Day 16: Praying Church

Daily Devotional

Jeremiah 29:11-13

11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

These verses are from a letter that the prophet Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon. The Israelites had been taken captive and were living in a foreign land, far from their homes and their usual place of worship. Yet even in this context, God calls His people to pray, as He has not abandoned them and even has plans to prosper them. There's no doubt that the Israelites were stuck in the midst of difficult circumstances. Yet the promise of God's presence and the assurance of His good plans for them, invites them to the seat of prayer. God is inviting us to pray today, in the midst of our situations whether they are good or bad, easy or difficult. The assurance of His presence moves us to pray, and the promise that we will find Him when we seek with all our heart, enables us to pray with confidence and with faith. Let us become a church that seeks the Lord in prayer, calling upon the Lord with great expectation, as His promises are great and His plans for us are good.

Weekly Application

Make a decision to set aside time each day that is dedicated to prayer. Let us pray that the time we spend praying may not just be out of duty, but a life-giving time of fellowship with God. Lift up your requests and confess your sins before God with the assurance of forgiveness. Intercede for your leaders, your church, and your community - standing in the gap for those who are in need. And invite Jesus to be in the midst of your circumstances with the expectation of supernatural joy and thanksgiving. Let us experience the power and the presence of God in our lives as we seek to become a praying church.