““Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.””
There is nobody around the world today that can truly say the world in which we live in today is good. The entire world is sick, and true believers have the power in their hands to change things. As intercessors, we cannot just pass it on as well. The nations are perishing in the hands of cruel systems and leaders. The agenda of the devil is advancing like wildfire, yet Christians go to church every Sunday with smiles on their faces. I don’t think God is smiling.
Psalm 2:8 says, ask for the nations and it will be yours. Mathew 7:7 says ask and it will be given to you. Yet God is looking for a man Ezekiel 22:30??. It is very clear that those asking are very few, so God is still looking for someone to go. John Knox asked for the nation of Scotland and indeed God used him to complete a lot in his generation.
Mathew 7:7-8 “7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
Ezekiel 22:30 “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.
As we are wrapping up 2024 and approaching 2025, we have to ask ourselves some serious questions about the nation and its leaders.
In Esther chapter 3, there was a plot to kill the Jews. In chapter 4:1-14, Mordecai would not allow that at his watch. He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly(Esther 4:1). This expanded to all the cities where the Jews were. Finally, the message got to Esther at the palace, but she tried to downplay it, but Mordecai would not let it settle that way. Mordecai made Esther aware that when trouble comes, she will not be exempted.
Esther 4:12-14 “12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai,13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
Permit me to say this to you: do you know that the deliverance of the nations is in our hands? Can you just imagine if Mordecai just showed concern and did nothing? But while he was doing his own prayers, he also knew that Queen Esther may have been called for the deliverance of the Jew. He refused to take no for an answer from Queen Esther. Eventually, the victory was theirs.
Why should we pray now?
1. God requires for us to do so.
In this season of prayers/fasting, may the Lord’s burden for the nations move your hearts to the place of intercession. May you answer the call in Ezekiel 22:30 and hold onto the word of God in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”
2. We pray because there is a blessing when God is in charge.
Psalm 33:12: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! Isaiah 60:12 “For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste.”
3. We pray because we have been given the heavenly mandate to the nations.
Mathew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Prayer points
Ask God for wisdom on how to proceed in prayers far beyond this season. James 1:5: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
Ask God to give you a nation (s) (Psalm 2:8) as your inheritance so that after this prayer/fasting, you will continue to pray for that nation.
We are the church called by God to pray for the Land. Come before God, therefore, in humility, ask God to help us turn away from our wickedness (not praying is wickedness), and ask God to forgive us for not praying. Then intercede for the nations; plead with God for mercy, forgiveness, and healing. 2 Chronicles 7:14 “f my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Pray for peace, even in the family, church, workplace, community, and nation you have been positioned. Jeremiah 29:7: “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it because if it prospers, you too will prosper.
Pray for the deliverance of nations/leaders to open up their hearts unto the Lord and avoid his wrath.
Psalm 33:12: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! Isaiah 60:12: “For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste.”
Pray that God will give all these wicked leaders a new heart and spirit, remove the stony heart, and give them a heart of flesh. Pray that God will put his Spirit in them so that they will be changed and see the need to follow God. Ezekiel 36:26-27: “26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
Pray that God will give them a heart that can recognize God. If they just recognized God, their hearts may become soft to turn away from wickedness. Jeremiah 24:7: “I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.”
Pray for a spiritual circumcision of the hearts of all these wicked leaders. Deuteronomy 30:6: “The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”
Pray that God will subdue the hearts of leaders so that his word will be preached in all places where Jesus is rejected. Proverbs 21:1: “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.”
Pray for the fear of the Lord in the hearts of leaders. Psalms 2:10-11: “10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.”
There are so many leaders who have held their nation in captivity. Pray that God will arise in his power and set these nations free. John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Pray that the nations will become still from all chaos so that God will be exalted Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!”
Pray that God will arise and remove all the leaders who have not treated its nation in a godly manner.
Nahum 2:13: “Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.”