Nancy Taylor Tate
Today my prayer is for the comfort of God to touch the hearts of all who are grieving or experiencing loss. In 2 Corinthians 1:4, Paul speaks of a comfort which comes from God. That comfort is available to us in every situation we face, that we might not only make it through our own hard times, but be enabled to reach out to others in their time of need.
Yesterday morning, as I was praying for the Lord to rain down righteousness from heaven on our nation and nations around the world, I could almost see righteousness beginning to fall like rain; I began to pray that it would saturate hearts, thoughts, and lives on every level of society.
Hosea 10:12 came to mind, which speaks of it being time to seek the Lord, until HE comes and rains righteousness upon us. How we need this! I put the word “righteousness” in my Bible search and began to meditate on some of the many scriptures that came up.
How we need righteousness to rain down today on our nation and the nations of the world! What a difference it would make in the world today. Righteousness, or righteous acts or right choices, begins with individuals, then spreads to communities and beyond.
Recently I was reminded of a time when I was waiting in line at a gas pump. Suddenly a car from another line drove over and squeezed right in front of me. The attendant saw it and came to my window. I said, “That was very rude!” He replied, “Next time squeeze up closer so someone can’t do that.” Then he walked away.
As I sat there looking at the car in front of me, some random thoughts began going through my mind. I could ram my car into the back of his car! Or, I could lay on my horn, or yell out the window! Or, I could pray for him. I made my choice and began to pray for the Lord to make Himself known to that person, to bring His love, joy and peace into their life. Thankfully, there was no disturbance at the gas pump that day!
Psalm 4:5 tells us that we are to offer the sacrifices of righteousness and put our trust in the Lord. As we do this, there begins to come a change; the peace and presence of God is released, not only in our lives, but through our lives, in the various places we find ourselves.
Revelation 19:8 speaks of the bride of Christ being arrayed (or arraying herself) in fine linen, which is the righteousness or the righteous acts or the right choices of the saints. By His grace, day by day may we array ourselves in right choices. May we pray for those in need. May Christ be seen, glorified, and admired in and through our lives (2 Thessalonians 1:10) as His presence fills the very atmosphere. May we experience God’s comfort, as we also bring comfort to the hearts of others.
May righteousness rain down in this nation! May that righteousness begin with me, and with you, with us, as together we make a difference.