Jerusalem

A few weeks ago, handbills were passed out on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount (and left in other parts of “East Jerusalem”) warning Christians that they will be targets of destruction if they do not leave before the close of Ramadan, which is today.

Psalm 146:5,9b,10 New Living Translation
But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.
The Lord frustrates the plans of the wicked.
The Lord will reign forever.
He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.
Praise the Lord!

Our Father in heaven,

We pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
May all who love this city prosper.
O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.
For the sake of our family and friends, we will say,
“Peace be with you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
we will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.

O Father, You will be to Jerusalem a wall of fire all around and the glory in her midst. You, Lord God Almighty, frustrate the plans of the wicked. We bless Your holy name. Amen.

Psalm 122:6-9, Zechariah 2:5

ISIS

From Christian Post: 

Christianity was born in the east, not the west, and we are witnessing a once-in-a-thousand-year attempt at destroying it in the place of its birth.

Exodus 2:2-3 (ESV)
The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.

O Father, hide the Christians from the eyes of ISIS who would kill them.

Joshua 2:6 (ESV)
But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.

Raise up assistance to the Christians being persecuted.

2 Corinthians 11:32-33 (NIV)
In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.

Provide a means of escape when they are hunted. Amen.

Lent prayer theme: Global intercession for the persecuted, for missionaries, unreached peoples… etc.

One of the themes in material we plan to post and Tweet here during Lent will be prayer for the persecuted church, missionaries, and for unreached peoples and nations.  We will also post resources for  “spiritual warfare” – praying for God to thwart religious violence and evil.   For those of you interested in such posts, you might want to bookmark our Global Intercession category.

Here are a few of our recent entries from that category:

• Praying for Egypt and the families of the 21 Coptic Christian martyrs
• Bp. John Guernsey – Praying for Persecuted Christians in Lent AND Praying for the Terrorists who persecute them
• Lent Prayer Challenge 2015 – 40 daily prayers for missionaries serving among the least-reached people groups
• A new prayer resource, and a great prayer against violence

A new prayer resource, and a great prayer against violence

I just got a Tweet from Faith McDonnell, Director of Religious Liberty Programs for the Institute on Religion & Democracy.  Faith is a passionate advocate for the persecuted Church.

She directed my attention to a post at the IRD’s blog, highlighting a new prayer initiative in 2015 for the persecuted Church.

This Day We Fight! is also the title of IRD’s Religious Liberty Program’s new prayer initiative for 2015. Each new entry will appear on Juicy Ecumenism, and then be permanently stored on the IRD website, in a special category under the  International Religious Freedom button.

We will focus on encouraging church members to intense, strategic prayer against the evil that threatens the global Church and that threatens all of civilization.

The same post contains an excellent prayer against violence written by the late Reverend Cecil Kerr, onetime Anglican Chaplain at Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Here’s the prayer:

A PRAYER AGAINST VIOLENCE
(CECIL KERR, CHRISTIAN RENEWAL CENTRE, ROSTREVOR)

Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You that through Your death on the Cross You disarmed the powers of evil.Help us, we pray You, to enter into Your victory and to stand in Your authority against all evil.Send forth Your light and Your truth, O Lord.Bring to light the deeds of darkness and let plans of violence and murder be revealed.By the power of Your Holy Spirit convict those who have allowed their minds to be dominated by evil.  Lead them, O Lord, to true repentance that they may receive Your new life and rejoice in Your forgiving love.  Amen.

I urge you to read the full entry at the IRD’s blog, where Faith shares about why such a prayer initiative is needed.

 

Terrorism

Psalm 7:9 (NIV)
Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure—
you, the righteous God
who probes minds and hearts.

Our Father in heaven,
You indeed are righteous. You indeed are omniscient. Guard the United States from terrorism, we pray. Amen.

Diocese of South Carolina

Awaiting results of litigation.

Joshua 2:10-11 (NIV)
We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

Lord, You are indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. You are King of kings and Lord of lords.
Rahab acknowledged Your greatness, and You delivered her and her family from destruction. You have delivered the Diocese of South Carolina thus far, and we thank You.
Rahab tied a scarlet cord in the window of the city wall.  The fibers of Rahab’s cord (interlacing, twisting pennants of red, overlapping and knotted at the window) were a token of salvation for her, her family, and all that they had. Likewise, we apply the Blood of Christ Jesus as a token of salvation for the Diocese of South Carolina.   Christ Jesus has been, is, and will continue to be their strong Deliverer.  Amen.

Terrorism

2 Kings 6:10-12
Then the king of Israel sent to the place of which [Elisha] told and warned him; and thus he protected and saved himself there repeatedly. Therefore the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing. He called his servants and said, Will you show me who of us is for the king of Israel? One of his servants said, None, my lord O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber.

Daniel 2:47
The king answered Daniel, Of a truth your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a Revealer of secret mysteries, seeing that you could reveal this secret mystery.

Our Father in heaven,
You are the God of gods and the Lord of Kings and a Revealer of secret mysteries. We magnify Your holy name.
Let the prophetic voice of God be heard in the United States. May every hidden thing be revealed to the US government, and every terrorist attack and wicked device be exposed and stopped. Amen.

A Prayer for Veterans Day (includes prayer for those currently serving)

This prayer was written by the Rev. Jennifer Phillips, and posted at TitusOneNine this morning.  It’s a great prayer in that in offers our thanks for those who have served in the past as well as praying for those currently serving.  Thanks Kendall for posting it!

Governor of Nations, our Strength and Shield:
we give you thanks for the devotion and courage
of all those who have offered military service for this country:

For those who have fought for freedom; for those who laid down their lives for others;
for those who have borne suffering of mind or of body;
for those who have brought their best gifts to times of need.

On our behalf they have entered into danger,
endured separation from those they love,
labored long hours, and borne hardship in war and in peacetime.

Lift up by your mighty Presence those who are now at war;
encourage and heal those in hospitals
or mending their wounds at home;
guard those in any need or trouble;
hold safely in your hands all military families;
and bring the returning troops to joyful reunion
and tranquil life at home;

Give to us, your people, grateful hearts
and a united will to honor these men and women
and hold them always in our love and our prayers;
until your world is perfected in peace
through Jesus Christ our Savior.

–The Rev. Jennifer Phillips

Ebola

Psalm 86:3 (NLT)

Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly.

Dear Father,

Be merciful to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Be merciful to the United States and Spain.  Be merciful to the patients with Ebola virus, the health care providers, and those who bury the dead.  Mercy!  Mercy!  Mercy!  Amen.

A Prayer for Health Care Workers as they battle Ebola

With the news of another Ebola infection at Dallas Presbyterian Hospital among the doctors and nurses who treated Eric Thomas Duncan, it seems important that we keep praying for health care workers, in the US, in Spain, and in West Africa, as they battle Ebola

I found this on the Loyola School of Medicine website, and modified it slightly.

Good and gracious God,

you share your ministry of healing

with physicians and nurses, and with all

those professionals who commit their talents

to heal and strengthen patients and their families.

Through the companionship

of the great physician Luke,

bless them with your gifts of wisdom and hope.

Give them patience when they are tired,

strength when they are weak,

and the grace of hospitality for everyone they meet.

Loving God,

lay your healing hands upon them now.

May they walk always in your love.

May every action of their lives give glory

and praise to you, our loving God.   Amen!

 

Also, this passage from Psalm 63 seems very appropriate:

For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress;
I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
My mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.

— Psalm 63: 5-8

 

Autism

Psalm 74:12-19 (ESV)

12 Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You split open springs and brooks;
you dried up ever-flowing streams. . . .
18 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and a foolish people reviles your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.

O God my King,

Do not deliver the soul of your doves that suffer from autism spectrum disorders to the wild beasts, we pray.  Amen.

United States

The Lord announced the word, and great was the company of those who proclaimed it: “Kings and armies flee in haste; in the camps men divide the plunder. Even while you sleep among the campfires, the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver, its feathers with shining gold.”
Lord, announce Your word over the United States. May a great company, tens of thousands and thousands of thousands, proclaim it against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. May these evil forces flee in haste and the wings of Your holy angels be sheathed with silver and gold.

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death. You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!

Psalm 68

US leaders

Our Father in heaven,
You are good, a refuge in times of trouble. You care for those who trust in You.
The Pilgrims at Plymouth relied on prayer during their first and darkest winter. Our founding fathers also called for prayer during the Constitutional Congress. You have blessed our nation in more ways than we can know.
We pray that President Obama and Vice President Biden, the Governors of the border States, Secretary Jeh Johnson, Director James Comey, Director John Brennan, Admiral Michael Rogers and all in authority for the protection of our homeland will turn to You in prayer and seek Your guidance. Care for them and protect them from all assaults of the enemy as they lead our nation. Amen.
Nahum 1:7

US borders

Psalm 29:3 (ESV)
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.

Yes, Lord, Yes!
Your voice is over the waters of the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes, the Bering Sea, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Rio Grande. Your voice is powerful. Your voice is full of majesty. Your voice breaks the cedars.
Your thunder spits fire. You thunder, and the wilderness quakes. We proclaim Your mighty voice over the waters of the United States borders.
The Lord gives unyielding and impenetrable strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace. Amen.

Jerusalem

Isaiah 37:33-35 (AMP)
Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow here or come before it with shield or cast up a siege mound against it.
By the way that he came, by the same way he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, says the Lord.
For I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.

Father, we thank You for Your commitment to defend Jerusalem, and we humbly pray for Your defense of all of Israel. Amen.