Our Foundation is Righteousness and Justice
For justice to roll on like a river in our nation, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24). If we think about righteousness or justice, it may not appear to be deeply related to our current laws or public behaviour. Our social expectations about what is righteous or just seem to change over time. For instance, we are appalled when we read convicts were sent to Australia for stealing a loaf of bread or that pregnant single girls were forced to give their babies for adoption. Governments are often changing laws based on what they think are our current society expectations and help them win votes to keep them in power. They can create laws, for example, that appear to give more justice to the poor or challenge the power of the casinos. Our true sense of justice comes from God. He has told us what He requires of us; to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). But governments don’t always do what God tells us. We can’t expect perfect justice on earth. We can thank the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age. Praying for justice is a good foundation for prayer and so is the knowledge that the battle is His and not ours. There are clear guidelines for justice in scripture. Millions are often spent by governments and hours are devoted to try to achieve ‘social justice’. It would help if Jesus was at the centre and we saw one another as God sees us as created in His image. A world longing for justice will only finally see it when the King of Righteousness comes.
The end goal of justice can be seeing lives reconciled to God and eternally transformed, because He says ‘I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness’. (Jer 9:24) It is easy to focus on so-called exploitation and the oppression of people, but not stress the need for personal righteousness. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. (Pb 14:34) We are told “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne; love and faithfulness go before Him” (Ps 89:14). We all feel we have the right to feel outraged when people get away doing bad things or are not punished. We are thrilled when they do good things. Justice seems to mean setting things right. But the society or the culture we live in does not always know what is right. We are told to “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, and plead the widow’s cause,” (Isaiah 1:17). God’s rule over the universe is grounded in justice and righteousness (Ps 89:14) but is there a moral law that we can safely follow?
Let’s pray:
* For those who have been elected to represent us in our Commonwealth and State governments and Councils to be given wisdom to know what is right, courage to stand, when necessary, against the tide of popular opinion and the willingness to stand for righteousness.
* Thanking God that the fruit of righteousness will be peace, and its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. (Is32:17): Let’s pray that this happens in our nation.
* For the failure of the “Misinformation and Disinformation” Bill on the federal agenda which hangs as a dark and heavy threat over the very foundations of free speech and religious expression in our nation and granting unprecedented powers to suppress dissenting voices and control public discourse. Pray too for people to have open eyes and hearts to understand the challenges and complexities we are all facing.
Violence Against Essential Workers
As our society becomes more violent, so the number of attacks against our essential workers such as Nurses, Firefighters, Ambulance staff and Police also increases. Seeking to stop such attacks at the coalface is difficult. Recent reports indicate that Nurses in Queensland hospital psychiatric units are being bashed by unguarded, violent prisoners under laws that mean prison officers have no jurisdiction in the state’s public mental health wards. This is not confined to just Queensland nor just to Nurses. Convicted and accused rapists, murderers, attempted murderers, carjackers, and armed robbers are being transferred from Lotus Glen Correctional Centre in far north Queensland to Cairns Hospital’s mental health ward for treatment and then being left there without supervision from prison officers or full-time hospital-trained security guards.
Please pray:
* That ways will be found to stop such attacks upon our essential services personnel. In the meantime, pray for their protection against all forms of violence, limiting any physical or mental harm so they suffer no injuries nor harm to any part of their bodies or emotions.
* That all essential workers will be given grace, compassion and patience to deal with difficult and violent people they regularly meet in their daily lives.
* For those who perpetrate such violence against their fellow human beings indicating problems within their own lives that need ministry and healing for them to be able to function properly. Pray they will be able to receive such ministry and care during their time in either hospital or incarceration.
Praying for Marriages Everywhere
In a world where values and traditions often seem to be shifting, marriage remains a foundation of stability for Christians.
Please pray:
* For a greater appreciation of each other between those who are married. Continually refresh their first love and help them to be more tolerant and forgiving towards each other and to understand and practice unconditional love between husband and wife.
* That all marriages will fulfil the plans and purposes you had for each couple when you brought them together in marriage. May each married couple seek You first in their marriage and depend on Your power to get them through the difficulties they will inevitably face.
* May the words that flow between married couples be words of honour and blessing and not hurtful in any way. Pray they will be able to resist any temptation that may come their way so they may avoid the breaking of their marriage vows.
Praying for Issues in the News
* Cheating in examinations, whilst always present, has grown into a modern-day phenomenon in our universities. Student visa holders are responsible for the large majority of costly student misconduct cases driven by creative cheating methods such as artificial intelligence, with one university investigating 10 times the number of international students than domestic students. There have been 1259 recorded cases of student misconduct received by the University of Sydney Student Affairs Unit in 2023, which identified student visa holders as respondents. There were a further 616 undergraduate students, and 265 postgraduate students also referred for exam misconduct, with almost all of them international students. There were 79 illegal cheating websites blocked this year by the higher education regulator, bringing the tally to 370 since mid-2022, as well as removing more than 850 social media advertisements and profiles. Please pray that cheating students will continue to be found out and that the incidents of cheating will be dramatically reduced so that genuine students who do not resort to cheating are not disadvantaged.
* A Chinese Communist Party propaganda boss has recently made a discreet trip to Australia that reveals both Beijing’s improved diplomatic ties with Canberra but also the extreme sensitivity surrounding the “stabilised” relationship. During his visit the official met in Canberra with Assistant Minister for Foreign Relations Tim Watts. Sources familiar with the itinerary of the official, who also oversees Beijing’s State Council Information Office, said he had also travelled to Sydney where he had private meetings with Chinese journalists and a select group of Australian academics. The Chinese embassy in Canberra declined to comment on the extremely rare trip, the first by a Deputy Director of the Communist Party’s Central Committee publicity department since 2014. Please pray that any information gleaned during his visit will not be able to be used against Australia and that our spy agencies will be diligent in maintaining a close watch on all visits by Chinese Communist Party officials in order to protect our nation’s secrets safe from overseas Governments.
Praying for our Nation
God’s hand has always been upon this Nation, bestowing His peace and protection, so that we have never had to fight a war on our own soil, yet we have the reputation of having the greatest defence force personnel in the world, whom we use primarily for the peace and protection of others. Let us pray for a government that will recognise the need for an alliance with God to keep our Nation safe.
Psalm 118:4-12,15, Psalm 20:1-9, Ephesians 6:10-13
Source: Australian Prayer Network
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