Prayer Focus: Praying for the world and about terrorism

Saturday, November 21, 2015
Last night as I tried to fall asleep, I prayed. As I prayed, this came to me:
Lord, the world seems like it's falling apart at the seams. I realize there is nothing new under the sun as it says here:
Ecclesiastes 1:9 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
-- Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
The world turmoil is not new. We just know more about it because of the internet and social media. (For instance, when hearing about breaking news, social media is usually the best way to find out information because social media posts in real-time. That being said, you have to know most of the information is marginally true and is subjective, so you have to filter it for the facts later.)
Lord, none of this is a surprise to You. However, Lord, it is a surprise to me. It hurts knowing the suffering of people. I wish I could go give them a hug and just be there for them. I pray instead and I realize well this is best anyway. Prayer offers them more than anything or anyone of this world.
The world is in turmoil and seems so... ugly... Bleak. Hurtful and hurting. Busy. Lost. Confused. Angry. Sad. There are so many challenges and so much ugliness, God. We are all trying to find our own way and are trying to find some beauty and at least one blessing to count. First, there was Paris. Then, Mali. Then, now, there is a threat in Brussels. They are in lockdown and are on alert. Americans are told to leave there or not to go there.
Lord, so much ugliness in this world.
Where is the beauty? Where is the light in this dark mixed up world?
Wait. We are all looking inside of ourselves, and all around, so we are not looking where we should. We should look for You. We should seek Your face. You are eve good, beautiful, and light. You are our only hope.
As our hearts break...
As we learn of more ugliness...
As we crave beauty in this muck...
We should look for You. Search for You. See You alone. You will never fail us and always want what is best for us. You are our one and only true and absolute hope.
We should also remember how You have a purpose for and in everything.
Acts 17:27 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
27 He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.
-- Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Lord, I wish You didn't have to get my attention with events and circumstances. I wish I turned to You first and foremost... and I wish I stood in the gap and on watch without having to remind me and get my attention. Help me to remain focused on looking for You in all I do, think, feel, and say. You alone, Lord. In these times... You first and You alone. The world will fail me every time and is a man versus man world. You are the only sure foundation.
Isaiah 28:16 New Living Translation (NLT)
16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,
    a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.
    Whoever believes need never be shaken.
-- New Living Translation (NLT). Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
I should search for You, seek You and Your face, at all times. Yes, Father, in the times of sunshine, clouds, rain, snow, and storm, we should seek You and Your face. First and always. For, when we do, You reward us and bless us.
Matthew 6:31-34 New Living Translation (NLT)
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
-- New Living Translation (NLT). Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Another terror attack? We should not worry. We should pray instead.
Lord, it is sometimes difficult to look for You in this vile and mixed up world at times that leads only to trouble. People are so self-centered they forget about You or are so focused on self they have never known You at all.
Psalm 53:1-3 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
For the choir director: on Mahalath. A Davidic Maskil.
1 The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.”
They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven on the human race
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.
3 All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.
-- Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Lord, help me be the one. Help me be the one who seeks You first. Help me be the one who stands in the gap. Help me seek You every moment. Help to stand on watch.
But, Lord... all of this can be difficult at best. I cannot possibly do any of this, let alone all of it without You.
First, Paris, then terror attacks in Israel, then in Mali, and now Brussels is on high alert. People are dying. People are being murdered because of a difference in belief and a difference in a way of life. Ouch. There's so much tumult and turmoil... I feel like I am drowning in this sea of ugliness. Therefore...
Psalm 63:1-4 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
A Davidic psalm. When he was in the Wilderness of Judah.
1 God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You.
I thirst for You;
my body faints for You
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.
2 So I gaze on You in the sanctuary
to see Your strength and Your glory.
3 My lips will glorify You
because Your faithful love is better than life.
4 So I will praise You as long as I live;
at Your name, I will lift up my hands.
-- Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
I long for stability in this topsy-turvy world. I know that it's only found in You.
Lord, I know it isn't just me who struggles with these things and is grasping at anything to make sense of things and in order to stop myself from drowning in this sea of terror, never mind everyday life.
God, I realize that the fact that I am finding so much ugliness means in part that the terrorists are getting what they want. They want to disrupt lives. They want to cause terror and incite a war. I ahve fallen into that trap. That is why I should seek You first, always, and alone, so I do not fall into their trap and get my eyes off the prize.
Philippians 3:13-14 Expanded Bible (EXB)
13 Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not ·yet reached that goal [taken hold of it], but there is one thing I always do. Forgetting the ·past [L things that are behind] and ·straining toward [stretching/reaching forward to] what is ahead, 14 I keep ·trying to reach [pursuing; chasing] the goal and get the prize for which God called me ·to the life above [heavenward; L upward] ·through [or in] Christ Jesus.
-- Expanded Bible (EXB). The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
My goal should be to focus on heaven, not on the things of this earth. The things of this earth are only temporary. Heaven is eternal.
Colossians 3:1-2 New Living Translation (NLT)
3 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
-- New Living Translation (NLT). Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Help all of us to turn to You and seek You. Helps us all to pray for what we should, when we should, in all things, for all things, and at all times.
I pray this for myself and for everyone who has been touched by terror the last few decades:
Psalm 91 New King James Version (NKJV)
91 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”
-- New King James Version (NKJV). Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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