Written by Madeline Kalu

When news of the global spread of the COVID-19 virus broke at the beginning of this year, l was concerned. Though human civilization has been subjected to numerous epidemics and pandemics throughout history, it still came as a shock to me that we would experience the spread of a virus in such vast proportions in our lifetime. I’m sure you can all relate with me.

2020 has been the year that has taught us how to act and react. It started with living the lockdown life and progressed into the summer months, with travel restrictions, mandatory testing, and increased infection rates as a consequence of summer tourism.

Now, for those like me who live in the northern hemisphere, the winter season is approaching and with it, a growing trepidation of the effects of the Coronavirus on the population during the colder months.

After ten months of living the COVID-19 life, l for one, have become weary. I’m tired of feeling anxious for my health and that of my loved ones, l’m desperate for church fellowship, and l yearn for some semblance of normalcy again.

I need a refresher, a pick-me-up. I need to know that l can lay down my weary soul and find rest and comfort. And the only One l know, who can provide me with all of that is God.

Spending time with Him in His word, talking to Him through prayer and supplication is the Balm of Gilead that l need to feel strengthened and renewed.

If your soul too, is weary and down-trodden from the effects and consequences of the COVID-19 virus, l hope that the following three prayers inspired by the Bible verses Matthew 11:28 (NRSV), Psalm 23:1-3, and Isaiah 40:31 ease your tired soul and refresh you with renewed energy and strength.

God offers rest to the weary

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give
you rest.”
Matthew 11:28

This Bible verse gives me so much comfort. It means that when l tense up about COVID regulations and worn down by anxiety about the future, l can take my burdens to God and He will give me rest.

If you, like me, are in dire need of rest, l hope that the following prayer encourages you to cast your burdens on God and rest in His presence:

God refreshes our souls

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for His name’s sake.”
Psalm 23:1-3

In this psalm, King David draws a parallel from his own experience of tending his father’s flock, to describe how God is his personal shepherd, who provides for him, establishes his path, and offers his soul rest and refreshment.

God is indeed the good shepherd who will always prioritize the well-being of us, His sheep.

If you too, like me, need God to guide you to rest in His presence and refresh your soul, l hope that the following prayer encourages you:

God renews our strength

“But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 40:31

I don’t know why the world has been afflicted by the COVID-19 virus, but l do know that my hope lies in God to heal those infected, and to provide a vaccine and even a cure against future Coronavirus pandemics.

How God will do this, l don’t know, but just having hope in Him and believing in His goodness and mercy renews my strength to keep dealing with restrictions, social distancing, and regular testing, because l know that God is working in our current global situation.

I hope that the following prayer fills you with hope and that you experience a renewal of God’s strength:

God sees the toll that this current pandemic is having upon us. Therefore, while He sorts out this global situation with His perfect timing, let us answer His call to comfort us; let us rest our weary souls in His loving embrace and be refreshed and restored by His mercy and spiritual power.