Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net.

Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 7.

But seek the welfare of the city where I've sent you into exile.

And pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare, you will find your welfare. What a command from God to his people

as they were going into exile, Babylonian exile. God says, seek the welfare of the city in Babylon,

where you're living. Pray to the Lord on its behalf. For in its welfare,

you will find your welfare. This will be good for others in that city, and this will be good for you.

Now, that was a specific command to God's people in the Old Testament, but surely it applies. And we see so many parallels to this

in the New Testament when it comes to, well, the reality that we are all exiles, that we're all living

in a nation right now that's not our heavenly home. So in whatever city, nation we're living in,

let's seek the welfare of the place where we're in exile right now.

Let's pray to the Lord on its behalf. Let's intercede for the places where we live, the countries

where we live, the cities where we live, the people in these places, knowing that in their welfare

we'll find our welfare. This will be good for us in this world and good for them. Like we are called

to be intercessors for the peoples this world and good for them. Like we are called to be

intercessors for the peoples around us, for the cities around us, for the nations around us,

and to do good for the people and cities and nations around us, knowing we ultimately belong to another nation.

So not forgetting that we're exiles here, not thinking this is our homeland, it's not,

but seeing our homeland in the future and living wherever we are now in light of that reality.

So God, we pray that in each of the places where we live, you would help us.

In a Matthew 5, 16 kind of way to be salt and light in our cities, our countries,

in such a way that people see our lives, our good works, our working for the welfare of others, doing good works

...