Pray Network Forum

If you’re feeling bummed out about the direction of your nation right now, I can relate. And so can the prophet Jeremiah.

Yet as Jeremiah wept during the devastation of his beloved city, Jerusalem, his initial reaction was not to blame the Babylonian invaders for his agony. He blamed God, concluding that his nation’s afflictions had come “from the rod of God’s wrath” (Lamentations 3:1-20 TLB).

You have to admit, this was a very logical conclusion. The Lord had promised to defend and protect His people if they walked in His ways. So the Babylonians weren’t the real problem—it was an issue between God and His people.

As Jeremiah witnessed the troubling events befalling his nation, he reasoned, “[God] has turned against me…and surrounded me with anguish and distress.” And he also was baffled by the fact that “though I cry and shout, he will not hear my prayers!”

Jeremiah was having a very bad day. Perhaps you can relate.

To make matters worse, there seemed to be no quick or easy solution: “He has walled me in; I cannot escape.” Perhaps you’ve wanted to just leave the country in your frustration. But escape is not the answer.

And while Jeremiah knew that God promises freedom to His people when they trust and obey Him, he must have been horrified by the realization that “he has fastened me with heavy chains.” How traumatic!

But the chains of the Babylonians were not much different from the chains of debt we now find ourselves in as a nation. One estimate says that every baby born this year will immediately owe $250,000 as their share of the national debt. Chains of bondage, don’t you think?

Jeremiah probably once had a plan for his life, but now everything had changed. Instead of getting closer to his destination, just the opposite seemed true: “[God] has filled my path with detours.” Perhaps you’re one of the thousands of people who’ve had to defer your retirement plans because of “detours” in the economy. I can relate.

If you find your lamenting today, you no doubt feel a need for comrades who understand and sympathize. But Jeremiah wasn’t given this luxury. He felt very much alone, even rejected: “My own people laugh at me; all day long they sing their ribald songs.”

Hmmm…sounds like a cultural war is going on, doesn’t it? While Jeremiah lamented, the people around him laughed. Seemingly without a clue about the destruction they were facing, people mocked God’s prophetic message and chose to flaunt their worldly ways. Jeremiah must have faced opposition from leaders who, like some today, belittle godly people for “clinging to their guns and religion” instead of embracing cultural trends.

Recognizing peace and prosperity as two key pillars of every nation truly blessed by God, Jeremiah was disturbed to realize that both were slipping away: “All peace and all prosperity have long since gone, for you [God] have taken them away.”

As Jeremiah surveyed this dismal situation, he made another quite logical deduction: “The Lord has left me…All hope is gone.” And who could blame him for feeling melancholy, even bitter?

Fortunately, this wasn’t the end of the story. Jeremiah went on to describe how the Lord broke through the dark clouds of disillusionment and gave him a sudden ray of encouragement:

Yet there is one ray of hope: his compassion never ends.

It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction.

Great is his faithfulness; his loving‑kindness begins afresh each day.

My soul claims the Lord as my inheritance; therefore I will hope in him.

The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him, to those who seek for him (Lamentations 3:21-25 TLB).

What an incredible change in Jeremiah’s perspective! From his gloomy place of lament, he saw an amazing ray of hope. From the pit of despair, he saw the Lord’s compassion and faithfulness. From an attitude of blaming God for his anguish, he ended up praising God and declaring His goodness.

So what about you? If you are experiencing a time of lament today—concerning your own life, your loved ones, or your nation—may the Lord break through the clouds and give you a fresh glimpse of His faithfulness.

Like Jeremiah, the apostle John faced some frightening times when he wrote the book of Revelation. Yet everything changed when he saw “a throne in heaven and Someone sitting on it” (Revelation 4:1-2). Praise God, He is still faithful, and still on the throne.

Yesterday afternoon I saw a Facebook post about a good friend in Illinois who had apparently been hospitalized for heatstroke. I remember praying briefly for him and hoping to learn soon that he was OK.

However, later that evening my wife and I were on our way to visit a friend at his grandpa's visitation when my phone rang. I saw that it was Don's wife, Laura, so I expected that she wanted to update me on his condition and hopefully tell me he was improving.

Instead, she told me he had passed away. Don? A guy in his early fifties?  Gone? In the middle of my shock, I couldn't help but ask again, "Why?"  Why allow this servant, father, husband and friend to be taken when there are so many evil, lazy jerks out there that our world could do without?

My first reaction of course was, "God, you didn't come through here. People were praying, they asked you for healing, for protection and instead you missed this one."

Of course that's silly. God wasn't asleep. He saw everything that happened from the stroke he apparently suffered to the final arrest of his heart.

But events like this got me thinking again, even this morning through some tears, that we often think that for God to come through He must make us happy, He must keep us comfortable, and change things in our world so that we avoid pain.

Sure, some of us would say otherwise, but we can pray that way. We love to claim things for God that we have no right claiming and if we're honest we claim them more for our comfort and happiness than God's perfect will, plan and glory.  Sometimes we even demand that God come through because we don't want to deal with our friend or relative's agony.

But the truth of the matter is that God owes us nothing. Everything we have, including life, is because of His grace and mercy. And because He loves us He sometimes does let us go through the worst because there is something on the other side that is better though we will probably never understand it at the time or until Heaven.

God has always come through to use that term. He did in the beginning, He did for Israel and He did at the cross. And He will today, tomorrow and the next day, no matter what happens that we can't understand.

So, yes, let's keep praying for miracles. Sometimes God still blesses us beyond measure so that He will be glorified, we will bear fruit and our joy will be full. But be sure to remember that He's the one who makes those calls, not us. And there will be joy in the morning.

As most of us know Nehemiah was called by God to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity. Unfortunately, not everyone liked the idea, particularly several key leaders. In chapter 4, verse 1, we read, When Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews . . .

Tobiah also joined the verbal scourging and added, What are they building - if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!

However, Nehemiah being a wise and godly leader immediately turned to the Lord and prayed in verse 4, Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 

But then rather than praying more he and his team went to work. So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. (v. 6)

Unfortunately, Sanballat, Tobiah and a host more were not finished and became angry that the work continued. Verse 8 tells us, They plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.

I find Nehemiah's next actions even more insightful when we think about how we're to pray in the middle of trials. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

They prayed AND posted a guard. They sought God's help AND they used everyday wisdom. They were spiritual AND they were smart.

God expects us to do the same today. Yes, pray for healing AND find the best medical help you can find. Yes, pray for financial provision AND spend what you have well. Yes, pray for your children to become godly AND model a Christlike life in front of them. Pray for the needy AND go share what you have with them. The possible implications are myriad.

Prayer and action are clearly not mutually exclusive!

But so often we prayer leaders, pastors and teachers send messages to others that one or the other, prayer or action, is really enough. We call for great movements of prayer (and we should) but we often leave out a challenge to then act wisely and assertively. Others pull together hundreds or even thousands to serve others and take little time to pray for wisdom, direction and guidance.

And many of us know the hurt and misunderstanding many have faced because a Christian leader did not understand the Bible's clear perspective that prayer is to be coupled with wisdom and everyday deeds.

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray He told them to pray that God would enable and empower them to bring the kingdom to earth as it is in Heaven. He too wanted them to make the kingdom real and vibrant in very tangible ways.

So, are you facing a challenge, a rebuttal, a push back on something you believe God wants you or your church to do?  Yes, pray like crazy, call others to join you, ask in Jesus' name that the Father will be glorified, fast if you feel led to, but for Heaven's sake, post a guard!