"...so that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his children."
(Ezra 6:10)
(Ezra 6:10)
Great story! So the core group of Israelites who've returned from 70 years of Babylonian captivity and reestablished themselves are now ready to start rebuilding the temple (their first job had been to repair the broken-down walls of the city - a daunting task!). But neighboring leaders (including "the governor of the province Beyond the River") are upset! So they go over to the work team, ask to see their credentials & their work permit. The Israelites give them a verbal history of their captivity & return. Then the neighbors write a letter of protest to the current King of Babylon, telling him all about this & asking him to verify its validity (what a bunch of whining snitches!). The king does the research, and finds that it's all true! So he sends a letter back to the complainers telling them to "cease & desist" bothering the construction crew. Not only that, but they're to pay for all of the building costs out of the tribute they would have sent to the King of Babylon! (How cool is that!?! They wanted it stopped. They ended up footing the bill!)
But the most powerful repercussion of the "tattle-tale" letter is that the king asks the Jews to offer sacrifices & prayers for him and his children! He's no "believer," but he's eager to have their prayers nonetheless! This illustrates something I've come to learn & believe - that just about everyone, even if they don't go to church or consider themselves believers, is willing to have others pray for them. Bart Campolo talked about this principle when he established Mission Year (www.missionyear.org): ask people what you can be praying for them, and they'll almost always respond! Whether they believe in God or not, people seem to covet prayers.
So now my challenge is to remember this more often... so I can be bold enough to ask, "Is there anything I can be praying for you or your family?" Who knows what king might need it!?!?!
PRAYER: Lord, what a gift we have in prayer! You open Yourself to us in communication & intimacy all the time. But may we not selfishly keep our prayers focused only on us and our needs. May we (may I) openly ask people what I can be praying for... and then pray!!! AMEN.
PS. What can I be praying for you? Post them in comments below!
But the most powerful repercussion of the "tattle-tale" letter is that the king asks the Jews to offer sacrifices & prayers for him and his children! He's no "believer," but he's eager to have their prayers nonetheless! This illustrates something I've come to learn & believe - that just about everyone, even if they don't go to church or consider themselves believers, is willing to have others pray for them. Bart Campolo talked about this principle when he established Mission Year (www.missionyear.org): ask people what you can be praying for them, and they'll almost always respond! Whether they believe in God or not, people seem to covet prayers.
So now my challenge is to remember this more often... so I can be bold enough to ask, "Is there anything I can be praying for you or your family?" Who knows what king might need it!?!?!
PRAYER: Lord, what a gift we have in prayer! You open Yourself to us in communication & intimacy all the time. But may we not selfishly keep our prayers focused only on us and our needs. May we (may I) openly ask people what I can be praying for... and then pray!!! AMEN.
PS. What can I be praying for you? Post them in comments below!
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