Day 16, January 17 2019
Prayers for our Community
FOCUSED: to be cleansed of sin
Psalm 25:18: Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.
Nehemiah 1:6b, 8-9 (NIV): I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
In a meeting of diverse Christian leaders someone said, “the church in our city needs to repent.” One response to the statement was, “what do we need to repent for?” Then the individual asking the question went on to talk about all the good things the church in that city was doing and finished by trying to make the case that there was not a need for repentance and the seeking of forgiveness from God, but rather the favor of God was resting on the city.
1 John 1:8-10 says, “if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”
The scriptures reveal the sinfulness of cities such as Sodom, Gomorrah, Nineveh, and other cities too. Those that repented and turned to God were blessed and those that did not, well, some of them do not even exist anymore.
God loves to take a sinful city and turn it into a revival center. He did just that in Antioch, Ephesus, Jerusalem, Nineveh, and more recently in Cali, Columbia, Fiji, Guatemala, Uganda, Brazil, and hopefully very soon in our own community.
How does it happen that an entire community or city repents to the extent that it gets God’s attention and a transformation begins to occur? It begins by individuals getting honest with God, confessing their sin, and crying out to Him for forgiveness and freedom.
The real question is not, can it happen in our community, but will you allow it to happen in you? Let’s be honest before God about those things in our heart. Confess our sins to Him and repent!
REFLECT:
• Imagine what our community would look like if a true transformation occurred among Christ followers. What are some things that would look different?
• Will you pray for the revival to begin in you?
PRAYER:
Holy God, I understand that a city or region cannot receive Your blessing if it is built on sin and bloodshed. That type of foundation causes the people to labor and gain nothing. Lord, we humbly ask Your mercy and for Your forgiveness to be poured out in the community we live in. Lord, at this time I also name the specific sins that I am aware of such as injustices or covenant breaking, and I repent of them. I ask that You use me in my community wherever you desire so that You are glorified and seen in our midst.