsewhere. Not because I am affected by them, but because I don’t want anyone affected by them. I pray that they will stayout/divert out to sea. And if it doesn’t seems as if that will happen, I pray for a weakening of the hurricane.

That’s what I do. I pray that they will blow out to sea, or that they will hit areas where nobody lives, or that they will weaken enough not to do any bad damage (there are rarely any hurricanes where I live, but like Mom of one, I don’t want anybody to be harmed by them).

Crazy Internet Junkies Society
Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag

 

[baltobetsy]

I leave the decisions up to God and simply pray for His mercy.

Betsy

 

[Zooey]

I think that it is a normal human impulse to think “not me”! But that doesn’t make it right…
I have read that in Judaism, there is a prohibition on this kind of prayer. For example, when a fire siren blows, a religious Jew may not pray “Please, God, not my house”, because that would be to pray for evil to happen to someone else. Since reading about this, I am trying hard to stop myself from doing this sort of thing.
The best prayer would be that the storm simply dissipate, or be blown out to sea…Somehow, that it should harm no one.
As hard & as much as I kept praying, when Katrina was headed for landfall, I found myself more & more being reminded of Jesus saying “peace be still” to the storm on the Sea of Galilee when He & the disciples were caught out on a boat in it…

 

[CarolAnnSFO]

Zooey:

I have read that in Judaism, there is a prohibition on this kind of prayer. For example, when a fire siren blows, a religious Jew may not pray “Please, God, not my house”, because that would be to pray for evil to happen to someone else.

But that leaves out a third possibility – that nobody’s house will burn. The siren could be for a brush fire in a vacant lot. Life is not a zero-sum game.

Crazy Internet Junkies Society
Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag

 

[HelpingHands]

Sometimes I wonder if God intervenes very much on Earth. It really is perplexing. It seems that life here doesn’t make much sense.

 

[Pumpkin]

As I was watching the weather channel, I was praying that God would be with all of those affected by the hurricane. I feel that no matter what happens, as long as God is there for strength, love, peace and mercy in Gods Time all will be well. That to me is what I want most. I pray when my time comes (no matter when or how) God will be by my side and the side of those who mourn.

This past weekend we buried my great uncle Fr. Fritz. It was the most beautiful funeral. He was a Franciscan priest and 50+ of his fellow Franciscan brothers and sisters celebrated with our family. The Preists sang the most beautiful hymn at the close of the funeral. The reason I bring this up is the mood and homily. First it truly was a celebration and I felt there was peace all around. The homily was about suffering, however, not in a sad way, but a redemptive way. Uncle Fritz suffered greatly from rheumatoid arthritis, Type 1 diabetes and its effects with blindness and kidney failure in later years. You would never had known he was suffering if you did not know his illnesses and instead of asking “why me?” or praying for the illnesses to go away…everyone that knew him, knew he prayed for everyone else and their peace and salvation. He really was a fisher of souls; actually, a 95-year-old woman came to the funeral. She converted in her late 80’s after meeting for several years with Uncle Fritz. She wanted everyone to know how much she cared for him and how much he touched her life.
I have to believe that it is not for God to prevent suffering, but to be by our side through suffering and if we allow him, we will come closer to God through our suffering.

As for praying to avoid suffering: I believe since God knows our weaknesses he would not be angry if in our weakness we prayed to avoid suffering. However, I think of it along the lines of a football game. When two teams play against each other and each team prays before the game for a win. Why would God ever choose among his children? I do not believe he would. The best prayer would be for a good game and the safety of all of the players, rather than a win. There is always a way to pray for what we want without praying harm on others.
~Peace

 

[StCsDavid]

I heard a beautiful way of looking at these natural disasters from Rosalyn Moss on Catholic Answers Live, today. She described the hurricane as an actual sign of God’s mercy towards us as we are compelled by scenes of devestation to re-examine our relationships with our family and our God. I know that doesn’t fully explain why God allows these things to happen, and I’m sure the victims would probably disagree, but I also am constantly reminded, if not sometimes even haunted by God’s message inIsiah 55:8

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD”

IMHO, I don’t believe the disaster on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to be a singular judgement on that area, but rather a signal to the world to turn back to what is really important in our lives, and focus on Him versus ourselves.

 

[Pumpkin]

StCsDavid:

I heard a beautiful way of looking at these natural disasters from Rosalyn Moss on Catholic Answers Live, today. She described the hurricane as an actual sign of God’s mercy towards us as we are compelled by scenes of devestation to re-examine our relationships with our family and our God. I know that doesn’t fully explain why God allows these things to happen, and I’m sure the victims would probably disagree, but I also am constantly reminded, if not sometimes even haunted by God’s message inIsiah 55:8
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD”
IMHO, I don’t believe the disaster on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to be a singular judgement on that area, but rather a signal to the world to turn back to what is really important in our lives, and focus on Him versus ourselves.

I listened to her show today too, she has such a beautiful way about her. I agree with you. It would be a much better world if the world would focus on God. I think of how full the church was after 9/11 and wish the church would have remained full even after the fear subsided.

 

[allhers]

I pray the way others on here have said too, that it will go back out to sea and not harm anyone, …knowing that His will will be done, God does allow things to happen so that a greater good will come of it. That’s all I know. Suffering is part of all of our lives, if we want to follow Jesus, we are going to suffer one way or another. The good suffer along with the bad, I guess some souls suffer for other’s. I don’t know or understand it all but I know that God does. I prayed that the Blessed Mother would cover them with her mantle and take those people’s soul’s who died straight to her Son, Jesus. We prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the people’s soul’s who died. We prayed our Rosary for all those in danger. When I was last at Mass, I prayed at Holy Communion for us all, but most especially those of us here who were in danger from this hurricane. Maybe it’s just God’s way of keeping us all close to Him. I lift many people up to God in prayer all day long, I talk to God all the time, there’s always someone to pray for.

 

[BayCityRickL]

My prayer is that God would show His power and might and bring the storm to a standstill. I pray and know that His will is perfect, no matter what happens.

I pray that all the victims in the path of the storm would be spared, no matter how much damage is done. I pray that God would show His power and might, and I pray that He would send the Spirit and turn the hearts of all people back to Him.

When Jesus was asked why a certain blind man had been born blind, Jesus replied, so that the works of God might be revealed in him.

We have many opportunities to now show the works of God in the lives of the people who are suffering.

Although this is the largest national disaster we have ever faced in terms of loss of life and damage, our biggest spiritual disaster has been that of increasing secularization and turning away from God.