CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 706

“Refuge”

Psalm 18:1-2 (ESV)  I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

———————————————————-
The International Zone in Baghdad was formerly known as the Green Zone. This heavily guarded area surrounded by razor wire, chain link fencing and blast-proof ‘T-walls’ was dubbed the ‘Ultimate Gated Community’. It was an area of refuge from the enemy and the battle that raged outside its gates.

While we may not live in a war zone, our daily lives are exposed to a physical and spiritual battleground with very real enemies who seek to do us harm. We too need places of refuge.

A refuge is a place of peace and safety. Do our homes provide a refuge from the evil that is in the world? Are our homes safe places for us and our children to return to each day? Far too often, our homes embody a microcosm of our corrupt society and fail to serve as a place of refuge for our families. Our defenses have been breached with the music, videos, TV, and other media that we allow ready access into our homes.

Too many homes are a battle ground with strife and full-vent given to rage and anger in family relationships between husband and wife and parent and child.

The solution begins within the heart of every believer. The solution is to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness. The solution is to continually walk in the presence of God. The solution begins with the head of the family, the husband/father. Men, you should lead the way. You are accountable for setting the example of Christ-likeness in your home.

Imagine a home that is a place of spiritual, emotional, and physical regeneration and equipping for fulfilling the Lord’s call and purpose. Imagine a home that is a dynamic place of defense and spiritual power. Such a home has been sanctified and set apart as a refuge of God. All who enter in will know the love, peace and presence of God’s Holy Spirit is there. This is a home whose walls are not allowed to be breached with the evil and sin of the world. This is a home characterized by Christ’s love, repentance, and forgiveness. It is a home where the fruit of the Spirit of God is visible and active.

While such a place of refuge may sound like a church, the fact is that the refuge of the Lord is within the heart of every believer who desires His presence and seeks to continually walk with God. It is the presence of God within the heart of believers that makes a home or church or place of work a refuge. Strength, peace, and power against enemies are found in the presence of the Lord, not in physical buildings and structures.

Are you tired and battle weary and in need of a place of refuge? The peace of God – His refuge is as close as you calling out to Him and seeking Him above all else that this world has to offer. Prayerfully practice His presence throughout your daily life. In all your tasks and duties, acknowledge His presence and watch Him transform your home, church and workplace as He touches the lives that touch yours in Jesus’ Name.

Close in prayer, thanksgiving & rededication of your work to the glory of God