Watch Focus - God and Country
Everything for Christians is oriented toward the coming of the Lord and preparation for Him. Amid many concerns and winds of change, we acknowledge our dependence on the Lord for His understanding of our time. We lean in for His instruction for exactly how to act in this season. Ancient Israel has a prophetic type in the “mighty men” who gathered to crown David as God’s anointed king. Among them were men of Zebulun who “were able to go out in the host, that could set the battle in array, with all manner of instruments of war, and that could order the battle array, and were not of double heart.” We take our place in the spiritual battle being waged for our nation in our generation. With one heart, one mind, armed with God’s word, we engage our watch focus this week:
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We pray for recovery of truth to undergird our justice system. Deut. 16:18-20, “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your cities (gates) which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous. You shall pursue justice, and only justice [that which is uncompromisingly righteous], so that you may live and take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 23:2, “You shall not follow a crowd to do [something] evil, nor shall you testify at a trial or in a dispute to side with a crowd in order to pervert justice.”
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We pray for the instruction, counsel, and recovery of the fear of the Lord, for America and Israel. Ephesians 5:11-16 (Message Bible), “Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ. Wake up from your sleep, climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light! So, watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!”
For Revival:
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We pray for the advancement of the gospel making disciples especially in a young, unchurched, generation. Acts 17:18-20, “Some of them asked, ‘What is this babbler trying to say?’ Others remarked, ‘He seems to be advocating foreign gods.’ They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, ‘May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.’” (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
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We pray for an increase of repentance and public confession as demonstrated this week in Baptize California where 12000 people were publicly baptized. Acts 2:37-39 “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’”
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We pray for a revival of Christian patriotism and understanding the place God has assigned every Christian in our nation. Jeremiah 6:16, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it;’” Jeremiah 29:7, “And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.”
For national security:
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We pray for secure borders. Proverbs 22:28, “Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set.”
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We pray for recovery and increase of fertile farmlands owned and farmed by American families. Psalm 144:12-15, “…rescue me from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful. Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace. Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision. Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields; our oxen will draw heavy loads. There will be no breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets. Blessed is the people of whom this is true; blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.”
The Nations:
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We pray for wisdom and victory for Israel’s armies.
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We pray for supernatural intervention and mercy in Mexico’s national elections with the outcome working together for God’s purpose and peace and godly living for Christians in that nation.
Habakkuk 1:3-5; 2:1-4; 14; 20; 3:17-19, “…destruction and violence are before me; strife continues, and contention arises. Therefore, the law is ineffective and ignored and justice is never upheld, for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore, justice becomes perverted. [The Lord replied,] “Look among the nations! See! Be astonished! Wonder! For I am doing something in your days—You would not believe it if you were told. I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the tower; and I will keep watch to see what He will say to me, and what answer I will give [as His spokesman] when I am reproved. Then the Lord answered me and said, “Write the vision and engrave it plainly on [clay] tablets so that the one who reads it will run. “For the vision is yet for the appointed [future] time it hurries toward the goal [of fulfillment]; it will not fail. Even though it delays, wait [patiently] for it, because it will certainly come; it will not delay. “Look at the proud one, his soul is not right within him, but the righteous will live by his faith [in the true God] … “But [the time is coming when] the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. “But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.”
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And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.” |
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On July 17, 180 A.D., the Roman proconsul of Africa in Carthage had the duty of interrogating seven men and five women accused of the capital offense of “living by the Christian rite (worship and practice).” Punishment under Emperor Trajan was death by be |
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“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” - Declaration of Independence, 1776 |
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Next week, we celebrate America’s 248th birthday, thanking God for our freedoms and blessings. We thank God for the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and our constitution. |
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Our watch focus this week is for a HEDGE OF PROTECTION for America, Israel, and the nations. Our prayer strategy comes from Psalm 91: “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you” (Psalm 91:7).
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