COMMUNITY PRAYER

 

MAY 27, 2024


Jeremiah 29:7

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

COMMUNITY PRAYER

Here is the backstory of the above verse. God’s People had been taken away into captivity. The Babylonians were God’s unsuspected means of judgment against Jerusalem and her inhabitants. The outcome was that the Israelites would be away from their homeland seventy years.

Jeremiah was God’s prophet during this time. God spoke through Jeremiah and told the his people to seek the welfare for the city in which they would live during the exile. God was saying, “Your survival depends on them. Your welfare depends on their welfare.” “Your ‘success’ during the exile is dependent not on praying for yourselves, but for how you’re praying for others.” This seems so contrary to some of my praying, it almost seems backwards. Would you agree? That Praying for others is more important than praying for our own stuff.

As I reflected on today’s text, I was thinking that if God were to send Jeremiah to our worshipping community, he would have the same message for us! He would tell us to pray for our community. I wonder if as Jesus followers our prayer is not so much for us to grow; as it is for those in our neighborhood to grow. It’s not for us to be blessed; it’s for our neighbors and community to be blessed.

I wonder if Jeremiah visited us, he would say something like “be Jesus to your community. Pray for your neighbor’s. Be present for them. Work and volunteer along with them. Love them with a care and compassion that Jesus modeled for us.

Who would have thought that our well-being was dependent upon how we prayed for the well-being of our neighborhood?



PRAYER

God, we ask for a flourishing community, where neighbors learn to love and care for each other and come to recognize your presence. We pray that we can be good stewards of Your love. Amen.