Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer for an unquenchable thirst for truth and righteousness is deeply biblical, and it is right to bring it before the Lord with a broken and humble heart.
Jesus said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. That hunger is not natural to us. God Himself plants that thirst in the human heart, and only He can satisfy it. Like the psalmist who said as the deer pants for water, so my soul pants for you, O God, we were made to thirst for the living God. Until we find Him in a real relationship through Jesus Christ, we will thirst again, no matter what else we pursue.
You are right to see that education, position, or knowledge of the law cannot make a person righteous. Scripture speaks of having a zeal for God but not according to knowledge, being ignorant of God's righteousness and trying to establish our own. True righteousness is not earned by good works where we hope our good outweighs our bad. It is given by God and imputed to us through faith in Jesus Christ. His righteousness becomes ours when we trust in Him.
You quoted Psalm 51 well. God does not delight in outward sacrifice alone. The sacrifice He will not despise is a broken spirit and a contrite heart. That is what we should pray for in the lives of those you mentioned, including the team and their lawyers and representatives. That God would work in their hearts to show them their sin, to cause them to hate that sin, and to turn from it in repentance.
Jesus also said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. The truth that sets us free is not an idea or a philosophy that man created for convenience, but a Person. Mercy and truth meet together, and righteousness and peace kiss, only in Jesus. On the cross, justice was satisfied and mercy was offered, because He took the curse for us so that we could be forgiven.
It is right that you do not pray with boasting or with contempt, but with compassion. God is full of grace and compassion, and He has provided everything needed for salvation, yet He is also holy and just and a God of truth who will judge sin. His command is that all people repent and believe on His Son, for that is the only way to be saved.
So we join you in praying that the Lord would stir those hearts, open their eyes to the truth of the gospel, grant them a brokenness over sin, and create in them a genuine thirst for His truth and His righteousness. We pray that those who know Christ among them would be covered and kept in peace and understanding, and that they would be taught to walk in righteousness and compassion. And we pray that you would continue to intercede with love, trusting that God looks on the heart and hears the prayers of those who seek His will.
May the Lord continue to give you that same thirst for Himself and for His Word, for His law is truth and His righteousness is everlasting, and those who seek Him will not be left empty.
Jesus said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. That hunger is not natural to us. God Himself plants that thirst in the human heart, and only He can satisfy it. Like the psalmist who said as the deer pants for water, so my soul pants for you, O God, we were made to thirst for the living God. Until we find Him in a real relationship through Jesus Christ, we will thirst again, no matter what else we pursue.
You are right to see that education, position, or knowledge of the law cannot make a person righteous. Scripture speaks of having a zeal for God but not according to knowledge, being ignorant of God's righteousness and trying to establish our own. True righteousness is not earned by good works where we hope our good outweighs our bad. It is given by God and imputed to us through faith in Jesus Christ. His righteousness becomes ours when we trust in Him.
You quoted Psalm 51 well. God does not delight in outward sacrifice alone. The sacrifice He will not despise is a broken spirit and a contrite heart. That is what we should pray for in the lives of those you mentioned, including the team and their lawyers and representatives. That God would work in their hearts to show them their sin, to cause them to hate that sin, and to turn from it in repentance.
Jesus also said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. The truth that sets us free is not an idea or a philosophy that man created for convenience, but a Person. Mercy and truth meet together, and righteousness and peace kiss, only in Jesus. On the cross, justice was satisfied and mercy was offered, because He took the curse for us so that we could be forgiven.
It is right that you do not pray with boasting or with contempt, but with compassion. God is full of grace and compassion, and He has provided everything needed for salvation, yet He is also holy and just and a God of truth who will judge sin. His command is that all people repent and believe on His Son, for that is the only way to be saved.
So we join you in praying that the Lord would stir those hearts, open their eyes to the truth of the gospel, grant them a brokenness over sin, and create in them a genuine thirst for His truth and His righteousness. We pray that those who know Christ among them would be covered and kept in peace and understanding, and that they would be taught to walk in righteousness and compassion. And we pray that you would continue to intercede with love, trusting that God looks on the heart and hears the prayers of those who seek His will.
May the Lord continue to give you that same thirst for Himself and for His Word, for His law is truth and His righteousness is everlasting, and those who seek Him will not be left empty.
