Jeremiah 29:1-14 (ESV)

1 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: 4 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the LORD.
10 “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Four Things to Pray for Your City and Nation

Today was "See You at The Pole," the annual gathering for prayer at schools across the United States. The theme verse this year was Jeremiah 29:13, "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." Significantly, this verse is drawn from the passage in which the prophet Jeremiah writes from Jerusalem to the Israelites that were in captivity in Babylon (cf. Jer 29:1). While Jeremiah 29:13 (as well as Jer 29:11) are oft quoted verses to encourage us to seek God wholeheartedly and trust in the goodness of God (both of which we should do), the passage also draws our attention to how we are to live within a society that does not serve and follow the God that we serve.

I shared with those who gathered at our school the following observations and applications drawn from the text that guide us in four ways we should pray.

Observations/Applications
  1. Even when the society around you does not embrace you, live your life among it. (Jer 29:4-6)
  2. Seek the welfare of the society and community you live in. (Jer 29:7)
  3. Be guided by God's word not by the popular preaching and prophesying of the day. (Jer 29:8-9)
  4. Seek and find your salvation and hope in God and His promises not in the safety and security of the society you live in. (Jer 29:10-14)

Four Things to Pray for Your City and Nation
  1. Pray you live your life faithfully in the midst of your community as an expression of trust in God and His ways. (Jer 29:4-6)
  2. Pray for the welfare, security, and flourishing of the community, city, state, and nation you live in. (Jer 29:7)
  3. Pray you would not be led by the popular religious philosophy of the day but by the Word of God. (Jer 29:8-9)
  4. Pray that your salvation and hope would be found not in the safety and security of the things of this world but in God and His promises. (Jer 29:10-14)