For a Christian to pray for a city or an area, it helps to know what God’s original plan is for that place, and to pray that into being. It also gives you an indication of the counter plan of our spiritual enemy, and of the type of spiritual challenges that will be characteristic of that place.
The Hebrew meaning of the name Jerusalem is about peace and safety. In the light of God’s purpose for Jerusalem, Marelize discusses king David’s description of it, and also Jesus’ love for the city and its people groups, and why those not living in Jerusalem, should pray for it.
In a time of many upheavals, Marelize is encouraging us to hold on to God, or as it is describes in Afrikaans ‘om vas te byt’, even when the fulfilment of His long-ago-promises looks impossible, like the fulfillment of His promise of a great harvest amongst the nations, or the promise of a change in your marriage or in your child’s life.
For the fulfilment of the promise of a great harvest of people coming to God, Jesus commands us to pray that God will send out, or thrust out labourers or harvesters into His harvest field. If we neglect in doing that we can not expect a harvest of people coming into His kingdom.
Marelize gives guidelines from Heb.10:23 in how we need to hold onto the hope that we have in Him, when we are in a challenging time frame.
Many Christians in South Africa had united in prayer on the 8th May, when it was a day set aside for a renewed connection with ancestors who’d passed away, to stand in the gap and ask God’s forgiveness and to fill the atmosphere with praises to God.
Yet, Christians can’t relax now after this day, because things were stirred up in the spirit realm. We thus need the zeal, or the fire and passion of the Lord in us, to keep on establishing His presence and His plans over South Africa.
Marelize shares about the zeal of the Lord, which is usually mentioned in the Bible when God is revealed as the Lord of the Hosts, a description of Him when He is in warfare, and how it relates to the Christian’s armor, as a cloak, to ensure that we would be the winning warriors for Him where He has placed us.
On the 8th of May in South Africa, some leaders in the nation have declared it to be a day to reconnect with the forefathers who had passed away. As this is not in line with the word of God, what will be the right thing to do for us as Christians? Besides the various prayer guidelines available, Marelize shares about seeking God for His original plan for that day. By looking at what happened in history on that day and how God intervened, helps us to find God’s original plan and to pray towards the fulfilment of His plan.
This day is happening in a time frame in which South Africa is still in lock down. After a year in lockdown, ways of doing things have changed. Many people got used to doing everything from home. The result is that many of us have become couch potatoes, because it feels like just too much effort to dress up to leave the house.
Marelize uses Nehemiah as example, who had a very comfortable position, as cupbearer to the king in exile. While being in comfort, he heard about his people in distress and the state of Jerusalem. He was so touched that he started praying. The way in which he prayed in Nehemiah 1 is a good example of how to start praying for the nation at this time. His action of leaving his comfortable job as wine server to the king, to go to Jerusalem to motivate his fellow brothers, and building the wall, is such an example for us at this time.
Let us get up from our couch, to fight as the boxer who is putting his punches where it is effective to overcome the plans of the Enemy, so that God’s plans will prevail.
God compares Himself in Is.46 with an idol or a false god in terms of carrying weight – Him as the One who wants to carry us, while an idol needs to be carried, and causes the carrier to become weary. In the Afrikaans Bible He describes Himself as “…Ek het julle gemaak en Ek sal julle vashou, julle dra en julle red” (Jes.46:4).
Although the wheelbarrow is not mentioned in the Bible, the cart, which is in the Afrikaans Bible called ‘die wa’ is mentioned in the Bible. It had the purpose of carrying a load, and was pulled by animals. If the load was heavy, it caused the animal to get tired. The wheelbarrow has the same effect in that if it is heavily loaded, it causes the person pushing it, to get tired and weary. Then the load becomes a burden.
There are many different types of burdens mentioned in the Bible. Some examples are – sin, anxiety, oppression and sickness. While we are still in the time of the Covid 19 Pandemic, people are carrying various burdens. Marelize shares God’s word for this moment – to unload your heavy wheelbarrow and to keep unloading it before God, while the Holy Spirit is your Helper (Parakletos) in this, for “the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil” (Is.10:27).
The Jews in exile, returned to their promised land under the blessing of king Cyrus, to rebuild their temple. But they were a threat to their neighbours. After complains from the neighbours, they stopped the building, and started focusing on building their own homes. The prophet Haggai then gave them a warning from God that they should stop setting up nice homes for themselves, while God’s dwelling place were in ruins. The prophet Zechariah followed that up, with a word of judgement from God, about their history of turning away from God, upon which the Angel of the Lord interceded for them at the myrtle bush. So the Lord said that He’ll have mercy on them – that they should rebuild the temple, and that He Himself with be the wall of fire around them, while the city was having no wall of protection against their angry neighbours. He then declared that the temple would be build not by might or power, but through the working of His Spirit. This gave their leaders boldness to build again, in the face of fierce adversity.
Marelize shares on how God’s word was fulfilled there, and applies it to us as Christians when we receive assignments from God, even after we have made mistakes in our understanding of the assignment. She links God’s protection as a wall of fire, to a vision she had recently of a rib cage, of its protection around the most important organs in our bodies.
How God cares for us as His loved ones, is captured in the words about the little sister in Song of Solomon. It says that if she is a wall, then upon her will be built a tower or palace of silver, and if she is a door, she will be enclosed with planks of cedar. Marelize describes this picture of God’s protection, and of His care and provision for our royal identity.
Song 8:8-9 Ex.30 Heb.9:13-15 2 Chron.25:18 2 Sam.7:2 Jer.22:15 Zec.11
In the book of Revelations heaven is described in all its beauty. Amidst the continuous worship singing in heaven, a fragrance is rising, initiated from earth by the prayers of the saints.
The tabernacle of Moses was an image of the worship of God in heaven. Marelize uses the contents of the incense altar where the high priest prayed and the different perfume notes that it releases, to compare it with the different aspects of prayer. She uses the Lord’s prayer as model of the different aspects of prayer, and the advantage of memorizing scripture to use in prayer, as encouragement for us, to realize the impact of our prayers in heaven.
Rev.4 & 5 Ex.30 1Thess.5:17 Ps.45 Ps.141:2 Luke 11
A conebush, also called the tolbos in South Africa, can roll for long distances over areas of flat terrain, when it is driven by the wind.
Marelize compares the action of the conebush with the Hebrew word ‘galal’, which means to roll over, or to roll upon. The one context in which it is used in the Bible, is when it describes the rolling of your ways or your works upon the Lord, so that He can carry it, and that your plans can work out according to His ways. Another context in which it is used, is when the Bible describes how God rolls away the reproach, the shame and the disrespect from His people. King David also prayed that God will roll away the reproach and contempt of others around him.
The conebush is driven by the wind. In a similar way the Wind of God, the Holy Spirit drives the action of rolling away the reproach of others, or the rolling of our ways upon the Lord. David is a good example of being treated with contempt, getting angry as a result, but then withholding from acting out his anger when Abigail intervened. David’s submission activated God’s intervention, so that God killed the one who treated him with contempt.
This is about receiving unexpected news, or being slandered by someone just after you have worked hard to do things in the right way, because of your devotion and love for the Lord.
King Ahaz was shaking like a tree in the wind when he received news about a planned war against him. But it was his son Hezekiah who followed him up as king, who gives us an excellent example of how to react, and his strategy of prayer that he used, that we can follow, when unexpected bad news, or unexpected words of slander is received.
