Episode 35: Zechariah 9:11-12
Transcription
Today’s verse is Zechariah 9:11-12
As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.
Let’s pray together.
Jesus, these verses fill me with joy. You are a conqueror, a mighty warrior, who fights our battles, and frees us from tyranny. Your people, the chosen nation, was at war, and You promised to restore them, to defeat their enemies. Your covenant extends now to us, we have gathered under Your banner and promises, so please restore us as well.
When You made Your covenant with Abraham, You promised that if it was broken, You and You alone would take the consequences. When You made Your covenant with Noah and gave us the rainbow as a symbol of Your promise, You pointed that war bow at Yourself if the covenant should be broken. You have always taken our just punishment upon Yourself. Jesus, we don’t deserve Your mercy and kindness, we break Your promises every day, every hour, every minute; but again and again You prove Yourself to us. Even earlier in this chapter, it talks about Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the donkey. We don’t have to be afraid that You won’t keep Your promises, because we have the proof right here.
Father, I pray today for us as we gather under Your blood, pleading its redemptive power over our circumstances, asking You to again fulfill Your promise. We live in a war-torn world, assaulted by darkness, tyrannized by fear. The devil pounds on the shield of faith around us and it is so hard to trust in You. We feel like prisoners, we feel weary, we feel like giving up. Our throats are parched from crying out with seemingly no relief.
Free us from this pit. Free us from our own doubt. Give us a sign, just like the rainbow, that You love us and You have not forgotten us. We are leaving behind this year now and going into the new one, our steps are filled with trepidation, our hands trembling from anxiety. We need relief and we need surety. We have been promised this world is filled with trouble, but we have also been promised You have overcome the world. Show us, LORD. Show us Your glory.
As you extend down Your hand to help us, bring us into Your fortress of strength and hope. Release us from the chains that bound us, but tie us to You, renewing our bonds of love and faith. Let me live with You always, being reminded of You, of Your promises, seeing them carried out day by day, using my strength to fight with You, not against You.
Jesus, so much has been taken from us. Maybe loved ones, maybe health, maybe jobs or security, maybe friendships or faith. Restore what has been taken by the enemy. Bring us under Your wings, taking care of us, renewing what the locusts have eaten. We cannot control the weather of this world; we can only control our response to it. Let our response be to run to You. I spend so much time trying to fight and take care of myself, to accomplish things, especially when it doesn’t seem like You are doing anything. Take that urge from me. Restore to me faith in You.
Suffering is real. Today, if You are suffering, please do not languish in pain, but look up to the One who made you. Feel Him taking you in His arms and resting your weary head on His chest. Hear His reassuring heartbeat, feel His steady hands grasping you, keeping you from falling. Take the time to listen, truly listen, forgetting the cares and worries of the day. He will speak, He will come, He will keep His promise.
I pray generous blessing on those who hear my voice today. May what you have lost be restored two-fold, ten-fold, your lives overflowing with mercy and gifts from the benevolent and lavish God who has taken us under the blood of His covenant, pouring forth the blood of His own son rather than to spend ours, the ones who deserve to bleed. He cares for you, don’t forget that. He has not forgotten you. Let Him free you from the prison of the enemy, let Him make you His prisoner of hope, such a joyful place to be. Servitude to our God is better than any other freedom.
God, we honor You today. Help us to keep our promises as You keep Yours. Reassure us of Your love. Be in each specific grief, hold each individual tear, strengthen each weary body, bolster each discouraged mind.
I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
