We Are The People

Zechariah 7:10-11 “¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor.  Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.’  ¹¹ “But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.”

Welcome to our Sunday night edition of “We are the People” intercession for our nation.  Every Sunday evening we agree on three prayer focus points in prayer.  It is asked that you invest a minimum of 15 minutes in prayers of agreement between the hours of 6 and 9pm (all time zones).

We also have a daily prayer blog and invite you to join us as we pray using the Book of Zechariah as a prayer guide this week.  Invite others to join us tonight at WATP.

As many of you know we have been going through the Book of Zechariah as a prayer guide recently and tonight we will set our sights on the way people treat one another in this great land.

Prayer Focus #1:  It is so easy for us to treat those who are weak with disdain and disrespect.  God told His people that He was displeased with the oppression of the less fortunate in the land.  The widows, orphans, aliens and poor were being oppressed.  To oppress means to burden by abuse of power and authority.  Let us pray tonight that every person in the Body of Christ treat others with respect and dignity and that national, state and local laws be enforced that protect and provide for those who are legitimately less fortunate.  And that God’s people do what they can to bless in the name of Jesus which provides an opportunity to share God’s wonderful salvation plan with others during their time of need.

Prayer Focus #2:  ‘Don’t plan evil in your heart against your brother.”  In the context of these verses God is commanding His people to not judge the situation of those in need but think of them as family members – “brother” in need.  It is so easy to sit in “the seat of judgement” not knowing all of the facts about a person.  Let us join in prayers of agreement tonight that God’s people will have pure hearts as they minister to people who are in need of mercy and compassion not condemnation for the situation they find themselves in.  This does not mean that we are to be naïve in helping others.  If the church walks in the Spirit He will reveal to us the truth of the matter so we can minister effectively in meeting their needs.

Prayer Focus #3:  Verse 11 says the people just shrugged their shoulders and stopped their ears.  This is a recipe for destruction.  Pray tonight that God’s people will be willing to hear God’s voice about compassion toward those who are less fortunate and desire to relieve their suffering when possible.  Also pray for lawmakers that they have wisdom as to how to help the hurting without enslaving them in a lifetime of dependence.  God’s best is for people to learn how to get back to the place where they can care for themselves.  They will then feel good about themselves and experience God’s direct provision.