Micah 6:9 The LORD’s voice crieth unto the city, and [the man of] wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
The last 2 days I was out of town, and just before leaving I went to see someone in a critical case. I had asked that person, who was not a Christian, some months back if he wanted me to pray over him. I had prayed over his wife, who had been suffering for years, and she had completely recovered (was fit and doing her daily chores) the very next day. He knew he had to believe in the one God and compromise on his gods, which he was not ready for. It was just before visiting him in the hospital that I came to know he was down with cancer (4th stage). Before visiting him, I prayed and asked the Lord, and I received a message that his situation would have changed. Keeping hope, I prayed over him in the hospital (he was not conscious)
Even on my strip, I was interceding for him and another person. But early yesterday morning, I learned he had expired. I was very sad, for there are very few cases where the Lord did not answer my prayers. It was only after I came back and met his family that I understood why the Lord did not answer (leaving for his wife, who still had hope in me). Jesus Himself could not do many miracles in His hometown because of their unbelief.
At times we do not see the actual situation but are blinded by hope. What the Lord sees is beyond what we can, and thus at times does not hold back what is due to come. The forces of nature are not affecting small places but are and will affect cities in large. These disasters will cause damage to every aspect of life. At times our cries unto Him can make some effect, but there are also times that the Lord tells us to leave the city, like He told Lot and his family.
[Prayer Starter]
Lord, You are Almighty God. You, Lord, are a Merciful God. Your mercy keeps us, but when we reject You and Your ways continually, You, for the greater sake, have to remove Your Hand from over us. Lord, we pray we do not harden our hearts so much that we come to a state where even hope does not work…
We make this prayer in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
[Reference Scriptures]
Micah 3:12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed [as] a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
Isaiah 24:10-12
10 The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.
11 [There is] a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
12 In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.
Isaiah 32:13-14
13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns [and] briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy [in] the joyous city:
14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;