Seek the Peace (7)

“And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORDfor it; for in its peace you will have peace.” Jeremiah 29.7

Well, this for one…
In Psalm 137 the psalmist reacts negatively to an attempt on the part of one of his Babylonian captors to get him to sing one of the songs of Jerusalem. The bitterness and sorrow expressed in that psalm capture what must have been the heart burden of many of the people of Israel, as they endured captivity in Babylon.

How could they sing the Lord’s songs in a foreign land? How could they even think of letting the cruel Babylonians gain any benefit from their devotions? And yet, and yet – Psalm 137, bitter and hard as it is, is a prayer to God, what we call an imprecatory psalm, calling the judgment of God down against those who harm His people.

God commanded His exiled people to pray for their captors; doubtless such imprecatory prayers often arose from the midst of the captive people. And God approved them, understanding and compassionate with His people all the way.

But His people must not stop here. Even as they sought the Lord’s vengeance against their captors, the exiles in Babylon were commanded also to seek His grace on their behalf, that He might penetrate their hearts, turning many to the knowledge of God. Asaph had shown the way for such prayer in Psalm 83.16. The people must also pray, as Daniel doubtless did for King Nebuchadnezzar, that their captors would become ashamed of their wickedness and folly, repent of their violent and oppressive ways, and learn to worship the living God.

Such prayers must have seemed like long shots for those who prayed them, but, given the experience of Nebuchadnezzar himself, we can believe that many Babylonians came to know the Lord because of such prayers.

For all people
Seeking the welfare of the communities in which we live will be more effective when we bathe and envelop all our endeavors in prayer. Paul commanded that prayers and intercessions be made for all people everywhere (1 Tim. 2.1, 2). That surely includes the people in our communities, the teachers in our schools, those who own the businesses and farms, the civil magistrates, those who defend our nation at home and abroad, and all our neighbors, associates, and coworkers. God works through prayer, and if we wish to see the promised blessings of God come to the people in our communities, then we shall have to begin praying for them more earnestly.

The work of prayer
In our private devotions, before family dinners, in our churches and Bible study groups, where two or three believers are gathered for lunch or any other reason, let prayers ascend on behalf of our neighbors. Let the promises of God, and especially the promise of revival, renewal, and awakening be our guide. The more we pray for people, the more we will be aware of them and their needs. The more aware we are of them, the more attentive we will be. And the more attentive we are to them, the greater is the likelihood that we will begin to reach out to them with the blessings of God.

Prayer for our communities and our nation can unite churches across denominational divides, bring pastors together on behalf their community without jealousy or suspicion, and create a united voice for revival and awakening for the entire world.

Any decision not to pray for our neighbors, and to seek the Lord for His promised revival, is simply a decision not to obey the plain teaching of Scripture. It is to despise the promises of God and to prefer the sinking status quo of the Christian faith. It is to reveal a heart not intent on seeking the Lord, unloving toward our neighbors, and not submissive to the whole counsel of God. If you will not pray for your community, that God will bring His blessings through His churches for the shalom of all, then how can you dare come before God for anything at all in prayer?

Will we pray for our neighbors, our community, our nation, and our world? If we will not, then we must face up to the fact that we are disobeying a divine mandate, abandoning our neighbors to their folly, and stoking the fires of indifference – if not outright scorn – for the unbelieving world around. But if we will pray, who knows what God might be willing to do?

And we are missing the best opportunity any of us will ever know to realize more of the exceedingly great and precious promises of God.

For reflection
1.  Does your church pray for its community? Do you?

2.  Meditate on 1 Timothy 2.1-8. How might you encourage your fellow believers to begin practicing this kind of prayer?

3.  Why is today such an excellent time for seeking to realize the exceedingly great and precious promises of God?

Next steps – Prepare: How can you begin to pray daily for your neighbors and your community? Encourage other believers to join you in this work of seeking the peace and promises of God for your neighbors.

T. M. Moore

This is part 1 of a 5-part series, Living toward the Promises. You can download this week’s study as a free PDF, suitable for personal or group use, by clicking here. You can learn more about living toward the promises of God by ordering a copy of the book, I Will Be Your God, from our online store (click here).

We invite you to register for the free online course, One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview. In this course T. M. Moore provides a sweeping panorama of how life in the Kingdom of God unfolds in an age in flight from God such as ours. Set your own schedule and study at your own pace. Learn more, and register for One in Twelve, by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.