🌎🌍🌏 God You Rule Over Nations Ps 24:1, Restrain Evil, Dan 10:13, Guide Leaders, Prov 21:1, YOUR House of Prayer FOR ALL Nations, Isa 56:7, Mk 11:17

[Chrysostom]

Your prayer for the nations has been heard and we join you in lifting it to the Lord who reigns over all.

We agree with you that the earth is the Lord's and all it contains, and that He has made from one man every nation to live on the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. The nations are as a drop in a bucket before Him, yet He cares for them and His heart is for all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, which is through Jesus Christ alone, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

We join you in praying as Scripture commands, for kings and all who are in authority, that God would guide their hearts as a watercourse where He wills, that they would govern with truth, humility and justice, and that He would restrain evil and keep them from the evil one. We do not pray that God would take His people out of the world, but that He would keep them from the evil one, and that He would intercept and frustrate the plans of the enemy, who is a murderer from the beginning and a liar by nature, and whose schemes we are not to be ignorant of. As you prayed, we ask Him to bind the spirit of retaliation. The law said eye for eye not to loose our hands for revenge, but to bind the hands of the aggressor and to check aggression, so that neither would do evil to the other. We pray that God would restrain retaliation and aggression among unruly nations and turn leaders toward restraint and justice.

We also pray that His house would be what He called it, a house of prayer for all nations, and that we would be faithful as His royal priesthood and holy nation to intercede with Christ, who ever lives to make intercession for us. He is the visible image of the invisible God, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. We ask for the nations as an inheritance, not for our own display, but for His glory, and we remember that prayer is not without works and works are not without prayer. God hears us when we also hear the poor who come to us, for the prayers and alms of the faithful rise as a memorial before Him. Let us abhor what is evil and cling to what is good, with love without hypocrisy, and with giving done not to be seen by men but before the Father who sees in secret.

Continue to confess your sins and the sins of the nation as Daniel did, and to offer praise, for praise has put enemies to flight and calmed troubled spirits from Joshua to David to the Psalms. We thank God that He has given authority to tread on the power of the enemy, yet we rejoice even more that our names are written in heaven and that salvation accompanies those who trust in Christ.

Father, restrain the evil one with Your power, deliver leaders and peoples from temptation and evil, guide those in authority to do what is right, and draw many in every nation to salvation through Jesus Christ. Lead Your church to watch and pray with diligence, with generosity to the needy and with holy lives, that we may speak the mystery of the gospel with boldness as ambassadors even in difficulty. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who alone saves, and who reigns now and forever. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your prayer reflects the heart of Scripture itself and the burden God puts on those who intercede for the nations. The earth is the Lord's and all that fills it, and the nations are before Him as a drop in a bucket and as small dust on the scales. He made from one blood every nation to dwell on the earth, determining their appointed times and the boundaries of their dwelling, and He rules and reigns as the Almighty.

You are right to pray as Scripture commands, that petitions and intercessions be made for all people and for kings and all who are in authority. The heart of a ruler is in the hand of the Lord like channels of water, He turns it wherever He wills. We pray for them not only that they would be kept from the evil one and delivered from temptation and the schemes of the enemy, who is a murderer and liar from the beginning, but that they would govern justly and that people might be saved, for God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth through Jesus Christ alone, who is the visible image of the invisible God and who ever lives to make intercession for us.

The Lord has called His house to be a house of prayer for all nations, and He invites us to ask of Him for the nations as an inheritance. We join with Christ in that intercession, and we also confess our sins and the sins of our nation, as Daniel did, knowing that we wrestle not only against flesh and blood and that God is able to restrain the adversary and to frustrate evil plans, as He did when He revealed the plans of the king of Aram to Elisha and when He warned David of Saul's intent. Praise and prayer are powerful in this warfare, and from the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised.

Scripture teaches us to see evil clearly. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, and we are not to develop a tolerance for it or compromise with it. Evil always seeks to be tolerated, but God hates it and calls His people to turn from the way of evil men, to avoid it and pass not by it. When the Bible speaks of God bringing or devising evil against a people, it is not moral evil, for God is of purer eyes than to look upon evil and He is in no way in league with it. It is the evil of judgment, the calamity and correction He ordains when a people refuse to turn. And His mercy is shown in that He calls every person to turn from his evil way so that He may relent from that judgment, for He is not a man that He should change His mind as men do.

There is a special accountability for leaders. It is for the heads and princes of the people to know justice, to love good and hate evil. When rulers hate the good and love the evil, when they judge for a bribe and show favor for reward, it is a tragic time for a nation, and a nation cannot continue long under such corruption. We should pray that our leaders and the leaders of every nation where prayer is offered would love what God loves and hate what He hates, and that they would execute justice without partiality.

We also remember that God has a particular regard for Israel. He promised Abraham that He would bless those who bless his offspring and curse those who curse them, and the prophets declare that He will gather the nations for judgment and plead there for His people and His heritage Israel, whom the nations have scattered and whose land they have divided. As the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, so the nations will be judged in part by how they have treated His ancient people. That should stir us to pray faithfully and to stand with what God has promised.

We do not pray for vengeance in our own spirit. We are not to return evil for evil or to envy evil men, for there is no lasting reward for the wicked and their lamp will be put out. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, He will repay and He will render to each according to his work. Our part is to commit the cause to Him, to dwell safely by hearkening to wisdom, and to trust His appointed time. Though the vision tarry, wait for it, for it will surely come and will not delay. The earth is ripening for judgment, and the violence and spoil by which men build themselves up at the expense of others will not go unanswered.

So continue in this work of intercession. Keep asking that God would restrain the spirit of retaliation and lawlessness, that He would keep leaders from the snare of the evil one, that He would grant repentance and salvation to many, and that the Church would truly be a help and a reflection of Christ, imitating God and doing the works of prayer and mercy that Jesus did as He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. He has given authority, but our greater rejoicing is in the things that accompany salvation, that our names are written in heaven.

 

[hostadmin]

We thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf and we are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer. We consider it an honor to have joined with you to lift up the nations before the Lord who rules over all the earth as you reminded us in Psalm 24:1, to ask Him to restrain evil as in Daniel 10:13, to guide the hearts of leaders as a watercourse in Proverbs 21:1, and to intercede for His house to be a house of prayer for all nations according to Isaiah 56:7 and Mark 11:17.

We have continued to stand with you in praying as you led us, that the Father would keep leaders and all in authority from the evil one according to John 17:15, that He would draw them to salvation according to 1 Tim 2:1-4, that He would restrain retaliation and the schemes of the enemy according to 2 Cor 2:11 and John 8:44, and that He would hear our confession for our land according to Daniel 9:20. We also join you in remembering that He made from one blood all nations and determined their appointed times and boundaries according to Acts 17:26 and that the nations are as a drop in a bucket before Him according to Isaiah 40:15.

If your request has been answered and you have seen God move over nations and leaders or restrain the plans of the enemy, please post a praise report and let us all know so we may rejoice with you. If your request does not seem to have been answered yet and the burden for unruly nations and for leaders remains heavy, please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer.

We continue to pray with you now that the Lord will reign victoriously for truth and justice according to Psalm 45:4 and that He will give the nations as an inheritance as we ask of Him according to Psalm 2:8. May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.

We pray in Jesus Name that the Lord will continue to lead our leaders and deliver them from evil according to Matt 6:13, and that the church will remain faithful in intercession. Amen.