Please pray with me:
Heavenly Father,
Racial tension continues to build.
Your Word commands us:
1 Samuel 16:7REVERENCE:
But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
John 7:24
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
Before You, there is no outward appearance. You do not see us as black and white, red, yellow...You look to our heart. Thank You. Because of Jesus, we can all come before You without fear of our outward appearance. Yet, we cannot hide what is in our heart. For You see us, You see our intentions as we stand without cover, completely exposed.
Thank You, Father, that we are completely exposed before You. Thank You that You see all there is about us. You see what we love and what we worship. You see the thoughts of our hearts. You know where we deceive ourselves. Thank You, that with You, nothing is hidden.
...and yet, You love us. You knew we would choose to be rebellious. You knew we would separate ourselves by what we see. You knew all about racial prejudice and division. And yet, You love us. You love all of us: red, yellow, black, and white...they are [all] precious in Your sight. Thank You.
RESPONSE:
The only response is to bow before You in gratitude. Your desire for relationship is inconceivable. Your willingness to pay for our sin that we can be blameless, is beyond the imagination. Yet, You desire to pour out Your love upon us. You desire to change us. Change me.
Wash us of our prejudices. Show us the path, so that we can look as You look. Give us a desire to be like You... to see people and welcome them, love them, and nurture relationship. Intensify a desire to receive others as You receive them. After what You have poured out on us through Your grace, how can we do less! How can we want less? Create godly desire in us.
Open the eyes of our understanding Lord, so that we see past the outward appearance. Fill us with Your compassion for racial unity. Holy Spirit, fill us with a desire to pour out the compassion and love of Jesus.
Lead us along the path of surrender to Your will. Your will is clear that we should love one another. Your will is clear that we are not to look at the outward appearance of people. Then, Lord, give us eyes to see deeper. Open our spiritual eyes. Sharpen our ability to discern the move our Your Spirit and to yield completely to what You desire.
REQUESTS:
Help Lord! Racial disunity has proliferated. Did we really think that laws would change hearts? You are the God who changes hearts. I beseech You. I come boldly —because of what Christ has done. You have given access to the Righteousness of Christ. So I come boldly...I come on behalf of this nation.
Matthew 28:19Your Word is clear. Give us a heart for those unlike us. Form us to be missionaries in our communities and equip us by Your Holy Spirit for this work. Embed it in our hearts and grant us a passion to act!
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Raise up Your church to take a stand, through their actions! Raise up Your church, O God and equip us to demonstrate an ability to walk and see spiritually. Pour out Your Spirit (Holy Spirit come!), and pour out a passion to embrace and eliminate racial discrimination. Surely, You hate racial discrimination. Help us to hate it too.
Equip us! Again, I come boldly! Equip Your church to go beyond our comfort zone. Give us an intense desire to pull down the racial separation. Why are there black Baptist Churches and white ones, Hispanic churches and Indian, Syrian and Russian, Iranian, Chinese?
How can these walls and barriers come down? What do we need to make this move? Holy Spirit, make it so. We will be so uncomfortable...equip us to embrace discomfort, that we might have unity in Christ Jesus.
Bring Pastors together to begin solving this problem. Give them a vision to draw together their congregations to be unified by the Spirit.
We need equipping. We need hearts to be open to this vision. We need healthy curiosity and desire to understand beyond our comfort zones. We need words. O Father, You are the God who gave Your Word. Equip us, Holy Spirit, equip us. Pour out strength beyond our own.
READINESS:
Ready us with an outpouring of Your love.
John 13:34Your love is sacrificial. May we sacrifice our prejudices. Only through You can this come about. Surely, we must surrender our fears, our senses to accomplish this. Show us what we must sacrifice, to accomplish unity. Father, we appeal to You to work through our hearts to submit to Your mandate that we love one another.
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Teach us to pick up the whole armor that You have provided through Jesus Christ. Give us confidence in Your provision for our daily lives. Establish in our hearts that You will protect us. You will go before us. Encourage us that our courage may become an epidemic in Your church.
Holy Spirit, we need faith. We need the faith of God to move. Equip us, that we move swiftly and efficiently. May we rest each night knowing that we moved on every opportunity that came before us throughout each day.
...and that we may be found faithful in the day of His coming.
In the Name of Jesus Christ,
Intercessors For America offers a variety of helpful resources to pray about pro-life issues: daily devotionals, prayer bookmarks, and special reports.
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For the U.S.
For the Sanctity of Life
Disaster Recovery Prayers
For the Trump Administration
For Leaders and Decision Makers
For Pastors, especially in the U.S.
***This prayer is my own and the content does not reflect the philosophy or policies of any organization. It is inspired by the Intercessors for America newsletter. Learn more and consider joining this incredible organization, that is committed to praying for America.
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