Proverbs 29:2 (NLT)
When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.
I received a mandate in the past few days to begin a time of prayer and fasting for our city. I actually had to repent for being reminded, yet again, of this assignment given to our church for our city. I believe all churches have an assignment and responsibility to pray for their local city, as they are houses of God called into their region to be an expression and expansion of God’s Kingdom.
I was also reminded again of Nehemiah, who was called to rebuild the torn down walls of Jerusalem, and that our assignment is to rebuild the walls of righteousness for our city and county. Nehemiah was called, and it is estimated that he was approximately 900 miles from Jerusalem, so it was not just across the street. I have wondered why Nehemiah was called when thousands of Jews occupied the town of Jerusalem. Did none of those Jewish dwellers care enough to rebuild the wall? Why did God have to go outside of Jerusalem to find someone to rebuild the walls when capable Jews dwelled in the city?
The answer may be found in Nehemiah 1 when we are told that when Nehemiah heard of the condition of Jerusalem’s walls, he wept, fasted, and mourned for 4 months. (Neh. 1:4; 2:1) Was it that God had to have a heart that was moved with compassion for the things that moved God’s heart and He could find none in Jerusalem? Several years ago, I was in prayer, and the Lord spoke clearly, “When the pastors of this city love the city as Nehemiah loved Jerusalem, we will see transformation, and not until.” Do we care really? Do I care enough to fast, mourn, and pray?
I think about Daniel chapter 10, and we learn that Daniel mourned for 21 days with fasting and prayer. Why? It was because of the vision of the war and hardship coming against the land. Daniel fasted before God for 21 days and God sent Gabriel to Daniel to explain the vision Daniel had. Why would Daniel fast and pray for 21 days? It was because, like Nehemiah, he had a great love for the people and nation of God. Do we care? Do we care enough?
The prophet Ezekiel received a word from the Lord saying, “Ezekiel 22:30 (AMP) — 30 And I sought a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.” What a report that God was looking for a single man to stand between the nation’s pending destruction and God but found none.
Our first prayer to God should be for repentance that we have not cared enough for our city and region to fast, pray, and mourn for its condition. It is not the physical structure of the city that we pray for. It is the babies being lost to abortion. It is the young people buying drugs and dying way too soon. It is the condition of our schools that are abandoning the values of God. It is the churches that continue preaching the same feel-good non-offending messages in order to build numbers and budgets. Our walls of righteousness are down as we see the culture of our city swing away from family and Biblical values.
We must pray! We must fast! We must ask God to fill our hearts with love for our city and those within its limits. The passage in Ezekiel says God was looking for a man, a single man or woman, to stand in the gap so He would not have to destroy the city, but He found none. This is a sad memorial for a people that supposedly cared for their nation.
Almost two decades ago, our church entered into the local Christmas play. Our float was simply our church’s worship team, singing praises throughout the parade route. However, when we got to the entrance leading to the downtown, Holy Spirit instructed the team to proclaim and sing, “He’s the God of the City.” Our church won first place in the parade, and I realize now that we were declaring to the principalities ruling our city that our God was the God of this city and the devil had no place. But it is apparent this is not the case today. We must take back our cityscape, businesses, and culture and return to a city that loves and honors God and family. This is our assignment.
How do we do this? It is done through fasting and prayer as we do warfare in the heavenlies while God prepares the hearts of the foot soldiers, or city servants, that will turn our city back to Him. We must pray and we must fast. We must seek God because He is asking for someone to stand in the gap for our city, and we are answering that call! We will not have the epithet that we were the ones that would not answer when God asked for just one to stand for His intervention. We choose to fill the gap! We choose to pray for our city! We choose to honor God! We choose to proclaim, “He’s the God of the City!”