FEAR NOT FOR I AM WITH YOU
We are told “Not to be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present our requests to God” (Phil 4:6) We do get anxious, but God keeps on telling us “Fear not for I am with you; not to be anxious: I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10) Just before the American Election, many Australians were fearful about the outcome. When Trump won, many then became fearful about the impact of such a “decisive victory” by a so-called convicted felon, a serial liar and a racist demagogue, a malignant narcissist without guardrails. An American journalist Bob Woodward wrote a book “Fear: Trump in the White House”. But the Americans seemed to have rejected woke ideology, political correctness, and failed to focus on abortion or gender fluidity. They seemed to have wanted a way to reduce the cost of living and had become tired of divisive ideologies.
The government, the media and sometimes Christians keep on reminding us that we should fear the threat of misinformation in media, climate change, the AI or scams. Some of us are anxious about the high cost of housing, Muslims becoming more prominent in our nation, or a possible war with China. We are aware that fear is our natural response to perceived threats. We often also worry about threats that have not yet, or may never, happen. But it is good to know that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”. (2 Tim 1:7) Fear is generally our natural human response to something that seems dangerous or threatening. We can feel worried, nervous, or uneasy about somethings with uncertain outcomes. Aung San Suu Kyi warns us about “An insidious form of fear. This masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant, or futile the small, daily acts of courage”. We can pray that we will not be outwitted by Satan, nor be ignorant of his designs (2 Cor2:11) Satan wants to immobilise us, imprison us, accuse us (Rev 12:10) He can prompt us to entertain irrational thoughts, decrease our faith in God and confuse us, make us feel foolish, or insignificant and turn us from trusting God.
So, let’s pray:
* Thankful that the God of peace is with us equipping us as a nation for everything godly, to do His Will and working in us what is pleasing to Him.
* That more and more of us not be outwitted by Satan, nor ignorant of his designs but acknowledge and use what God has given us – His power, love and sound minds.
* For us to be less fearful about things, but by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present our requests to God about issues in our nation that the Spirit puts in our heart.
Spirit Of Entitlement
We have more to be thankful for than most other nations on the earth. We are more blessed, more prosperous, and possibly even more advanced than most other nations. Nevertheless, dishonour runs rampant. We have forgotten the beaches of Anzac Cove, where many thousands of Australian men were killed and wounded, all so the world could be free. We have forgotten that so many of our Founding Fathers sacrificed their lives, fortunes, families, businesses, and many other things that they held dear. We have also forgotten the blood of our precious Savior, who poured out His life on Calvary’s tree. We forget that the only thing we are “entitled to” is an eternal torment in hell. We have lost the Spirit of the fear of the Lord which, in times past, reminded us that our very breath is bestowed by the word of Christ—and that by Him, for Him, and to Him all things exist. We have forgotten to honour our God, and we have forgotten the principles and people who built this country.
Yet, we owe God our very lives—and we owe our prosperous state of existence both to God and those who have gone before us. But we have forgotten to be grateful, choosing instead to be selfish and entitled and to worship the gods of self, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Entitlement and pride work together, and both are prevalent in Australia today. How can we pray against these things? We owe everything to our King Jesus. He and He alone sits sovereign over Australia; the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). But we can pray in accordance with His will and His Word against every evil spirit. And as we persist in prayer, not fainting even if we grow weary, we will see God move—and the power of His Spirit manifest.
Please pray:
* Pray that truth would come out in education; that people would educate themselves about the truth of God’s HIS-story and Australia’s’ history.
* Pray for an outpouring of gratitude, honour and respect upon the people of Australia.
* Pray for a nationwide outpouring of the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord. Pray too for an outpouring of humility.
Misinformation Bill Passes House of Representatives – Now for the Senate
Despite widespread opposition form the Australian public, Labor’s ‘Misinformation Disinformation’ Bill has passed the House of Representatives by 78 votes to 57. The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL), which has voiced strong opposition to both this Bill and a previous Exposure Draft, has called the Bill “Orwellian” and “an unmatched threat to freedom of speech in Australia”. Michelle Pearse, CEO of the ACL, said, “The proposed legislation would allow the Government of the day to impose their subjective view of “truth” onto public discourse and effectively silence dissenting voices.” If passed through the Senate, digital platforms could be threatened with enormous fines should they fail to remove “misinformation”.
Opponents of the Bill have secured the support of enough crossbench Senators, together with the support of the Liberal and National parties, which, if they keep to their word would be enough to defeat the Bill in the Senate.
Please pray:
“Where there is chaos, everyone has a plan to fix it, but it takes a leader of real understanding to straighten things out.” Proverbs 28:2 MSG
* Pray that our Labor government does not succeed in getting its ‘Misinformation Disinformation’ Bill through the Senate. Pray that its plan to fix what it deems ‘misinformation’ and so limit our freedom of speech, comes to nothing.
* Pray that all Senators who have undertaken to vote against the Misinformation Bill do indeed carry out what they have agreed to.
* Thank our Lord for strong Christian leaders such as Michelle Pearse of the ACL, and many others who have led the way in opposing this Bill. And pray also that at our next federal elections our country would elect a “leader of real understanding to straighten things out”.
Praying for issues in the News
* The Federal Treasurer has warned that bountiful revenue upgrades benefitting Labor’s previous budgets can no longer be anticipated as falling commodity prices and a softening jobs market are set to crimp any unexpected boost to the tax take. This is expected to result in the Federal budget returning deep into the red with the resultant flow on to the overall health of the Australian economy. Please pray for great wisdom to be given to the Treasurer and those who control the Federal budget so that the negative impact upon the individual finances of ordinary Australians will be minimised.
* The Alice Springs Local Court will no longer hear bail applications after 3.00PM each day due to a critical staffing shortage, leaving vulnerable defendants to spend longer periods in custody. Whistleblowers within the Alice Springs local court have said they fear the Territory’s justice system is on a “cliff edge” due to overstretched staff. Please pray that the authorities who have it within their power to address this problem will do so promptly and that the court will be able to return to administering justice in a timely and fair manner.
Praying for our Nation
Let us pray for our health system which has been under pressure ever since Covid resulted in the hospitalisation of thousands of people. The value of life in our nation has also been lost as new laws have allowed euthanasia and abortions with fewer and fewer restrictions. Many doctors today are recommending termination of pregnancies that have the slightest problems, for fear of litigation. Let us pray that a greater sense of the value of life will be restored and protected within the health system across our nation.
Matt 10: 28-31, Mark 5:21-43, Psalm 139:13-16
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