1 SAMUEL 16:14-23
In the heavenly realm of things, God had already removed the kingdom from Saul and given it to David. But on Earth, the time between David’s anointing and his enthronement was long and hard, with many delays and detours. For both David and Jesus, the road to royalty and honor was one of servant-hood and suffering, risk and rejection. Sometimes it is tempting to think that, just because God has chosen us for a particular task, people must fall in line and kowtow to us. Not so. The stone that the builders rejected becomes the cornerstone. Rejection comes first, reigning later. The way up is down. Whoever wishes to be first, must be slave of all. That is the sequence. Humility is the only way to realize God’s greatness in our lives. He will work His will through us, not by power, not by prestige, not by position, but through serving, suffering and sacrificing for others.
PRAY FOR THE WORLD
- For the health and safety of our nations’ leaders
- For national security forces, police, army, navy and air force chiefs
- For chancellors and professors of all our universities
- For principals and teachers of all schools
- For deep-seated wounds among students and young people, due to all forms of violence committed against them, to be healed
- For the power of the blood of Jesus to cleanse and sanctify our nations, cities and villages of sin and brokenness
- For plans of miscreants to shed blood in our nations, cities and provinces to be thwarted
PRAY FOR THE CHURCH
- For the church to be strong and emerge victorious
- For the anti-conversion and anti-Christian legislation against the church in our nations be defeated
- For new young leadership to be raised up within the church
- For the church to arise in Holy enthusiasm to pray and witness
- For the baptism of the fire of God upon the body of Christ
- For a sense of urgency to win people for Christ as we work against a harvest deadline
- For the glory of God to be manifested in the house of God
- For children and youth to be mobilised for intercessory prayer across the nations
PRAYER FOCUS
Spend some time in prayer today for pastors, missionaries and ministries in North Asia.