All week reading Psalm 51, verse 6 has stuck out to me. The Lord teaches wisdom in the womb. Mind-blowing, right? How could this influence the way we pray for unborn children? How could this influence the way we teach our children about Jesus?
Further down in Psalm 51, verse 12, David prays for the restoration of the joy of his salvation. I know I for one could echo that at times, too. Does thinking about the way the Lord has saved us bring you joy?
Verses 16 and 17 say, "You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God." Has your heart been broken over your own sin? It is very, very easy to be heart broken over sin in general, especially heinous crimes against humanity. For me anyway. Makes my heart ache. But does my heart ache over the sin in my own life? Not often enough.
God's heart aches for people who live in spiritual darkness, as we see in the Jonah passage. Jonah comes across as being a bit dramatic in this passage. To me it seems he cares for his own reputation more than people repenting of their sins and the Lord having mercy on them. He gets angry enough to die (drama-rama) over a plant, but he doesn't see that the Lord cares for all 120,000 people and animals living in Spiritual darkness. Where do you find yourself in this story? What makes you angry? How has the Lord had mercy on you? How could this influence how you pray for people who live in spiritual darkness? Is there a time in your own life you were living in spiritual darkness, and the Lord showed you mercy?
Finally in Romans, we see the author praying day and night for a group of believers. He wishes very much that he could see them in person and encourage them in their faith. He also wants to be encouraged by their faith! Mutual encouragement. Not one-sided.
How does this influence the way that you pray for believers all over the world? How about for believers in your own family and community? How can you be mutually encouraging to each other?
I am writing this on Monday, so who knows what could all happen in the course of a week. But lately I have been feeling convicted about how I pray, and who I pray for. I of course am praying for the Ukrainians I know, and their fellow countrymen, and their country. But I also have felt compelled to be in prayer for Russia. For the Russians I know, and their fellow countrymen, and their country. I feel compelled to pray for the Christians in both countries, that while terrible things are happening, they would still find ways to grow in their faith and be encouraged/encouraging. I also feel compelled to pray for those living in spiritual darkness in both countries. I have to believe that the Lord's heart aches for them, so my heart aches for them too. And I am aware that this sort of thing could happen in any country. Any country could decide to go to war with another, and any country could be invaded by another. Any country has Christians already living in it, and any country also has people living in spiritual darkness. But Ukraine and Russia are on my heart and mind these days. So I pray specifically for them. How wonderful if there were peace in those countries by the time this post is published.
We shall see.
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