I’m writing this on Wednesday morning before Hurricane Milton makes landfall later tonight. When you read it, we will be receiving reports about the impact of Hurricane Milton just as we did from Hurricane Helene. Right now, there are people across my social media feeds sending out requests for prayer as Milton approaches. So it brought up a question for me, “How do you pray in or around a hurricane?” You can likely fill in “hurricane” with other “hurricanes” in our lives that are less meteorological and more spiritual/emotional/medical/etc.  Here’s a few thoughts:

Praying for a miracle isn’t a bad thing. We are praying to the God who made heaven and earth. This creation is His and He can make miracles happen. He may choose to tell us no, but He will listen to us. In fact, a prayer for a miracle may be the best place to start. A prayer for a miracle hones our prayer around the right beliefs: that God is God and can do what only an almighty God can do. A prayer for a miracle shows the extent of our faith and even causes us to reach for faith that we might struggle with (“Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” Mark 9)

Even a minor miracle. While God may not make Milton disappear (our primary miracle ask), we can ask for smaller miracles. We can ask that if the hurricane has to hit, that the loss of property would be kept to a minimum and that there be no loss of life. Anything that we can ask for that might not happen without God’s intervention is good to ask for as well. It does not negate our “bigger” ask to do this or show a lack of faith, it simply comes to God in humility knowing that He is in charge.

Pray for the people, all the people. In situations like a hurricane, there are different people who need different prayers. There are people who are crippled by fear. There are brave first responders who need protection. There are single parents who need a certain kind of intercession, and there are elderly people who need different things. Break out of praying for “people in general” because your mind doesn’t actually handle “people in general” very well. You were made to know people as individuals, and so when you pray for more narrow sub sets of people, your brain will actually engage more in your prayer like God made it to.

Pray for the aftereffects. Storms (literal and metaphorical) can cause damages that last for years. Include in your prayers healing for people and things long after the storm passes.

Include yourself. As a part of the Body of Christ, God can call you into action as His Body. Just as you can call your hands into action to reach for something on the table, God may be sending signals to you to act as His Body in the answering of people’s prayers and the doing of His Will. Pray that you would be open to His signals and ready to do the things that He is calling you to do.

Finish by thanking God for Jesus. When we look at a world torn by storms, we recognize that the earth is not behaving as God created it to work. Don’t forget to thank God for sending Jesus to us so that He would defeat our sins and one day completely heal the earth so that storms never frighten us again.