City Miracles

The Collapse of I-35
August 2, 2007

Last night we watched in horror as the news media reported that a major bridge on Highway I-35 had collapsed at 6:05 PM and had fallen into the Mississippi River. This happened right in the middle of our rush hour and at least 50 cars were thrown into the river. This morning the news media are reporting that 9 people are confirmed dead and that number is expected to rise as the recovery effort resumes.

I received an email from one woman named Justine who requested prayer for her husband Mark who is a member of the structural collapse team that is investigating the cause of the collapse of the bridge. I ask you to join me in praying for Mark and all of those who are involved in the analysis of the collapse of the bridge or who are recovering bodies underneath the bridge. This has to be very dangerous work.
Please pray for all of the 62 people who are injured, some critically, that they will recover from their injuries.

Please pray for the families of those who have lost loved ones or who have not heard from their loved ones and fear the worst. We just heard a news report that they cannot account for 20 people at this time.

We also need to thank God for the miracles that he performed in the midst of this tragedy. One example is that a bus containing 60 children fell when the highway fell. It landed on its wheels and all of the children escaped through the back door of the bus.

I do not want to speculate on why this happened. I will send out a reflection about this after we have had a time to pray about it.

This morning I received a text message from my friend Doug Walton in Raleigh, NC. He said that he is praying for our city. Jeremiah 29:7 says,

And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.

Web cam of bridge collapse 

PRAYER POWER
Dear Heavenly Father, our hearts are heavy with the catastrophe that happened in Minneapolis last night. We pray for the peace of the city of Minneapolis, and the Twin Cities metroplex. We bless Governor Tim Pawlenty and Mayor R.T. Rybak, and pray for wisdom for them and for all of the other city officials who will have to make decisions about what to do in the aftermath of this bridge collapse. We pray especially for the police who will have to deal with routing morning rush hour traffic in the wake of the loss of one of the city's major roads into the city. We thank you for the performance of the first responders-who are being commended for their response to this disaster. We pray for the safety of Mark and others who are involved in the investigation of the source of the collapse or who are involved in the recovery of bodies. We pray for the comfort of those who have lost loved ones, or who cannot locate their loved ones. We pray for healing for those who have been injured. We also thank you for all of the miracles that you performed to save people from destruction. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Blessings to see God bring something great out of something so tragic!