Prayer for the Land

Prayer for the Land To the beautiful strains of Dvorak's music, join in this heart cry to the Lord that is drawn from the words of Jeremiah to pray for the land - which can be whichever land you feel led to focus on. My grief is beyond healing. My heart is broken. Listen to the weeping of My people. It can be heard all across the land. Has the Lord abandoned Jerusalem? Is her King no longer there? “Oh why have they angered me with their carved idols and worthless gods,” asks the Lord. I weep for the hurt of people. I am stunned and silent, mute with grief. Is there no medicine in Gilead. Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people. Oh that my eyes were a fountain of tears. I would weep day and night for my people who have been slaughtered. Therefore the Lord says, “See I will melt them in a crucible and test them like metal. What else can I do with them? Who is wise enough to understand all this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it to others? Why has the land been ruined so that no one even dares to travel through it?” The Lord replies, “This has happened because my people have abandoned the instructions I gave them. They have refused to obey me. They have stubbornly followed their own desires. So now listen to what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says. I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. Let not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might or the rich man in his riches. Let them boast in this alone – that they truly know me, and understand that I am the Lord who is just and righteous, whose love is unfailing and that I delight in theses things. I the Lord have spoken.” Lord, You search all hearts and examine secret motives. You give people their due rewards according to what their actions deserve. We know that our heart is utterly self-deceitful and desperately wicked. Forgive us Lord. We worship at your eternal high and glorious throne. Oh Lord, the Hope of Israel – all who turn away from you will be disgraced and shamed for they have forsaken the Lord, the Fountain of Living Water. You alone can heal me. You alone can save. My praises are for you alone. Then the Lord touched my mouth and said, “See I have put my words in your mouth.”