Isaiah 43:2

“Teach me how to pray.” A young woman desperately asked her coworker as she was trembling in fear. There was a lockdown of the building at work as the sky grew dark and the building shook, as if there was a large earthquake; but there was no earthquake at all. I was working in downtown Manhattan fifteen years ago on 9/11. To all of us in the building, it felt like judgment day - the end of the world. No one knew for sure what was going on that day. Early in the morning, the news on the radio was reporting that a commuter plane had crashed. Then they announced that the Pentagon was under attack. Soon after, many of us saw the second plane hit the World Trade Center. Panic-stricken people in my building were in a state of shock. I have to admit, for a moment, I thought that I would not see my wife and family again. I was saddened — I had snuck out of the house early in the morning so as not to wake her up, and I regretted not kissing her goodbye. Should I write her a letter? But before I could gather my thoughts to write, the second tower collapsed. More panic set in our building. You could hear people literally screaming and crying in utter fear. Surprisingly, I had no fear that day. In the midst of chaos, one verse from Isaiah kept going through my head. I believe it was from the Holy Spirit:  “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2). Many were not as fortunate as I was that day. Let us remember and pray for those who have lost a loved one on that day. Let us also begin and continue to place our trust and hope in the One who said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25b).