#PrayforParis

Nehemiah sat stunned, hanging on every word of the escapees from Jerusalem. His heart belonged to that city and he was desperate for any news concerning its stability and its inhabitants. Questions rolled off his tongue in quick succession: Who else had escaped? Who had survived their exile? Was the city still standing?

And then, the crushing news: "The survivors of the city are in great trouble and great shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and it's gates are destroyed by fire." (Nehemiah 1: 3)

The city that Nehemiah loved had been brutalized by a foreign army and laid to waste, its inhabitants either killed, sent into exile, or barely surviving in the city walls.

But Nehemiah knows exactly what to do:

"As soon as I heard these words I sat down, wept and mourned and fasted, and I prayed."

I know how Nehemiah felt. All too sadly, for a woman only 34 years old, this feeling is familiar.

Littleton.

New York.

London.

Madrid.

Fort Hood.

Boston.

Charleston.

Paris.

There are more. There are always more.

I sit and watch the brutalization and violence in these beloved cities.

And just like the hashtags tell me and just like Nehemiah did, I fall to my knees.

I pray for Paris.

Because we need more than hashtags and French flag overlays on our profile pictures. We need to encounter the Holy, Living God. We need to ask Him to forgive our world and restore it.

Nehemiah's prayer lasts for seven verses and from his chambers in Susa almost 3 millennium ago he teaches us how to pray for Paris today:

Nehemiah 1:5-6 I said, “God, God-of-Heaven, the great and awesome God, loyal to his covenant and faithful to those who love him and obey his commands: Look at me, listen to me. Pay attention to this prayer of your servant that I’m praying day and night in intercession for your servants, the People of Israel, confessing the sins of the People of Israel. And I’m including myself, I and my ancestors, among those who have sinned against you."

We come to God acknowledging His might, His sovereignty, His steadfast love. We remind Him that we are His people, a people who are in covenant love with Him. We are reminded of our great privilege to be His servants and this reminds us of the great ways we've failed him.

We come to His throne in earnest supplication and repentance for ourselves and for the world.

1:7-9 “We’ve treated you like dirt: We haven’t done what you told us, haven’t followed your commands, and haven’t respected the decisions you gave to Moses your servant. All the same, remember the warning you posted to your servant Moses: ‘If you betray me, I’ll scatter you to the four winds, but if you come back to me and do what I tell you, I’ll gather up all these scattered peoples from wherever they ended up and put them back in the place I chose to mark with my Name.’"

We come to God remembering that He is just and will always do what He says He will.

We come in true repentance knowing God will move heaven and earth to restore and heal what is broken.

We come to God knowing He will not cast the sinner out, but bring the repentant in to dwell with Him.

1:10-11 “Well, there they are—your servants, your people whom you so powerfully and impressively redeemed. O Master, listen to me, listen to your servant’s prayer—and yes, to all your servants who delight in honoring you—and make me successful today so that I get what I want from the king.”

We come to God reminding Him that we are His people, that there is a remnant in all cities who love Him and seek Him.

We come to God asking Him to grant mercy.

We come acknowledging our only way to success in this war is through Him.

Because we are in a war. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)

If you think the mastermind behind these attacks on our beloved cities is man, you are mistaken. The violence and sheer terror bear the mark of Satan himself. Satan who declared war on Jesus at the beginning of time and declares war on His people today.

And we, in our frail humanity, cannot win.

But Jesus can.

See, Nehemiah's prayer was answered. God heard his servant's prayer and sent him home to Jerusalem to rebuild its wall and restore its people.

And just like God heard the earnest and repentant prayer of Nehemiah, He will hear ours, too.

So, let us run to God's throne with prayer. Let us, in sincere supplication, repent and ask our mighty and good God to reign supreme on earth.

Let's pray for repentance.

Let's pray for restoration.

Let's pray for mercy.

Let's pray for light to overtake darkness.

Friends, let's pray for Paris.