Community Prayer

I have an idea that I am trying to promote here in Verona Mississippi. I am calling it First Step Prayer.
I felt impressed in 2016 when the community here in Tupelo Mississippi was very upset over the death of a 37-year-old Black man that was killed by a White Officer. The community was very divided between White and Black.  The officer was not charged with any wrongdoing and the Black community was upset.  I wanted to get the churches in Verona to meet together for community prayer at that time but wasn't very persistent and it never happened. I still feel this on my heart. A pastor spoke one time about what is the last thing God asked you to do that you haven't done. This immediately came to mind.  Recently we had a shooting in Shannon Mississippi, a domestic violence case. A woman walked into a store/restaurant to get her breakfast on the way to work. It seems she was leaving the man she was in a relationship with.  When she came out of the store, she saw him and knew she was in trouble. She ran back into the store and talked to a Shannon policeman that was also in the store getting breakfast. The woman's boyfriend came into the store and reached over the officer and shot her 4 times. The officer returned fire killing the man. Sometimes it a school shooting, sometimes its at Walmart or wherever, but these things are happening more and more. In the 1950s we had once mass shooting. In the 1960s we had 6. In the 1970s I believe it was 13 and it keeps going up. What has changed? Gun laws are more restrictive now then they were then, more and better background checks. There are more people so obviously, there are also more guns. We took prayer out of schools, there was a time when schools were opened with prayer but because of people believing this is contrary to separation of church and state we stopped doing this. We take the 10 commandment displays of any kind out of schools and public property. We have uninvited God to our communities. I believe this a big part of the problem. We have so many more fatherless homes, probably also part of the problem. My idea is to invite God back into our community through a community prayer meeting.  I want to call it the First Step Prayer. I think there could be other steps to follow. There are several verses of scripture I would like to mention. 2 Chronicles: if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 

1“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord,
“who carry out a plan, but not mine,
and who make an alliance,^a but not of my Spirit,
that they may add sin to sin;
2who set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking for my direction,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! Isaiah 30:1-2








1“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord,
“who carry out a plan, but not mine,
and who make an alliance,^a but not of my Spirit,
that they may add sin to sin;
2who set out to go down to Egypt,
without asking for my direction,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! Isaiah 31:1-2

I would like to note in Isaiah God calls them stubborn people that do not ask God for his direction. In 2 Chronicles he is telling us to humble ourselves and pray and seek God. That is the First Step to call on God. God direct us, God forgive us, and God please heal our land. Note there is also a turning away from wicked ways. In Isaiah, Egypt would represent the way of the world. We are looking to politics to save our land and it will not work. But asking God for direction, for guidance, and for protection is I believe the answer for our nation, for our communities. The First Step is to call on God.  There can be a lot of steps to follow, but always the First Step is to pray to a sovereign God.

I don't have the answers and I don't believe the city or state or national politicians do either. But I believe a Sovereign God can turn this around.  God bless, LVZ.