Praying for the Kingdom of God can seem overwhelming at first. There are so many issues taking place in our world: wars, famine, orphans, unstable world economies and a new pope being chosen – the world is a big, complicated, scary place and it’s sometimes hard to know where to begin. And since His sovereignty rules over all (Psalm 103:19, NASB) what difference do our prayers for His kingdom even make?
The bigger picture, as the last two days have stressed, is that each of these situations in our world shapes the future here on earth. And though we may not see it, is also a part of God’s sovereign plan for His Kingdom. When we keep our prayers small and self focused, our lives may show the same. Rather, we as believers are anointed to minister to and pray for the hurting in this world.
As Isaiah writes, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61:1, NIV)
So bombarded with the “bad” news of the day , we may start to numb our hearts to all the scrolling tickers on our television screens and the headlines in our papers. Rather than turning a blind eye to the world’s issues, we should see these alerts as opportunities to pray. The poor, brokenhearted, captives and prisoners are being set right in front of us. What better opportunity to pray?
With these stories laid fresh on your heart and soul, instead of shaking our heads in worry or clicking our tongues in disgust, let’s bow our heads in prayer. Think about not asking for a “good” outcome, but for the Lord to use this situation for building His Kingdom and changing lives for Christ. Our burden probably isn’t to solve the world’s problems. Our privilege is to seek His wisdom in dealing with these scenarios and tragedies and proclaim His name in triumphing over them.
You may begin to feel God laying something new on your heart as you spend time praying for a circumstance outside your scope. He may guide you to a specific issue, a specific country or a specific person. Be open to this, He may just be marking a path for you to be His hands and feet even beyond your prayers. You may be the one He uses to break through the destruction and despair, and to share the remarkable hope that only Christ can bring.
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15 ESV)
I'm a day behind, but thanks you. This is exactly what I needed to be reminded of today.
@Carolynmimi please pray that Nigerians have a Nehemiah heart. That our hearts break when we hear of bomb blasts, that we will not become jaded and numb to these things and that the kingdom of hell will not rule over us but that God’s Kingdom come in our country. Please pray that God gives us hearts that can break. And pray for me too…that I don’t think that because the state I live in hasn’t been bombed that I shouldn’t care about people who have lost all of their family. And that my heart breaks enough to pray for my country daily and to do whatever it is God lays in my heart.
@Adelineoh my hurt is hardly from the fact that CNN, BBC and all these other huge broadcaster don’t interview the hurt in my country. Our local channels already do that just fine but we watch the news daily and pretend like everything is jolly when it really isn’t. I’m guilty of this as well sometimes. The rapid response to the Boston bombings just really opened my eyes to the real state of things here in Nigeria. You’d be surprised at the number of Nigerians that took to Twitter to make #PrayForBoston trend. Not that it isn’t a good cause. I don’t think social media has been used for anything greater! It just made me see that we can do that too. We can do that for our country too. Rally together and not against each other, to pray for one another.
@Candacejo bless you, sweet friend! Do pray for us.
Praying and sharing your prayer request with others.
Ibukun, I will also be praying for Nigeria. I have been praying for the orphaned children in Africa. There is a Christian couple who started the Watoto Village there which is a refuge and home for women and children who are hungry, or their parents died of aids, or their brothers have been kidnapped to be child soldiers. They have a choir that sang at our church and the children are precious. They are so grateful for Gods love and being taught that God knows their name and they are NOT forgotten! You can download their songs from iTunes. They need our prayers.
You got me so excited that I just had to share the following scripture :) It is a scary time but yet we don't have to be "afraid". If we know the Lord, truly have salvation and a relationship with the Savior and are ready to meet Him then we can look UP and know our redemption draws nigh. I believe with you that so much is just "at the brink" and it does cause us to take not only our salvation seriously but it is not a time to be laying up for ourselves treasure here on this earth. We must be about our FATHER's business! "It is high time to awake out of sleep for now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed…" Romans 13:11
"Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober….
But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Yes! Nearer than when we first believed.
We really need to start praying for nations and governments. So often, we don't think they affect us but eventually, what happens with laws that are passed and who we vote for, will eventually affect us, our families and our freedoms. I love this devotional; it's so right on. I think of what Mordecai said to Esther when he asked her to pray and fast; "don't think that it won't affect you just because you're in the palace. Who knows if this is where you need to be for such a time as this?" (completely paraphrased by me). We are possibly at the brink of a nuclear war if North Korea hits the button. It will not just affect South Korea and all of South East Asia if that happens. It will affect the whole world. The congressman who started legalizing gay marriages in the Netherlands is now wanting to do the same for multiple marriages (as in 3 or more people in a marriage). Look how gay marriages are being legalized in so many places now. God is waiting for us to cry out for His righteousness. We truly need to intercede higher. Great devo!
I'm just getting on here late today. I'm having a "bad brain" day so far, but I can feel something stirring within. I am so thankful for these times when I don't have all the words to speak what is in my heart. There is a way to communicate beyond words with our Father. When I am grieved, overwhelmed, anxious, sad or just plain numb…the Lord deciphers my inner "groanings." Deep calls to deep.
Today is one of those day when I am praying through my groaning and sighs. Not my finest, most articulate hour. But one of my most honest.
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:26-28
Press girl press!
I couldn’t help the lump that formed in my throat as I read today’s devotional. Two days ago, when we heard about the Boston bombing in Nigeria, my initial reaction was sorrow for families affected but when I took to Twitter and saw my fellow Nigerians tweeting #PrayFoBoston I was hurt. And I was hurt because hundreds of people lose their lives in bomb blasts in our country everyday and none of us care. None of us even notice but you Americans are a special breed. In about an hour, the whole world knew what had happened in your country because Americans CARED. Not just people in Boston. You all rallied together, volunteered to help, prayed and like Nehemiah, your hearts broke for the people hurt. This devotion is timely. More than timely. My prayers are for the hurting in Boston as well as those hurting in my country. Gal 6:2 comes to mind again tonight.
Ibukun, your cry broke my heart! Isn't it a sad day we live in when a country can't cry for its people? I am broadening my scope today to include the country of Nigeria and others as well. When I started my blog several weeks ago I had no idea of the many countries that I would acquire readers from. (Not all are spammers, lol, I do get actual prayer requests, ha) But it has made me think of others and be more aware of the actual needs around the world. We are blessed here in America but we also have a tendency to take things for granted. Thank you for opening my eyes today. God bless you friend!!
Ibukun, you make excellent points. In some ways we Americans expect events, roadways, public and private places to be free of violence, bombings, mass killings jar us to our core and we react with outrage and with compassion when confronted with our vulnerability. I have never lived where bombings happen daily, but I sense that people come to accept their presence. Unless the bombings enter the international media, we who would pray, who would help remain oblivious. And yet, people die, are maimed, family units are destroyed wherever evil occurs. Who cries out and storms the gates of heaven for these.
Perhaps it should begin with me if God is leading me as I think He is…praying for Nigeria, for you, Ibukun, for Christ Jesus Kingdom to come in Nigeria. I re read the following:
"You may begin to feel God laying something new on your heart as you spend time praying for a circumstance outside your scope. He may guide you to a specific issue, a specific country or a specific person. Be open to this, He may just be marking a path for you to be His hands and feet even beyond your prayers. You may be the one He uses to break through the destruction and despair, and to share the remarkable hope that only Christ can bring."
Help me here, Ibukun…how should I pray?
Blessings, dear Sister.
Ibukun,
I am so sorry for what is happening in Nigeria and to your people. I was at another person's blog and she said the same thing, that there are bomb blasts in Mogadishu and elsewhere and why does the world grieve for one and not the other. What I said on her blog, I will say here. It has everything to do with the media and how they transmit the news. CNN, Fox News, BBC, etc are all biased. They manipulate how news is being published. And when it has to do with the country where they are based in, they are able to share with us the lives of the victims and thereby put faces and names to them so we will relate to their pain and suffer their grief. However, when the news broadcasts something from Israel, Mogadishu, Somalia, Nigeria, they only give the stats; as in how many people died and then they move on. They don't go and interview the family of the people who died so what the world sees are just the numbers and not the lives, faces and names of the victims. People will care if they know about it. The problem is, they don't know about it. And sometimes, we choose not to know about it. Most of the developing and third world countries don't have the money for the same kind of technology that transmits the news like CNN or the other news vehicles do. But Ibukun, you can help make the world aware of what is happening in your country. Write about it. Put the names to the faces and tell their stories so people will know about it and pray for your country. You are there for such a time as this. Big hugs and be so truly blessed.
"Think about not asking for a “good” outcome, but for the Lord to use this situation for building His Kingdom and changing lives for Christ. Our burden probably isn’t to solve the world’s problems. Our privilege is to seek His wisdom in dealing with these scenarios and tragedies and proclaim His name in triumphing over them."
Oftentimes I found myself stumped with "how to pray" or "what to pray for" when praying for His kingdom. And I find myself asking for a good outcome. This has been a "lightbulb on!" moment for me! This is really going to change my prayers. I also love the works "privilege". What an honor to be able to come boldly to the cross and seek His wisdom! Such a great perspective.