Intercessory Prayer for the Community

Intercessory Prayer for the Community

Lamentations 3:55-66

□ Praise and Sharing

Hymn #361 This time of prayer

How did you spend last week?

 

The prophet does not distinguish between Judah's fate and his own fate. He regards the destroyed Jerusalem and the captive and devastated people of Judah as one with him. So, the prophet sings of the sorrow of the Jewish community and recites the prayers of the Jewish community from a first-person perspective. Even though the prophet appears to be praying for himself, he is actually interceding for Judah. He stood before God with the people of Judah in his heart. The lament of the prophet is the lament of all of Judah, and the prayer of the prophet is the petition of all of Judah.

 

□ Words and Sharing

1. The prophet asks the Lord to listen to his sighs and cries (verses 55-57)

1) Where does the prophet call on the name of the Lord? (verse 55)

55 I have called on your name, O LORD, out of the very deep pit.

The prophet calls on the name of the Lord from a very deep pit.

2) How does God respond to the sighs and cries of the prophet? (verses 56-57)

56 Now do not close your ears to my groaning and crying, for you have already heard my voice.

57 On the day I called to you, you came near to me and said, “Do not be afraid.”

The Lord came near to me and said, “Do not be afraid.”

 

<Sharing 1> The prophet experienced God hearing his cries from the deep pit and answering, “Do not be afraid.” Let's talk about what the deep pit-like reality is in our families, society, and faith communities.

 

Economic problems and disease problems

 

2. The prophet asks the Lord to resolve the injustice (verses 58-66)

1) What does the prophet ask the Lord for? (verse 59)

59 You have seen the wrong done to me, O LORD; judge my cause.

The prophet prays for relief from his resentment.

2) What does the prophet ask God to do to his enemies who mock him? (verses 63-66)

63 Notice how they sing to mock me, whether they sit or stand.

64 You, O LORD, will reward them according to the works of their hands.

65 Give them a haughty spirit, and put a curse on them.

66 Pursue them in your wrath, and destroy them under the heavens of the LORD.

The prophet prays that the Lord will punish those who mock and sing the prophet and bring a curse upon them; that the Lord will pursue them in His wrath and destroy them under the heavens of the Lord.

 

<Sharing 2> God disciplines his people when they sin, but he does not turn a blind eye to their resentment (reference Luke 18:1-8). Have you ever experienced something unfair? Let’s share the experience of God comforting us at that time.

 

I was investigated after reporting to the police for sharing the word of God, but was found not guilty. God comforted us like this.

<Sharing 3> The prophet's prayer requesting the judgment of the enemy is not a private prayer for revenge, but an intercessory prayer seeking God's justice for the injustice suffered by the community. What kind of intercessory prayer should we offer for the community, relying on God's righteousness?

A minister in Laos was killed by the enemy. We pray that God will judge with justice, comfort the remaining family, and allow the remaining family and believers to carry out their mission well until the end.

 

□ Let's pray together

Lord, give us the kind of faith that calls out to You even more when we are struck in a pit, finding it hard to have hope.

Please solve the difficult problems of our brothers and sisters, including financial problems and disease problems!

Please judge with justice those who have been persecuted in Laos and other countries, comfort the families and believers who are persecuted, and help them carry out their precious mission to the end with the strength the Lord has given them!

 

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