“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples.”
– Psalm 96:3
Psalm 96 is one of my favorite songs. It’s really hard to choose just one verse here, but as I was meditating on verse three, a couple of prayer requests that have come in came in particular to my mind. So please continue sending those in to radical.net/prayerrequests, Just specific ways that we can be praying for you and others like you during this pandemic, just know there’s a whole team of people. Even though we’re not able to get to every single one of those on a podcast episode, we are reading through, praying through those, but I want to pray specifically in light of Psalm 96:3 today for God’s glory among the nations, his marvelous works to be known among all the peoples in light of something that Luke and Emily sent in.
Today we pray specifically for refugees. Lord, we ask that You comfort them and fill them with the hope of the resurrection. Cause Your gospel to go forth among refugees throughout the world.
Pray For The Protection Of Those In Refugee Camps During The Pandemic
So Luke writes, “My family works with refugees and many in refugee camps are at high risk amidst COVID-19.” Many Christian workers have been quarantined or otherwise prevented from helping vulnerable people in this season. So pray that God would provide for refugees’ needs, for Christian workers’ needs, and that the Gospel would continue to go forward amidst the pandemic. Certainly, anyone who’s been in a refugee camp before knows that social distancing is not possible really. It is extremely challenging in that close of quarters. So imagine people who have already lost their home have already been driven from everything that is familiar to them, who now find themselves in cramped, closed quarters, oftentimes very difficult conditions surrounded by people they don’t know, with questions about basic needs like food and water and shelter and medicine.
This Verse Prays For Refugees
So Luke writes that about his family works with refugees. Then Emily writes, “My husband is a Christian refugee from Iran. We’ve been living in Turkey for the last year and after a long series of events, he is currently camped on the Turkish-Greek border hoping to reach Europe.” Emily writes she has lost anyway to contact him. So Luke’s family working with refugees, Emily’s family are refugees, writing in saying, “Please pray for my husband, Dariush, for his mother and family who are still in Iran, a country that has been ravaged by this virus.”
So I just want us to pray specifically for refugees. Specifically for Dariush and Emily, specifically for Luke’s family. Hopefully during these days God’s glory to be made known among all the peoples. Especially refugees who are in desperate need of hope. That the Gospel would go forward and that Jesus would meet refugees where they are. As well as provide for their needs in ways that they know his love.
Psalm 96:3 Praises For The Spread Of God’s Glory Across Nations
So, God, we pray right now in light of Psalm 96 that just calls us to sing to you, to bless your name, to tell of your salvation from day to day, to declare your glory among the nations. So we pray for that. We pray for the spread of your glory among the nations during these days, and specifically among refugees. I cannot imagine the unique challenges that refugees are facing right now.
So, God, we pray. We pray for your blessing on Dariush and Emily, on Dariush’s family in Iran. God and we pray for your glory to be made known in Iran. For your glory to be made known on the Turkish-Greek border. For your glory to be made known among refugees from Syria, refugees from Somalia. God, refugees from all around the world, the movement of peoples. You say it in Acts chapter 17 that you orchestrate the movement of peoples that people might find you and know you.
Psalm 96:3 Prays For Him To Be Known In Refugee Camps
God, we pray for that. We pray there would be many stories of people who come to know you, your grace, and your glory in refugee camps during these days. We pray for Luke’s family and others like them who have ministry among refugee camps. God, we pray that you would give them wisdom, creativity to know how best to work as they wait. To trust that you are working. And God, we pray. We pray that you would open the door back up and you would protect and provide so that the Gospel would continue to go forward among refugees in the middle of this pandemic. We pray for your glory among the nations that your marvelous works be made known among all the peoples. In light of your word and in your name, we pray these things. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
