An Australian reflection and prayer, 25 years after September 11.

As I walk today, spring is in the air.

Flowers are beginning to bloom. Fresh new spring growth is peeking its head from branches that have been long, grey and wintry.

Spring has always felt like the season of hope to me.

I don’t think I need to explain why. Perhaps you feel it too.

There is something about seeing life emerge again from places that have looked bare for so long. Little glimpses of colour. New leaves. Blossoms appearing.

Hope.

But this morning, that walk became something else too. A September 11 prayer began forming in my heart as my thoughts travelled across the world to the United States.

Twenty-five years ago, on September 11, 2001, America was forever changed.

I want to say from the outset that I am Australian. I have never lived in the United States, and I would never presume to understand what that day, or the years that followed, have been like for those who experienced it personally.

But I do have many dear friends in the U.S.

And like so many of us around the world, I watched from across the pond as the events of that day unfolded on our televisions.

Thomas Umstattd Jr., an American, reflected on his podcast today on how united the nation was in the aftermath of September 11.

That is something I remember too.

I remember watching people standing side by side. Searching for glimmers of hope. Searching for life. Helping strangers. And eventually, walking together through profound grief and loss.

There was something in it that felt strangely familiar to this Australian watching from afar.

We have a landscape here that knows something about devastation and renewal.

After parts of our Australian bush have been ravaged, the scars don’t simply disappear. Blackened trunks can remain, bearing witness to what happened.

And yet, in time, something extraordinary happens.

New growth appears.

Tiny shoots of green emerge from places that looked completely spent. Life begins growing around the scars, and sometimes right through them.

The scar is still there.

But so is life.

Perhaps that is part of what moved me as I watched America in the days and months that followed September 11.

The devastation was real. The loss could never be undone. And yet, side by side, people began searching for life amongst it.

In 2024, we had the great privilege of travelling to the U.S. and visiting the September 11 Memorial.

I remember standing beside the reflecting pool and reading name after name after name.

I could not help but be shaken by the profound loss represented there.

So many lives.

So many families.

And standing there reminded me of something else.

New growth does not mean the scar has disappeared.

Twenty-five years does not erase grief either.

When someone we love dies, they leave a hole that no other person can fill. Life grows around that loss. We learn to carry it. Hope and joy can return.

But that person mattered.

And their absence still matters.

So today I acknowledge the families and friends for whom September 11 is not simply a moment in history.

It is personal.

And amongst the blossoms and fresh spring growth here on the other side of the world, I felt a pull to pray.

I don’t need to explain your grief.

I don’t need to make sense of your history.

I can simply stand alongside you.

And say:

We remember.

We have not forgotten.

And we care.

So, from my little corner of Australia, this prayer is for you.

A September 11 Prayer of Remembrance

And so today, Father God, we remember.

We thank You for the lives of those impacted by September 11. We thank You for the legacy of those who were killed, and we acknowledge those who suffered then and those who still suffer today.

We remember, too, the first responders who ran towards unimaginable devastation to help others. We ask You to bless them, their families and the generations that follow. Bless them, one and all.

Father God, I ask that You would come alongside those who are still grieving.

Anniversaries and days of remembrance can be bittersweet. For some, they can still be devastating.

And so, Lord, I bring those family members, friends and loved ones before You today.

Holy Spirit, would You comfort them?

Would You be ever-present?

Would You bring them what they need today?

Father, thank You that You tell us we are never alone, that You are with us always. I ask that those who continue to carry the impact of September 11 would know that profoundly today.

Lord Jesus, for those who still bear the scars of that moment in time, I ask that You would lift off shock, trauma, fear and terror.

Father God, tend to their hearts. Tend to their minds. Bless their spirits.

Give them peace today and in the days to come.

Lord Jesus, we acknowledge that when things happen outside of our control, there is often mystery involved. There are places where we would like answers, and sometimes those answers may never come.

I ask that You would meet people there too.

Give them peace in the mystery.

Father God, may the events of September 11, 2001, be something we never forget and something we continue to learn from.

May we not allow history to simply slip by without allowing it to teach us.

Let history teach us so that we may become a stronger, healthier world.

And for the United States of America, we ask a special blessing today.

Father, would You draw her heart together and bring unity.

In the places where there is division, remind them again of what they share. Draw people towards one another with compassion, courage and grace.

Father, I pray that You would be their resting place, their strong tower, their fortress and their refuge.

For those feeling raw today, may they find shelter under the shadow of Your wings.

We thank You for every life.

We remember those who died and the impact and legacy they have left behind.

And we thank You for the living.

Father God, may the reality of such loss remind us to live with greater purpose, to love with greater intention, and to walk alongside You always.

We draw near to You today.

And I ask You to bless my brothers and sisters, my friends and their families, and all those carrying the weight of this anniversary.

May they know the ever-present peace and rest of Your presence.

We remember.

We have not forgotten.

And we care.

Bless them today and always.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.