FRIDAY PRAYER MEETING 06/10/23

Luke 4:21 “And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.””

Acts 19:20 “So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.”

2 Thessalonians 3:1 “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honoured, as happened among you,”

Jeremiah 23:29 (NIV) — 29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

Isaiah 55:11 (NIV) — 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Ephesians 6:17 (NIV) — 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) — 12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Psalm 102:12–14 (NKJV) — 12 But You, O Lord, shall endure forever, And the remembrance of Your name to all generations. 13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come. 14 For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, And show favor to her dust.

There are four separate things he prays for.

The rebuilding of Jerusalem. Psalm 102:14 “For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, And show favor to her dust.”

The conversion of the Gentile nations. Not only does the psalmist pray for his own people—for Zion and its impoverished inhabitants—his concern reaches beyond Jerusalem to all the world’s nations, whom he sees coming to worship God at some future day. Psalm 102: 15, Psalm 102:21–22 “To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, And His praise in Jerusalem, When the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.” This is nothing less than a worldwide missionary outlook, a view that has always marked the church in its best periods. We need it today. We need to do all we can to see that not only our own immediate neighborhoods and cities but the entire world hears the gospel of salvation through the work of Jesus Christ, and that people of all tongues and backgrounds come to him.

The church of the future. One of the most fascinating things about the transformed, global outlook of the psalmist is that it extends not only outward geographically but also forward into time. Indeed, he sees his own time relating to future time, for he is sure that what God is about to do to save and deliver his people will be recorded in writing to be a source of blessing for the future church. Psalm 102:18 “This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.” Do we think about the future? Do we think that what we do now and what God will do for us and through us will be a blessing to future generations?

The deliverance of the prisoners. The final condition the writer anticipates is deliverance for prisoners, the “release” of “those condemned to death” (v. 20).

It is hard to know what he is thinking of, writing this way, perhaps the release of Jews who were retained in Babylon and who were thus unable to return to Zion to participate in the rebuilding of the city. It is hard for us not to think of Jesus, who announced his mission as the proclamation of spiritual freedom for prisoners when he spoke in the synagogue in Nazareth.

Luke 4:18–19 ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.””

God creates a way out

Psalm 126:1–6 “When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad. Bring back our captivity, O Lord, As the streams in the South. Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.”

Exodus 33:13–15 “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.”

Acts 16:30 “And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?””

2 Corinthians 4:4 “whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

May your life be glorious, may your life be virtuous