Besieged But Foresaken

With everything going on in this world and in our homes and communities, it is so easy to feel besieged by it all. The enemy has thrown all he can at the walls of our hearts and minds, hoping something will stick. But we are not forsaken. We are children of God and He hears our prayers. This isn’t the time to give up or to lay down our weapons. It’s time for us to pick up our shields, stand firm and wield our swords of prayer. Join us this week as we pray this Unite 714 prayer for mercy and hope.

Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help. — PSALM 31:21-22 (ESV)

And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me?’”...“Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it.  By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord.  For I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians… — 2 KINGS 18:19-20, 19:32-35 (ESV)

THE PRAYER

We feel besieged on every side, Lord, like the psalmist above. It is easy to feel cut off from Your sight when we are stalked by a relentless pandemic and face shattered economies and fractured social structures. If this situation was not dire enough, many of our precious brothers and sisters around the world are facing hunger, persecution, and even war. Yet, we choose to believe that You will hear our cries for mercy.

Heavenly Father, in the midst of the siege warfare being waged against us, please show us the miraculous wonders of Your love. You have heard our cries for mercy. Even as You have mitigated COVID-19, we now ask You to eradicate it, for nothing is too difficult for You.

Lord, when the armies of Assyria were preparing to besiege Jerusalem, all hope for God’s people seemed gone. The devil’s strategy has not changed. He is still mocking us for trusting in Your Word. Your answer has not changed, either. Even as You destroyed the armies of Assyria, You will destroy the besieging forces arrayed against us now.
 
Lord, we renounce the enemy’s lies. Your Word is the most powerful strategic weapon of war in history. When we speak Your Word, the enemy trembles. When we pray Your Word, the gates of hell are shattered, and Your Kingdom advances. We come before Your throne as a mighty army, washed in the blood of the Lamb. May the war cry of this prayer resound throughout the courts of Heaven; may it pierce the darkness which blinds our world. Lord, shatter the dark forces that besiege us, grant us a fresh outpouring of Your Holy Spirit, and heal our shattered nations. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash

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