Silas
Beloved of All
Your burden to pray for all people, for those in authority, for those who serve, and for civilians caught in danger, reflects exactly what Scripture urges when it says to offer prayers, petitions, intercessions and thanksgivings for all people, for rulers and all in authority, so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in godliness and dignity, which is good and pleasing to God our Savior who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
That desire for salvation must stay first. Before we ask for protection or strategy or peace between nations, we ask that men and women, whether they lead or follow, whether they are near or far, would hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved. He alone is the way of salvation, and He redeemed by His blood people from every tribe and tongue and nation. The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, and the true hope for any land is that its people would look upon Him whom they pierced and receive the spirit of grace.
For those in authority we pray for wisdom, and Scripture makes a clear distinction between two kinds of wisdom. The wisdom of this world, even the wisdom of princes and rulers, comes to nothing and leads to strife, fighting and war. The wisdom that is from above is different. It is pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruit, without partiality and without hypocrisy. God gives wisdom, and out of His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright and is a shield to those who walk in integrity. So we ask that leaders would seek the Lord for wisdom, that they would fear Him, which is the beginning of wisdom, and that they would find that His ways are pleasantness and all His paths are peace. Only that kind of wisdom can turn hearts from war toward making peace, and those who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
We also pray for protection, for those who serve and for the innocent, and we know the Lord hears. He is the hope of His people and the strength of His people, He keeps the paths of justice and preserves the way of His saints, and He gives His angels charge to guard His own. At the same time we remember that lasting peace will not come from treaties or weapons or military budgets, though those shape the economies of nations. Scripture points to a coming day when the Lord will reign from Jerusalem, the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and many peoples will say come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways. Then He will judge between many peoples and settle disputes for strong nations far away, and instruments of war will be turned into tools for harvest.
Until that day, the nations are still called to account for how they treat Israel, for God has promised to plead for His people and His heritage. That is why we continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for the salvation of both Jew and Gentile in that land and in every land. We have seen in history how Jerusalem was trampled and became a heap, and how it was again brought under the care of its own people, and we know there is a future day when God will pour out on Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication and they will look on Him whom they have pierced and mourn. We pray toward that mercy now.
We also rest in the sovereignty of God. He sits in the heavens and does whatever He pleases, He works all things after the counsel of His will, He frustrates the plans of the wicked and His counsel stands forever, and He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Christ in us is greater than he who is in the world. So we submit ourselves to God, we put on His armor, we pray in the Spirit, and we bring these requests with thanksgiving, trusting His promise that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Thank you for standing in the gap as part of a house of prayer for all nations. Keep asking that the gospel would go forth with freedom and clarity, that alliances for good would be strengthened and evil alignments diminished, that false teaching would be exposed, and that the word of Christ would lead to repentance and the making of disciples in every nation.
That desire for salvation must stay first. Before we ask for protection or strategy or peace between nations, we ask that men and women, whether they lead or follow, whether they are near or far, would hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved. He alone is the way of salvation, and He redeemed by His blood people from every tribe and tongue and nation. The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, and the true hope for any land is that its people would look upon Him whom they pierced and receive the spirit of grace.
For those in authority we pray for wisdom, and Scripture makes a clear distinction between two kinds of wisdom. The wisdom of this world, even the wisdom of princes and rulers, comes to nothing and leads to strife, fighting and war. The wisdom that is from above is different. It is pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruit, without partiality and without hypocrisy. God gives wisdom, and out of His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright and is a shield to those who walk in integrity. So we ask that leaders would seek the Lord for wisdom, that they would fear Him, which is the beginning of wisdom, and that they would find that His ways are pleasantness and all His paths are peace. Only that kind of wisdom can turn hearts from war toward making peace, and those who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
We also pray for protection, for those who serve and for the innocent, and we know the Lord hears. He is the hope of His people and the strength of His people, He keeps the paths of justice and preserves the way of His saints, and He gives His angels charge to guard His own. At the same time we remember that lasting peace will not come from treaties or weapons or military budgets, though those shape the economies of nations. Scripture points to a coming day when the Lord will reign from Jerusalem, the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and many peoples will say come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways. Then He will judge between many peoples and settle disputes for strong nations far away, and instruments of war will be turned into tools for harvest.
Until that day, the nations are still called to account for how they treat Israel, for God has promised to plead for His people and His heritage. That is why we continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for the salvation of both Jew and Gentile in that land and in every land. We have seen in history how Jerusalem was trampled and became a heap, and how it was again brought under the care of its own people, and we know there is a future day when God will pour out on Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication and they will look on Him whom they have pierced and mourn. We pray toward that mercy now.
We also rest in the sovereignty of God. He sits in the heavens and does whatever He pleases, He works all things after the counsel of His will, He frustrates the plans of the wicked and His counsel stands forever, and He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Christ in us is greater than he who is in the world. So we submit ourselves to God, we put on His armor, we pray in the Spirit, and we bring these requests with thanksgiving, trusting His promise that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Thank you for standing in the gap as part of a house of prayer for all nations. Keep asking that the gospel would go forth with freedom and clarity, that alliances for good would be strengthened and evil alignments diminished, that false teaching would be exposed, and that the word of Christ would lead to repentance and the making of disciples in every nation.
