“Moab is destroyed. Her little ones have made a cry.”
– Jeremiah 48:4
This is a picture of God’s judgment upon the pride of Moab. That’s the language later in Verse 29, how Moab was full of arrogance and loftiness and haughtiness of heart and as a result, Moab is experiencing consequences of sin. The picture here in Jeremiah 48:4 which is what leads me to want to lead us to pray according to it is that as Moab is destroyed, her little ones have made a cry.
Jeremiah 48:4 Leads Us to Mourn for Hurting Children
Oh, just get the picture. Because of the pride of the people and leaders of Moab, the children are experiencing all kinds of hurt and pain. I just think about this picture in so many different ways around the world. Certainly when we see war and devastation in a country, who suffers most? Children suffer as helpless victims in war. Then I think about so many other examples of how corruption, how unfaithfulness, how immorality and idolatry and sin leads to suffering for children.
So let’s all be reminded in our lives that our sin doesn’t just affect us. It affects a variety of people around us, including children. So let’s pray that God would help us to be wise and righteous and merciful and holy. Yes, for our own good, but also for the good of others and particularly for the next generation. Let’s pray intercede on behalf of children who are in a lot of circumstances right now where they’re experiencing suffering as a result of the sins of others.
Praying for Children in Ukraine
God, we pray knowing your heart specifically for children. Jesus, you showed us this in your life on this earth, just welcoming children with a smile and gathering them around you. God, we pray for children in Ukraine right now, for children in Yemen, for children in all sorts of places, children of refugees who are experiencing such, who are experiencing unimaginable suffering as a result of the sins of others. God, we pray for how that’s being played out, experienced in so many different places around the world. We pray for your mercy on children in these place, for your mercy on children right around us.
God, help us to live for the good of children around us in our homes, help us to love them well, help us to pursue holiness for their sake, for their good. We pray that you help us to love children in others’ homes well. We pray that you help us to love children who are in need of a home well. God, help us to be your hands and feet, a reflection of your love to orphans, to children in need of a mom or dad, to children in foster care situations.
Jeremiah 48:4 Leads Us to Pray for Children Around Us
God, we pray in light of Jeremiah 48:4, “Her little ones have made a cry,” that you would help us to hear their cries and be a reflection of your love for them. Oh, God. So many ways that this might play out in our lives. We pray for your spirit’s leadership. Help us to know how to love, care for, defend, promote the good of children around us. Around the world, specifically children who are vulnerable and in need. In Jesus’ name, we pray. 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.
