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As the world around us seems to crumble, let us turn to prayer and beseech the Lord to pour His grace upon us and our nation, that we may have the wisdom and strength to do His will.

If you’re anything like me, it’s tempting to cry out with regularity and pray, “Lord Jesus come!”

Most certainly, every time humanity is assaulted by palpable evil, we wonder and despair at just how horrible people and culture can become before God ‘smites our backsides’.

You may have probably guessed that I’m neither a scholar nor an ordained minister of the Gospel! However, I’m a wife, mother, grandmother and Christian witnessing the destruction of society and even the moral standing of the Church, in some instances. All to placate the god of this world’s agendas, being carried out by willing or stupid people.

In this material world of fast food, fast cars, fast internet speed and speed of light changes, so much we thought of as stable and normal has been disappearing before our eyes. We’re not good at waiting, even on God. (Maybe it’s just me?)

Our Call Today

So, what are we, the Church, the Bride of Christ, the Ecclesia called to do in 2022?

What’s our purpose and mission? Has it changed? Have WE changed?

Some of us may simply have waved the white flag of surrender in these culture wars and attacks on the very fabric of the human race.

Perhaps, in fear of consequence, we find ourselves ‘hiding in the back of a dark cave, with a blanket pulled over our heads’; understandable. We have seen how governments across the world treat dissent.

Then, there are others with a burning zeal of righteous anger, prepared to put everything on the line for our fellow man. They are castigated, misunderstood, and loved in equal measure. Thank God for them! For the marchers, the protesters, the bold and fearless. Graham and Michelle Hood; Monica Smit; Topher Field; ACL’s Martyn Iles and his band of warriors; Bernie Finn; Senators Antic, Roberts, Rennick.

Okay, so maybe their bravery is a bridge too far for us; that’s understandable. But what can you and I do?

I just did a quick word search on the BibleHub app. Typing in the word ‘Pray’, the results suggested 1171 verses were found.

God’s Word

What Jesus Christ Taught About Prayer: Anchored In Christ, a complete list of verses compiled by Kevin Halloran, might be a good reference source for us.

Halloran prefaces this work: ‘If you’re looking to grow in your understanding of what the Bible says about prayer, there’s no better place to start than analyzing Jesus’ teaching on prayer in the gospels.’

I’m sure you’ll agree that what Jesus Christ Himself had to say about things might well be worth the read.

Matthew 5:44-45a ~ “… but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father Who is in heaven.”

Confronting words, when we want to lash out.

Matthew 6:5-15 ~ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name,
Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Matthew 7:7-11 ~ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

There are so many scriptures available to us to peruse and learn from, drink in, on this one website.

From the Heart

Have we forgotten the importance of prayer, due to many decades of good times?

Have we been going through the motions of Christianity, embodied by showing up at church on Sunday morning or Sunday evening, singing a few songs, a chat and a latte and going home?

May I humbly submit to you that this may well be the case for many of us? These last two years, however, should have been a clarion call to the church as a whole; and to us in a deeply personal way. Have we been brought to our knees, humbly seeking the face of our Lord our God our Father, entreating Him:

“Lord, save us in all of Your mercy and grace! Forgive our sins, Lord! Forgive us for being lukewarm, distracted by the world and relying upon our own shallow faith! Heal us, Lord. We long to live in Your presence once again!”

If this word and call resonates with you, may I invite you to join with the Canberra Declaration and Australia Prays for the month of October, a month of prayer, fasting, praise and worship as we cry out to the great I Am, “We love You, we need You!”

Christian, Australia needs you! Your family needs you! Prayer changes everything, including ourselves.

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Photo by Ben White/Unsplash.