NYC #5 – Praying for Cities
When we think about cities, we generally think about government and corporations and institutions. Another way to look at the cities is to see individual people who have great needs.
People don’t realize that without God in their lives, they are like the movie title “dead men walking”.
Perhaps we should be praying that people would begin to ask the kind of questions that Dick Eastman suggests – that God himself would plant questions in their minds, or something similar.
Who can I trust? Many people don’t know who or what to believe. They’re losing faith in the news media and politicians and big corporations. We can pray that people will place their trust in God, the only one who is absolutely trustworthy.
What is my purpose in life? We all have a reason for living, and it’s not just for pleasure or self-fulfillment. The emptiness that people feel comes from living without God. God himself “set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We can pray that people will be drawn to God and his purpose for their life.
When will I really be free? People tend to believe that they are in control of the choices they make. But they often fail to see patterns in their lives that indicates otherwise – outbursts of anger, toxic speech, addictive behaviors. Their behavior and lifestyle indicates that something else is controlling them. We can pray that people will realize that they are not free and they can find freedom in Christ.
Why do people reject God? It’s puzzling to me that some fight against the idea of God’s existence or reject Christianity altogether. These negative reactions can actually be evidence that something is true. We can pray that people will examine the truth of God and of Christ as revealed in the God’s Word.
How can I cope with my problems? Life is often complicated, without easy answers. We can all face problems beyond our abilities to handle them. Some live without any hope at all. We can pray that people will see their need for a Savior who cares about them and their problems.
Where will I go when I die? People have a tendency to avoid talking about death. The reality of death is frightening for a lot of people. It’s not something we would talk about over dinner. Yet we think about it. We can therefore pray that people will be drawn to God’s invitation of life eternal.
Praying for people to come to faith in Jesus, and seeing God answer, will change our cities. As people ask these questions, we need to prepare ourselves in guiding them toward the answers we’ve found in Christ.
~ Pastor Dave
