A Wake Up Call
One week ago in Manchester, at 10:30pm on a Monday night, one lone suicide bomber entered an arena and executed an attack that killed 22 people and injured 59. The watching world was horrified and heartbroken. A day later, my Insta
gram account begin to flood with images of hearts and the words “Manchester” and hashtag #PrayforManchester.
Not again, I thought to myself, feeling the deep pit in my stomach. Remember Paris? Memories of the images of hearts, “Paris”, and hashtag #PrayforParis. And London? San Bernadino? Orlando? Boston? Horrific tragedy after another, followed by more Hearts. City names. Hashtags on Facebook, Twitter, andInstagram. #PrayforX. In the midst of horror and tragedy, individuals gathered to pray and show love to a community.
With eyes and heart open, I saw my own town and my own logo, with its familiar heart graphic and
“Warrenton”. How easily that image could have come into existence out of tragedy, fear and anxiety. But it did not. This idea and everything about it came out of God’s heart and love for this community… that is what gave me the energy and creativity to dream it to life.
Why Pray for Your City
I am writing today to encourage those who pray, to pray fervently for your city, praying for its peace and prosperity, proactively. After the Manchester attack, I finally made the connection and understood why this was so pressing on my heart. God does not call us to pray to him only in the face of fear and as a result of tragedy and horror, but longs for us to call out to Him, to seek His will, His goodness and blessing not just for ourselves, but for others and for the place in which he has sent us – the places in which we live out our daily lives.
In Jeremiah 29:7, His Word instructs us:
Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
In this passage, the Israelites are being held captive in Babylon, but God is instructing them to pray for that city in which he carried them and calls them to pray on its behalf and to seek its peace and prosperity. In their city’s welfare, so is their welfare.
For those who believe, we as Christians can consider ourselves exiles here on earth – we know this place is not our home – we belong in Heaven as children of God. But our time here is crucial and matters to Him. The place we live, and work, and do our daily lives – that is our Babylon and He calls us to pray for its peace and prosperity.
In Psalm 120, the Israelites are on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship and to pray for their city (commentators state this Psalm is likely written at the time the Israelites were exiled to Babylon and that the ideal exile was to seek peace for their city). The lament of the psalmist is about seeking peace and being met with deceit and war. But God promises them He will take care of them and protect them in their coming and going.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.”
You and I are on a pilgrimage to our promised land. We live in a world of deception and lies and goodness and love. As long as we live here on this earth, there will always be this tension between goodness and the evil around it. They are at war with one another.
How to Pray for Your City
As a nation, we reserve ONE day a year to pray during the National Day of Prayer, which occurs the first Thursday in May. During this day, thousands of individuals, churches and communities all over rally millions of Christians to call out to God.
Can we resolve to pray for our city regularly?
Pray for your city today – not just after something tragic happens. Pray proactively.
Pray for it’s peace today, for goodness and light to overcome evil and darkness. For God’s blessing and protection.
Pray for wisdom for your leaders, for creativity for the small business owner, for patience and gentleness for the teachers, strength for the nurses, protection for our police officers and our firefighters, blessings and joy for your neighbor. Pray with God’s heart. And if you don’t have the capacity to love and pray for the town in which you live and the people in it – ask God for His heart and his capacity to love and I promise he will not hold back.
Remember God’s promise (his protection in your coming and going) – and resolve to pray that as long as you have breathe, you will pray knowing that he listens.
Let’s gather to pray and show love to our community. Let’s pray for Warrenton.
“Because he bends down to listen, as long as I breathe I will pray.” Psalm 116:2
***
Leave a Reply