121 Days of Prayer

See, I Am Setting Before You the Way of Life and the Way of Death

The purposes of this prayer are: Justice and Holiness/Righteousness.

Righteous Lord, when the Babylonians were on the verge of attacking Judah, King Zedekiah asked Jeremiah to present his plea to you for salvation of the Israelites, saying, “Please inquire of the Lord on our behalf, for King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will perform a wonderful deed for us, as he has often done, and will make him withdraw from us.” Jeremiah 21:2 (NRSV). You instructed Jeremiah to inform the king that you were allowing the Babylonians to conquer the Israelites because of your anger at their apostasy and rebelliousness: “I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and mighty arm, in anger, in fury, and in great wrath. And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both human beings and animals; they shall die of a great pestilence.” Jeremiah 21:5–6 (NRSV). Lord, you then instructed Jeremiah to tell the king that the only way that the Israelites could be saved would be if they surrendered to the Babylonians: “And to this people you shall say: Thus says the Lord: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but those who go out and surrender to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have their lives as a prize of war. For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good, says the Lord: it shall be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. To the house of the king of Judah say: Hear the word of the Lord, O house of David! Thus says the Lord: Execute justice in the morning, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed, or else my wrath will go forth like fire, and burn, with no one to quench it, because of your evil doings.” Jeremiah 21:8–12 (NRSV). Lord of all Righteousness, you relayed forcefully to King Zedekiah your hatred of evil thoughts and evil actions and all sinning. Please help us to always remain obedient to your will, and to immediately repent of our sins. Amen.