Searching

The apostle Paul carried about an intense area of trial, which he terms a "thorn in the flesh."  There is speculation that it was some sort of physical malady, but as much as Paul prayed to the Lord that it be removed, it was not; rather, God used it to demonstrate His power.  That's right - read 2nd
Corinthians 12, which says:
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Collectively, nations are being afflicted around the world with the Coronavirus, and while we should pray for this pandemic to end and, of course, for those afflicted to be healed, we also can recognize the sufficiency of God, even when the insufficiency of human wisdom has been seen in predicting an fighting this virus.  We can seek God's face and ask Him what He wants to do in us and allow Him to complete His work through us in this season of trouble and uncertainty.

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We can be assured that even in our difficulties, God walks with us and He is doing an inward work in us; we just have to make sure we are yielding to the Holy Spirit as He expresses Himself in and
through us. James 1 states:
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

In a time of crisis, we can be assured that people are seeking for answers and reaching out for peace.  And, the evidence is showing that people are thinking more deeply about spiritual items during this worldwide pandemic.

And, last week, The Christian Post published an article about a researcher who has traced a direct connection between the increase of Coronavirus cases and an increase in searching out the topic of prayer online. The article states:

Jeanet Sinding Bentzen, associate professor at the University of Copenhagen and executive director of the Association for the Study of Religion, Economics, and Culture, released a preliminary draft of a paper on Monday titled “In Crisis, We Pray: Religiosity and the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Bentzen analyzed internet searches for prayer in 75 countries and reported that “search intensity for prayer doubles for every 80,000 new registered cases of COVID-19.”

She is quoted as saying, “In times of crisis, humans have a tendency to turn to religion for stress relief and explanation. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic is no exception,” adding, “I document that Google searches on prayer has skyrocketed during the month of March 2020 when the COVID-19 went global.”

People apparently are doing more than just searching about prayer, they are participating in it.  The next day, the Christian Post reported on a new Pew Research survey of American adults, which found that: "some 55% of them say they have prayed for an end to the spread of coronavirus."

The article states:

Among Americans who reported praying daily, some 86% of them reported praying for an end to the coronavirus while 73% of those who identify as Christians say they have been praying during the pandemic. Even among those who seldom or never pray, 15% said they have been praying for an end to the coronavirus while 24% of those who do not belong to any religion say they have been praying.

According to the Pew summary, 57% of those surveyed said that had watched a religious service online or on TV during the crisis.  It states, "four-in-ten regular worshippers appear to have replaced in-person attendance with virtual worship (saying that they have been attending less often but watching online instead)."

I think it is certainly appropriate to pray for the end to this menace that has made over a million people ill worldwide and taken thousands of lives.  And, for the Christian, we can also pray that God would have His intended work in the midst of it.  The Scriptural model is that trials can work patience in our lives and that we are instructed to allow that perfect work to occur.  In the middle of an imperfect virus, we can see examples of God's incredible work: people coming to Christ through accessing content online, opportunities for churches and ministries to reach out in their communities in the name of Jesus, and spiritual growth that can occur as we humble ourselves before God in our times of isolation and shift in routine.

The Pew survey summary relates that: "Nearly nine-in-ten U.S. adults say their personal life has changed at least a little bit as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, with 44% saying their life has changed in a major way. Just 12% say their life has stayed about the same as it was before the outbreak."  We recognize that change is inevitable in our lives, and that change can sometimes be quite difficult.  But, we know that God goes with us to help us navigate the changes in our lives.

Finally, it does appear, based on the research, that people are looking to prayer as an answer in this crisis.  And, the Lord is inviting people to come to Him in this time, and they are responding.  He is inviting us to pray, to call upon Him, to cry out to Him - as the Faith Radio Coronavirus Response page says, everyone can do something, and one of the first things and effective things we can do is pray.