Praying Amidst Calamities

James 4:14 - For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. NKJV

The past few weeks have made us aware once again of how fragile life is.  Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, and an earthquake hit Sichuan.  Even if the most advanced technology could have known that they were coming, there was nothing that could have been done to prevent the destruction they inflicted to people in those two countries.

Tragedies like these are also opportunities to understand other aspects of the human nature.  The international responses to both have been quick and overwhelming.  However, the responses of the two governments have been very different.  The Myanmar government seemed secluded from the disaster, and took quite a while to respond to their people’s plight, while the Chinese government’s response was sympathetic and swift. 

For those of us in Singapore, these events occurred far away.  Yet they seemed so close, because of the plight of people like us.  And we feel helpless about being able to really help.  A lot of activity has since taken place to see what we, as a Church in Singapore, can actually do.  In reality, only a few of us have had the opportunity to be on site to do something. 

When we say that at this time all most of us can really do is to pray, it seems so empty, pointless, and ineffective.  Is it?