But the word of Lord came to me in Jeremiah 14. I believe we need to pray differently!
1 This is the word of the LORD to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2 "Judah mourns, her cities languish; they wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3 The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns but find no water. They return with their jars unfilled; dismayed and despairing, they cover their heads.
4 The ground is cracked because there is no rain in the land; the farmers are dismayed and cover their heads.
7 Although our sins testify against us, O LORD, do something for the sake of your name. For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you.
8 O……Savior in times of distress, why are you like a stranger in the land……like a warrior powerless to save?
10 ……"They greatly love to wander; they do not restrain their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; he will now remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins."
Then God said to Jeremiah:
12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry…….Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague."
Jeremiah finally prayed:
20 O LORD, we acknowledge our wickedness and the guilt of our fathers; we have indeed sinned against you.
21 For the sake of your name do not despise us; do not dishonor your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you, or you are the one who does all this.
Some of you may not like what I am going to share, but I sense it is from the Lord. You have the choice of deleting his message now or reading on.
God is just and righteousness. He will not allow injustice and unrighteous to continue forever. His judgment of the world has started.
[2 Chron 7:14]
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
We need to start with ourselves. God’s people need to repent of our wicked ways and ask God for His forgiveness, yes, for our own sins and wickedness as God’s people. Then God will begin to hear our prayers. God will not listen to prayers from wicked and sinful Christians, me included. Indeed, I pray for God to forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness each day!
This is the starting point.
I appeal to all Christians who believe in Jesus as the Lord and Saviour to do likewise.
This is my prayer. “O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you. May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies. Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers…... [Ps 141:1-10 NIV]
This is a word of warning from the Lord. “'This is what the LORD says: "'When men fall down, do they not get up? When a man turns away, does he not return? Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, "What have I done?" Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle…..The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they have? "'I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them.'" [Jer 8:4-6,8,9,13 NIV]
Another word of warning is that, going forward, we will see great persecution of the true church of Jesus Christ, not unlike the Early Church. “Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood." Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead-whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."…….They….had them flogged…..Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.......Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. [Acts 5:27-42 NIV]. We need to do likewise until The End.
Be assured to know these - “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good…….The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him……The LORD detests the way of the wicked but he loves those who pursue righteousness…..Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD — how much more the hearts of men!....Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil…..The LORD tears down the proud man's house but he keeps the widow's boundaries intact. The LORD detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to him……The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous……The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor. [Prov 15:3,8,9,11,16,25,26,29,33 NIV]
Amen and amen!
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