Category: Insights

Prayer for Healing

Lord, have your completely rejected Judah? Do You really hate Jerusalem? Why have You wounded us past all hope of healing? We hoped for peace, but no pease came? We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.

Lord, we confess our wickedness and that of our ancestors, too. We have all sinned against You. For the sake of Your reputation, Lord, do not abandon us. Do not disgrace Your own glorious throne. Please remember us, and do not break Your covenant with us.

Can any of the worthless foreign gods send us rain? Does it fall from the sky by itself? No, You are the one, O Lord our God! Only You can do such things. So we will wait for You to help us. (vv. 19-12, NLT)

A Warning against Pride

Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord you God before it is too late. Acknowledge Him before He brings darkness upon you, causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains. For then, when you look for light, you will find only terrible darkness and gloom.

And if you still refuse to listen, I will weep alone because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be led away into exile. (vv. 15-17, NLT)

“I will scatter you like chaff that is blown away by the desert winds. This is your allotment, the portion I have assigned to you,” saydsthe Lord, “for you have forgotten Me, putting your trust in false gods. I myself wills strip you and expose your shame. I have seen your adultery and lust, and your disgusting idol worship out in the fields and on the hills. What sorrow awaits you, Jerusalem! How long before you are pure?” (vv. 24-27, NLT)

How beautiful are the mountains and the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns! The watchmen shout and sing with joy, before their very eyes they see the Lord returning to Jerusalem. Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song, for the Lord has comforted His people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has demonstrated His holy power before the eyes of all nations. All the ends of the earth will see the victory of our God. (vv. 7-10, NLT)

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heaven! Praise Him for His mighty works; praise His unequal greatness! Praise Him with a blast of the ram’s horn; praise Him with the lyre and harp! Praise Him with the tambourine and dancing; praise Him with the strings and flutes! Praise Him with a clash of cymbals; praise Him with loud clanging cymbals. Let everything that breathes sing praise to the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me, “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety! The wicked are stringing their bows and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. They shoot from the shadows at those whose hearts are right. The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?”

But the Lord is in His holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth. The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who live violence. He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds.

For the righteous Lord loves justice. The virtuous will see His face.

For the Lord declares, “I have placed My chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on My holy mountain.”

The king proclaims the Lord’s decree: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are My son. Today I have become Your Father. Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession. You will break them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.'”

Now then, you kings, act wisely! Be warned, you rulers of the earth! Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling. Submit to God’s royal son, or He will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities-for His anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for al who take refuge in Him! (vv. 4-12, NLT)

Some time later King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite over all the other nobles, making him the most powerful official in the empire. All the king’s officials would bow down before Haman to show him respect whenever he passed by, fr so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect. (vv. 1-2, NLT0

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage. He had learned of Mordecai’s nationality, so he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai along. Instead, he look for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the empire of Xerxes.

So in the month of April, during the twelfth year of King Xerxes’ reign lots were cast in Haman’s presence (the lots were called purim) to determine the best day and month to take action. And the day selected was March 7, nearly a year later. (vv. 7, NLT)

After the wall was finished and I had set the doors in the gates, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed. I gave the responsibility of governing Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah, the commander of the fortress, for he was a faithful ,an who feared God more than most. I said to them, “Do not leave the gates open during the hottest part of the day. And even while the gatekeepers were on duty, have them shut and bar the doors. Appoint the residents of Jerusalem to act as guards, everyone on a regular watch. Some will serve at sentry posts and some in front of their own homes. (vv. 1-3, NLT)

While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and lying face down on the ground in front of the Temple of God, a very large crowd of people came from Israel0-men, women, and children-wept bitterly with him. Then Shecanian son of Jehiel, a descendant of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God, for we have married these pagan women of the land. But in spite of this there is hope in Israel. Le us now make a covenant with our God to divorce our pagan wives and to send them away with their children. We will follow the advice given by you and by the others who respect the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law of God. Get up for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight. We are behind you, so be strong and take action.” (vv 1-4, NLT)

Many years later, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, there was a man named Ezra (a direct descendant of Aaaron, the high priest). This Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given to the people of Israel. He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because of the gracious hand of the Lord his God was on him. Some of the people of Israel, as well as some of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and Temple servants, traveled up to Jerusalem with him in the seventh year os King Artaxeres’ reign.

Ezra returned in Jerusalem in August of that year. He had arranged to leave Babylon on April 8, the first day of the new year, and he arrived at Jerusalem on August 4, for the gracious hand of God was on him. This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the Lord and to teach those degrees and regulations to the people of Israel. (vv. 1a; 5b; 6-10, NLT)