Prayer Update 486
Proverbs4Prayer
Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous are in
authority, people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, people groan.”
It is
really, really great when the people in authority over us are righteous people
– people who live rightly themselves and exercise their authority in right
ways. But is a tragedy when wicked
people are in authority. Please pray for
the following areas, where righteous leadership and authority are so
important: in the family, in Government,
in Regional and city/town or local Councils, in education (schools and high
schools), in the Police and Judiciary, in the Church, and so on. Recently there have been cases when police
have been attacked, sometimes brutally.
It is important that those people who are in authority are respected and
protected, especially when they are righteous people, seeking to serve the
people they lead. Many people serve the
community well, and sacrificially, and they need to be upheld, respected and
prayed for. Continue to pray for your
own electorate MP and also any list MPs in your area. Pray that they will be righteous, wise people
who will use their place and authority in Parliament, and in the community,
well. Pray similarly for teachers,
parents, the police and others in authority in society and the Church.
CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR OF TEENS
Recently
there have been some horrific crimes committed by teens and even
pre-teens. Our society is often such a
bad example to our young people; families are often dysfunctional; fathers
often are not living with their children; people are often so busy that they
don’t have time to care (or don’t even care) for their children; children are
set bad examples, especially through the media; or the children are abused and
set bad examples in the homes they live in.
It is no wonder that there is a very lost younger generation arising,
with little or no moral teaching, training or discipline – in fact often they
see more bad behaviour than good behaviour.
Please pray for the fatherless – those who know little or nothing of
their fathers and those that hate their fathers; pray for unruly,
undisciplined, misguided and wayward young people who are heading for a
life-time of crime if they are not rescued and their lives turned around.
CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES
Just
suppose God really does know best. Then
the more society rejects Christian principles – God’s ways – the worse society
will become. How can we expect God’s
blessings if we reject the very God Who blesses us! New Zealand has been a blessed nation in the
past, and still enjoys many good things.
But we must be very careful we do not presume on God’s mercy and grace
if we, as a country, continue to reject the Lord and His ways! In love, God may need to severely discipline
us, in order to bring us to repentance and back to Himself. If that’s what it takes, then so be it! Rather a chastised country that turns back to
the Lord than a land forsaken by God because we continue to reject Him!
COMMITMENT
In the
incredibly busy world in which most of us live, there is so little time to
commit to many things which really matter (or do they?) Our commitment to the Lord, to His people,
and to serve the Body of Christ should be paramount in our lives, but often
they are not because “we have too much to do” (I speak from experience!) The Church suffers, our brothers and sisters
in Christ suffer, the Name of the Lord suffers because
of our lack of commitment to those things which really do matter. Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness, and all these things [which you need] will be given to
you”. Let us pray that we will
“Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness” and that we will see all the
other things which are really needful, will be supplied or will happen anyway!