Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of famed evangelist Billy Graham, sent up a powerful prayer over Texas and Louisiana as Hurricane Harvey continues its path of destruction.
"As I watch and read the news coverage coming out of the Gulf Coast, my anguish is deeper than words," the author and founder of AnGel Ministries wrote in a recent blog post.
"My tears seem to flow in a torrent that matches the record rainfall. My spirit is crying out, 'No. No! No!' How can this be? How can You allow Hurricane Harvey to sit over Texas? To slam into Louisiana? To ruin property and destroy lives? Why?"
Lotz said that in the silence, she seemed to hear God's "soft whisper" echoing what He said to her at crucial times before.
"When my son was diagnosed with life-threatening cancer. When I found my husband unresponsive in our pool. When unwanted, unplanned, unexpected, and unexplained crises have erupted, Your answer seems to be the same...Trust Me when you don't understand," she wrote.
"As I reflect on the One whom I am asked to trust, my soul finds rest. You are my Great High Priest who understands. You are well acquainted with grief. Suffering. You understand by personal experience what it feels like to leave Home and be stripped of everything. You, too, were homeless with nowhere to lay Your head," she continued.
Lotz asked God to "look on all those in the Gulf region who are now homeless" and "stripped of everything" and "draw near to them."
"As they become more focused on the reality of their stark situation, I ask You to balance their feelings of devastation and loss with the comfort of Your presence. Your peace. Your love."
The evangelist thanked God for the first responders and the "professionals as well as friends and neighbors who are risking their own safety to help others."
"Give them supernatural strength. Energy. Stamina. And deep satisfaction as they receive the rich, priceless blessing of knowing their efforts are life-saving and life-changing," she wrote, expressing a belief that God will "lead us safely through this Valley of the Shadow that has fallen over a weary land."
"So...wipe the tears from our eyes," she concluded. "Turn our faces to Yours. Cause us to choose to look up. To look to You. With trust.In the name of the One who has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid...'In the name of Jesus."
Parts of Texas remain under inches of floodwater after Hurricane Harvey hit on Friday, ravaging the Gulf Coast with storm surges, flash flooding and devastating winds along the coast and further inland.
So far, the storm has claimed at least 31 lives and forced more than 30,000 people from their homes in Texas.
Yesterday, Samaritan's Purse, headed by Lotz's brother Franklin Graham, deployed five disaster relief units to Texas to help residents as they continue to struggle with rain, flooding, and destruction.
"The flooding is just horrendous in southeast Texas," Franklin Graham said. "People have lost their homes, and some have lost everything. We want to go and we want to be there in their time of need, helping them in the Name of Jesus Christ put their lives back together again."
On Facebook, he announced he'd arrived in Texas to talk to those affected by Hurricane Harvey and meet with Samaritan's Purse staff on the ground providing aid.
"The people of southeast Texas need our prayers and our help," he said.
