Stand Still and See
When millions of Israelites were leaving slavery in Egypt, the great and mighty Egyptian army unexpectedly followed them and left them in complete chaos and fear. They had nowhere to go, being hemmed in by the Red Sea. When Moses prayed God said “Don’t be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation that the Lord will bring to you today” (Ex 14:13—14) Like the Israelites we can feel overwhelmed by the impact spiritual forces are having on schools, families, politics, hospitals, or businesses. This could be the way the CFMEU is resisting the government’s attempt to fight corruption in them. It could be the attacks on essential workers such as Nurses or governments introducing laws that undermine our nation’s Christian foundation, or the gospel being found to be offensive. We are told in Psalms “Some of you wandered for years in the desert, looking but not finding a good place to live, half-starved and parched with thirst, staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion. Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God. He got you out in the nick of time; He put your feet on a wonderful road that took you straight to a good place to live. So, thank God for his marvellous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.”( Ps 107:4-9 MSG)
We seem to be wandering as a nation and are in desperate need. We can call out to God for Him to put our feet on a wonderful road and thank Him for His marvelous love and His mercy. We can stand still and see the salvation of God for our nation knowing He has us in His hand. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese needs prayer. Recent reports indicate his heart may have softened somewhat towards God. He was seen in his late teens as a socialist rabblerouser and as non-religious, a nonbeliever and a nominal or cultural Catholic at best. But, after the death of his mother, his church attendance grew a bit as he became opposition leader then Prime Minister. He has valued having quiet contemplative times with the Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney when he has had times of social stress or political uncertainty.
So, let’s pray:
* For the Spirit of the LORD to lift up a standard against Satan in this nation when he comes in like a flood. So shall we fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. ( Is 59:19-20)
*That the Lord will show our nation, by His Holy Spirit, the way to discern the enemy’s plans, identify his strengths, weaknesses and points of entry to our nation and cut him off. That He opens our nation’s eyes to what is meant by true social justice, instead of the feeling we need to act on issues because they seem to be the socially acceptable thing to do.
*Thanking the Lord for His marvelous love for our nation. Let’s sing of the mercies of the Lord forever and with our mouths make known His faithfulness to all generations.
Pacific Prayer Assembly
A Pacific Prayer Assembly will be held in Suva, Fiji from 17th till 20th October. Hundreds of Intercessors from across the South Pacific are expected to gather to pray for their nations and for the Glory of God to fall upon the South Pacific.
Please pray:
* That many will respond to the call to gather to pray and that every nation in the South Pacific will be represented.
* That the step of faith taken by the organisers will be rewarded with all costs covered through registrations, gifts and offerings.
* That many would be challenged to go deeper with God as a result of the inspiration of the Assembly and that indeed the Glory of God would fall upon all gathered and the nations they represent.
Brake on Closing the Gap
Efforts to close the gap between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the country stalled during the failed voice referendum. The Coalition of Peaks, the leading organisation combatting Aboriginal disadvantage, has warned Labor that the recent federal budget did not address the disadvantage crisis as it had promised to do. This is despite the fact that the national agreement on Closing the Gap had already been agreed and was already in place before the referendum. A Productivity Commission report in February blasted all governments for not doing what they signed on to do which is to draw on what Aboriginal people know about the problems in their communities and solutions that work when they made decisions. The Coalition of Peaks has seen Jim Chalmers’ budget as ignoring the Productivity Commission’s warning that governments must fundamentally change their approach if there is to be any chance of success in closing the gap.
The recent budget tipped $4bn into remote housing in the NT and $774m into a remote jobs pilot but did not address early childhood support. The Coalition of Peaks believes an accompanying investment in early childhood care and education in remote communities makes investment in remote housing even more effective because it sets up very young children for success. The commonwealth government’s remote jobs pilot will create 3000 jobs initially and aligns with the Closing the Gap target of 62% of all working-age Indigenous Australians to be employed by 2031. It is 55.7% and rising but in remote areas it is just 35%, according to Closing the Gap published data.
Please pray:
“…so you can see exactly what it is He is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life He has for His followers, oh, the utter extravagance of His work in us who trust Him – endless energy, boundless strength!’
* Pray that the government will indeed listen to the Coalition of Peaks. Ask the Lord to give them strength and energy to tackle the issues.
* Pray that the young children in remote Aboriginal communities will receive the focus and the solutions that they desperately need.
* As we pray, let’s remember that our Lord gives us “endless energy and boundless strength” and urges us to never give up!
Praying for Issues in the News
* A renewed search for Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy who has been missing since February 4, believed murdered, has commenced even as the court case of her accused killer is in process. Please pray for the police as they continue their search that they would be divinely led to the resting place of her body so that closure can be given to her family and that justice can be done in relation to her murderer.
* South Australian sex workers wishing to exit the industry would be given employment, education and accommodation assistance and have their criminal records wiped under an Australian-first proposal to be voted on by the state’s parliament this week. Please pray that this proposal would receive favourable consideration by the South Australian Parliament and would result in many women being able to escape the clutches of the prostitution industry.
Praying for our Nation
Up until the emergence of the European common market, Britain was our biggest market for trade. Since then trade with China has taken over and that nation has become our largest trading partner. Relations with China have been tense and testing at times, with the level of reliance on that relationship causing concerns for our future economic and national security. Let us ask God to allow the establishment of right economic alliances with other nations with similar values to our own using integrity and honesty as the basis for these alliances.
Psalm 1:1-3, Deuteronomy 25:13-16, Deuteronomy 28:1-14
Source: Australian Prayer Network
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