In your neighbourhood or place of work, you may be surrounded mostly with people many of whom are not Christians. We must do our best to encourage, and be encouraged.
When God spoke through the prophet to the children of Israel in Babylon, He instructed them to go on with their lives and to pray for the nation where they lived, even though Babylon was unbelieving and enslaved them. Life cannot grind to a halt during troubled times and in troubled places. When things are unpleasant or distressing, we must pray, adjust, try to help as best as we can, and follow the Lord's movement. We may find it hard to pray for the place and time we live in, and especially for those we think are responsible for the prevailing conditions. Yet it is in such places, at such times, and for such people, that prayers are most needed. As the apostle Paul writes:
When God puts us in places that are free of outward trouble, we should also give thanks for that outward peace. And we should pray that, while living in peaceful places, we and others do not succumb to complacency, nominalism, and the type of contentment that makes people forget and turn away from God.
Jeremiah 29 : 7
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.
1 Timothy 2 :1 - 3
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone -- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour.
(0714 23IX2008)