Text:
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Memory Verse:
“And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace” (Jeremiah 29:7).
The policy of accommodation, cooperative political activities, and praying to God for the well-being of a foreign city as suggested by Jeremiah was both innovative and a great challenge to the exilic
community. Jeremiah envisioned a beginning to the healing needed, both communally and individually, in the openness and the courage to give up unrealisable hopes and other harmful practices that seemed to offer a false sense of security. The prophet of hope insists that the refugee community must surrender its old identity in the land and accept its marginal status in diaspora in order to survive and eventually flourish.
He encouraged the exiles to begin establishing roots and work towards building a life in community, a ‘home away from home’! For the time being, they needed to accept that the place where they were settled within Babylon, was home; maintain and continue family ties, and work towards peace and community building in their own neighbourhoods. For Jeremiah, the key to
survival and hope lay in joining God in the creation of a just and compassionate counterculture, a place of new shapes and social alternatives where violence, exploitation and idolatry do not reign.
In Nigeria or wherever you find yourself in different states, cultures and religions, pray for the peace and prosperity of the land, if you want to prosper.
You must decide to grow your business or work in the fear of the Lord. Please pray for Arabs, Jews, and every other group when you pray for Jerusalem. There is no Tongue, Tribe, or people that Jesus did not suffer and die for.
Prayer Points:
1. Thank You, God, for placing me in this place for this moment.
2. Pray for the peace of your State and the Country, in general.
