NOT ALARMED
Jesus told us that we will hear of wars and rumors of wars but to avoid being alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is not yet. (Mat 24:6).We are alarmed by the many wrong choices being made in our nation. When we ask the Lord to fix them, and He doesn’t seem to, and things are getting worse, the Lord says to us “Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened .. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.“ (Is 7:4 &9) Learning to trust Him is challenging. But there will be times when we need to sound the alarm and call for help because we want to see individuals, organisations or our nation protected from making poor choices. Unfortunately, the Lord has given us all the right to choose. He sets before us life and death, blessings, and curses. He wants us to choose life, so that we and our children may live and that we may love the Lord our God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is our life. (Deut 30:19-20) So let us not be alarmed because the battle is the Lord’s and great is the army that carries out His Word. Nevertheless a number of things seem to make us alarmed such as : a changing climate; a rapidly changing technological world which may be having a negative impact on our lives; those in authority or the media refusing to recognise Christians are being persecuted; those who are insisting that LGBTI people should be given special rights or people should be allowed to change their gender; that some parents are prevented from passing their faith on to their children.
Let’s pray:
* And sing to the God of our salvation and to the Lord our rock. Let us come to His house with thanksgiving. Let us come before the Lord and sing! Praising our maker, praising our saviour, praising the Lord our everlasting king.
* Acknowledging how great is the Army that carries out His Word when the Lord utters His voice. They rush on the city, they run on the wall, Blow the trumpet in Zion; Sound the alarm in My Holy Mountain.”
* That we will not be anxious nor alarmed about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present our requests to God. And let the peace of God, which is above all understanding, guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:6-7)
MAINTAINING A GOOD ATTITUDE
Few things in life are more important than your attitude. Anything you do not maintain eventually deteriorates. We must therefore ensure we constantly adjust our attitudes to ensure they are right in the Lord. The Bible says “Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you. (Psalm 37:3-5). Look out for what is good and you will find it. If you cannot get a miracle, become one. Look for people with faith and spend time with them. If you are having a bad day, get close and “draft” behind them the way cyclists do.
Let us pray:
* Asking God to help us to maintain a right attitude in all things and to be an example to others who express doubt and negativity.
* Ask God to give us an attitude to always look for the good in everyone we meet and in everything we encounter throughout life.
* Asking God to help us grow in faith so that we can be a guiding light to others as we face and confront the difficulties that life throws us from time to time.
TASMANIAN ANTI-COUNSELLING LAWS
The Australian Christian Lobby has called for the Tasmanian Government to reject the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute’s (TLRI) recommendations for the state to adopt laws similar to those in Victoria which prohibit proper counselling for gender-confused children. Victorian media reports state, ’So far-reaching is the new law, that even trying to arrange counselling and expert assessment for their kids could lead to parents, and the mental health professionals, being prosecuted if the advice did anything other than affirm the children’s newly discovered gender dysphoria. As experts like psychologist Dr Diana Kenny and Professor Patrick Parkinson speak out against such laws and affirmation therapy, and the rest of the world moves away from this outmoded idea, Tasmania must not follow the Victorian model.
Please pray:
“The Lord will always lead you.” Isaiah 58:11
* Let’s praise and thank our Lord that He is a place of permanence in a world of transition and uncertainty.
* Please pray that the Tasmanian Premier and Attorney General will, for the sake of Tasmania’s vulnerable children, listen to the experts and the science and refuse to yield to the calls of activists.
* Pray that before any action is taken, the Tasmanian Government will conduct an unbiased judicial inquiry into affirmation therapy and the issue of counselling generally.
PRAYING FOR ISSUES IN THE NEWS
* More than two million women and over one million men have experienced emotional abuse from an intimate partner, also known as coercive control, as numerous states look to make the practice illegal. The National Centre for Crime and Justice said people more likely to experience partner emotional abuse were single parents, people with intellectual or psychological disabilities and those experiencing financial stress. Please pray that Governments would be able to address the issue of coercive control through legislation, proactive policing and continuing education so that the level of incidents can be reduced. Pray too for those who are victims that they would be able to be helped by agencies including the Church.
* Australia is unlikely to have seen the end of food inflation despite an easing of grain prices and harvesting of vegetable crops that were smashed by flooding earlier this year. Pressure from labour shortages and clogged ports, freight centres and factories across the food supply chain are likely to drive prices even higher over the next six months, analysts say. Rabobank senior analyst Michael Harvey said high input costs for farmers meant prices for some food products would continue to rise, even though short-term shocks, such as those that saw iceberg lettuce surge to $10 a head, have dissipated. Pray that inflationary pressures putting strain on household incomes would continue to dissipate. Pray for bumper harvests on all crops grown within Australia so that there is sufficient food at reasonable prices available to all.
PRAYING FOR OTHERS
This week let us pray for Bangladesh. Violence against Christians is escalating in Bangladesh. Pray that God will pour out His wisdom and insight on religious leaders and decision-makers.
Source: Australian Prayer Network
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