God has a Plan
Australia is a wonderful country and a great place in the world to live. But we don’t know how the changes we are making will mean it stays that way. We don’t know what weaknesses we have, nor what place Christ has played in Western civilisations. We think He has inspired the establishment of significant institutions, but we don’t know how He affects the attitudes we value. Nor do we know how the foundation that has been laid is rapidly becoming undermined nor how has a democracy which rests on the notion that everyone is equal in rights and dignity has come down to us from Christ? For “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:28) Can the way we live continue without a Christian cultural foundation? How is it, that amid all the evident social trends, the collapse in our nation’s religious belief is truly seismic, especially to our Christian faith?
In the past, in so called Christian countries, there have been most appalling human betrayals. Is it possible to hope that any human institution can last millennia, especially when it has so often fallen so far short of its ideals? Is the way we live imaginable without our Christian cultural foundation? Does our democracy rest on the notion that everyone is equal in rights and dignity, something that has come down to us through the Christian gospels? Does our culture, our justice system rest on the notion that we should treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves. What lies at the heart of our volunteering and philanthropy? Christian organisations have made great contributions to a values-based education, health, and community-based services. Other religions have attempted to copy this, but the greatest social welfare bodies and charities come from a broad Christian inspiration – such as the Salvation Army, Lifeline, and Alcoholics Anonymous – They are generally thought to serve Australians well.
Can Christianity readily be replaced by other religious and cultural traditions? How has the Federal parliament which used to start with the Lord’s Prayer now start only after an acknowledgment of country? Christian beliefs have been ridiculed in the public square. Will this change intensify? Many schools teach young Australians to respect the Dreaming stories and Indigenous spirituality but are indifferent or hostile to Christian stories and Christian knowledge. The ignorance of Easter and the gospel stories should be thought of as cultural impoverishment. How can we be content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities and that when we are weak, then we are strong” (2 Cor 12:9) Nearly 40% of Australians have been self-identified as non-religious and mental illness has become our most prevalent chronic health condition. How much of this is due to the decline of the beliefs that gave our ancestor’s spiritual comfort and purpose?
Could the fact that a larger proportion of our Australian population is born overseas than in any other developed country be a weakness? More than 50 per cent of us are now foreign-born or have at least one foreign-born parent. But there are many who have been born overseas whose love of Jesus can put many of us to shame – Professing a religion doesn’t make people better people, but every faith seeks to make people better. But “we know not why God’s wondrous grace to us He has made known, Christ in love redeems us for His own. But we know Whom we have believed and are persuaded that He is able to keep that which we’ve committed unto Him against that day.”
Let’s Pray:
* For a deep love for God to arise in many people and an unyielding belief in our potential as a nation in which Christ is made known and honoured.
*For God’s wondrous grace to us to be made known. For Christ in love to redeem us as a nation for His own, though we are unworthy. That we are persuaded that He is able to keep what we’ve committed unto Him against that day.
*For many more to hear of the plan Jesus has for us as individuals, families and as a nation and believe Him.
Social Media and the Social Order
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil says, “just about every problem” in society is being caused or made worse by social media, declaring it is unacceptable for tech giants to make billions wreaking social havoc and leaving governments to “pick up the pieces”. Radicalisation through to anxiety and depression running rampant in our youth, have all been blamed on social media with little being seemingly done to tame the influence social media is having on society in general and our youth in particular.
Please pray:
* Pray that International Tech giants will develop a conscience that puts the interests of their customers above their desire to make money and negotiate with Governments to make changes to their operational models which will alleviate the many concerns that are current in society regarding their influence on impressionable minds.
* Pray for Governments to be empowered in their fight to bring the giant tech companies into line with laws and policies enacted by those publicly elected Governments.
* Pray that any attempts by Government to control the internet for political purposes will be thwarted but that freedom of expression and freedom of religion will be protected in all negotiated outcomes between the tech giants and Governments.
University Bosses Urged to Quash Campus Anti-Semitism
The Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism has called on the peak body representing chancellors, the University Chancellors Council, to take urgent action to address an “alarming“rise in anti-Semitism on campuses across the nation. “We urge you to consider taking action immediately because the situation on our campuses is rapidly spiraling out of control,” the letter said. “The vetoing of education and research in accordance with noisy protests or threats may start with the targeting of Israeli and Jewish academics but will doubtless not end there… The implications of racial hatred and religious bigotry are plain and dire… It is crucial to appreciate that across the world most Jews live in Israel and that the vast majority of all Jews support Israel. One could hardly imagine a more egregious example of the attempt to curtail academic freedom than the silencing of academic voices merely because of their country of origin.” Action endorsed by the alliance included universities formulating policies to protect academic freedom from obstruction by protests, extra training of security and academic staff and launching disciplinary action against staff and students who breach codes of conduct.
Please pray:
“If the bell tolls for Israel, it won’t just toll for Israel, it will toll for all mankind.” Bob Hawke, (then ACTU president) 1971
* Please pray for the University Chancellors Council as they discuss the “alarming” rise in anti-Semitism on campuses across our nation.
* Please pray that all Christians and churches across Australia would find the courage to pray for Israel, to stand up for this small besieged, democratic nation and to stand with Jewish people in our country who are under attack and often living in fear.
* Pray that the Jewish people would find their Messiah Jeshua, Jesus Christ.
Praying for Issues in the News
* The Federal Budget is due to be handed down on Tuesday night. Let us pray that the budget will be fair to all, non-inflationary, and conducive to assisting people who are struggling with cost-of-living pressures.
* The recent attack by a Chinese military aircraft against an Australian Defence Force helicopter resulted in a near miss that could have been fatal. Australia’s response has been somewhat muted due to concerns that to be too critical may antagonise China and result in further retaliatory actions against Australia’s best interests. Please pray that our government will be strong enough to stand up to such bullying and that our Defence Forces on the front line in the South China Sea would be protected and kept safe whilst on deployment. Pray for a settling down of tensions in the area.
Praying for the Nation
Let us ask God to reveal where sin has defiled the land in our Nation so that the Church in Australia may seek to deal with such occurrences. Leviticus 18:24-28, Isaiah 24: 4-7, Hosea 4: 1-6a.
Source: Australian Prayer Network
As this Prayer Watch bulletin is private the standard printing option is not available. If a printed copy is required, you will need to copy the body of the email and paste it into a blank document and print from that document.
Comments are closed