Why Wouldn’t You Pray?
We are. living in potentially very dangerous times. While HeartLife does not enter into political dialogues, anyone who reads the paper or listens to the news knows that present conflicts could have disastrous results not only for the United States but for the world. A scripture. comes to mind when I think of this:
Ask ye the peace of Jerusalem, At rest are those loving thee. Psalm 122:6 (YLLT)
While most of us are familiar with a version that reads, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they will prosper who love thee". In the above Scripture we find a slightly different meaning, while we are praying for the peace of Jerusalem, we will be at rest. Isn’t there strong truth in that? When we love someone, and we pray to a God who we believe loves us, don’t we have peace that what we are praying for will come to pass?
Should it be any different with us, than the Psalmist? When we pray for our nation that we love (or at least the many benefits we derive from being a citizen), to a God that we believe loves us, then should we not be at rest that He has our nation in His Hand and He will lead it and guide it according to His plan? I was reading a devotion by Charles Stanley in regards this text and he included this Jewish proverb:
They shall prosper that love thee. The reverse is also true. "None ever took a stone out of the Temple, but the dust did fly into his eyes." Jewish Proverb
Isn’t this the truth? Those who cast stones from a tight foundation cannot help but have dust flying in their own eye. We cannot curse the nation we live in and hope that we will live in peace and rest at the same time. As Americans, the freedom we have to speak our mind and. deliver our opinion freely should not entrench us into a situation as the people of God where we fail to decree blessings on our nation We should not become so secularized that we fail to petition God for peace within our borders, for rest from our enemies.
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength. Isaiah 40:28-30 (NKJV)
Our leaders are often a reflection of our prayer life. As we determine that this is the nation that we live in, that our children are the protectors of our land, that we love both our nation and our children, then we pray we a fervency asking the God of our salvation to grant us peace and rest. Since the last World War, global conflicts have decreased, but they have never ended. There have been continuous wars and rumors of wars somewhere across this planet. Yet, many of us in the United States are not aware of the suffering and bloodshed that occurs in other parts of the world. We have been so blessed, these conflicts have rarely touched our borders. Somebody is praying, somebody is believing God for this nation, and somehow the grace of God has been extended toward us in unfathomable ways. Are you one that loves the peace that you have as you turn in at night? Do you love the freedom that you have to go here and there? Are you one. who will pray?
Maria