Remnant Writings, Part Two. The God of Your City

“And seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” – Jeremiah 29:7

In 2008, the worship anthem “God of This City” made its debut in large conferences and small churches all across the country. The story of how it originated is as powerful as the lyrics[i]. Birthed in a brothel in Thailand, what began as spontaneous worship from a group of young men determined to beg God for a move in a city that desperately needed Him, boldly believed He’d do it with this declaration:

You’re the God of this city

You’re the King of these people

You’re the Lord of this nation—You are.

You’re the light in this darkness

You’re the hope to the hopeless

You’re the peace to the restless—You are.

I remember being moved to tears the first time I heard the song, thinking of my own city and its inhabitants, begging God for a mighty work and believing He could do it. Now, thirteen years removed, I’m asking myself, when did I stop begging? Sadly, I confess the answer to be perhaps when I stopped believing. This revelation is truly profound: begging births belief. Please hear me—I am not saying that my faith in what my Father could, or would do suddenly faltered. As the lyrics to the anthem continue, “There is no One like our God.” What I’m proposing is that, as my pleas for my city dwindled, so did my passion. If you’re not seeking a move from God, you’re sure not going to see one.

Sweet Friends, prayer turns pleas into possibilities.

Since we’ve been identifying with the Israelites within these Remnant Writings, I’d like to pick up where we left off in Jeremiah chapter 29. In verses 5-6, The Lord was telling His children to build houses, plant gardens and make families. To increase, not decrease, while in the city of Babylon. This was because The Father wanted to have a remnant—a group of survivors—to be living evidence and a lasting example of who He is to the rest of the world—those who knew Him, and those who only knew of Him. Now, beginning with the ones they interacted with every single day, verse 7 records God telling His people two things: first, seek—and then pray—for the welfare of the city where He sent them.

That’s still His plan, Sweet Survivor. He wants to be the God of your city.

—And He wants to use you to do it.

The word city has a variation of definitions, but in the original Hebrew, the word is iyr (pronounced “eer”), and it refers to a place that’s guarded by a watchman. As I studied this verse, do you know what The Lord showed me? Any person, place or thing that holds our affection and harbors our attention is our “city”. We are the watchman for our family, our friends, those to whom we minister and mentor, our campus, our church, and our community.

In ancient times, a watchman was carefully chosen and specifically sent to protect their city from surprise attacks from an enemy, to be alert to any dangers or threats to their city’s welfare, and to announce to the city when their king had arrived. 

This means that Father God carefully chose you to be that sweet boy’s mama. And He specifically sent that precious girl to you—whether you birthed them from your body or deep within your soul. He’s trusting you with that man’s heart, because He knows exactly what that man’s heart is capable of. He provided that friend you never thought you needed, but always knew you wanted. He orchestrated the intersection of your life with the one desperate to know healing from their hurt. And He gave you a group of people to demonstrate the difference in religion and relationship.

These are the individuals who collectively contain your city. And He sent you to them.

Oh, but the limitless love of Jesus extends much farther than the boundaries of just family and friends—there are other people in your life who are also very strategically placed. The friendly coffee barista who knows your order by heart, the disruptive kid the other parents warned you about, the sad-looking man who walks his dog in your neighborhood, the hesitant visitor in your small group, the quiet new lady at work and the grumpy old man at church—they’ve all been entrusted to you, Brave Watchman.

You’ve been assigned to seek their welfare—and God says within their welfare you’ll find your own.

Seek, or darash, in Hebrew, has three meanings: to tread, or beat a path, to investigate with intent to understand the thoughts and feelings of another person, and, to care for—and care about—what matters to God. Welfare simply speaks to the well-being of someone else. In the Hebrew, it is shalom, otherwise known as peace. For Jesus to be a light in the darkness, hope to the hopeless and peace to the restless to our closest, in our churches and for our communities, it’s going to take someone to believe Him enough to beg for it. If you want to see a move of God for you and your city—any and all of them—it begins by seeking one.

—Our Closest

I want to take a moment and honor the weary watchman who perhaps singlehandedly stands guard for your city. You know exactly what it means to seek The Lord by beating a path straight to Him in prayer for those closest to your heart. Selfless and sacrificial, you’ve tread perhaps a million miles and back again, never abandoning your post—or your people. If I could look into your sweet face right now, I would tell you this—don’t give up. It’s your prayers that stir the very heart of God to move mountains. I know of what I speak—I was raised by a Watchman. You’re reading this message today because of her.

Pray protective holiness over the hearts of your sons and humility for the hearts of your daughters. Beg for your grandchildren to know Jesus early and love Him all their days. Speak life over marriages, especially your own. Ask for authentic Holy Spirit encounters for your people, and not just occasionally—daily. Declare victory over strongholds and freedom from addictions. A very real enemy relentlessly approaches to attack, but he can’t get even come close to a city with a fierce and fearless guard on alert. You fight for your city, Mighty Watchman—that one that needs their mountain moved may be closer to breakthrough than you know.

—Our Churches

I’ll never forget the first time I realized that just because someone says they love Jesus, it doesn’t mean they act like it. Y’all—church hurt is real. If you’ve ever experienced pain at the hands of a spiritual sibling I want to say, I’m so very sorry. Like any good parent, it grieves the heart of The Father for His children to hurt one another, and He expects us to do our part to get along: “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone,” says Romans 12:18.

I really love how The Message words it: “Discover the beauty in everyone.”

To seek the well-being of your city—your church—is to investigate, or discover, the thoughts and feelings of another person with intent to understand. Those words or actions of someone that broke your trust, your confidence, your heart, or even your opinion, likely came from someplace deeply broken within. A faithful watchman was alert to any danger or threat to their city’s welfare, and they would bring the matter to their king to keep the peace. Let’s not miss this wisdom, Sweet Watchman. If we’ll take any concerns, offenses, or hurts about our brothers and sisters to Father God—before anyone else—He’s more than able to restore peace. By truly seeking Him to understand them, we might just discover places in our own heart He wants to heal.

—Our Communities

Caring about what—and who—matters to God is the final definition of seek. When the king returned home from battle, it was the peacekeeping watchman’s responsibility to notify the city. The inhabitants were never more at peace than when the king was on his throne. Jesus told His followers in John 14:27 that He was leaving His peace with them—a gift that the world can’t give. There are people that matter to God that He purposely places before us every day in grocery store lines, restaurants, school cafeterias, neighborhoods and office buildings that are desperately seeking the peace that we’ve already been given. King Jesus won the battle over sin and death and is seated on His throne—and we’ve been appointed to notify our city. Father, open our eyes and our hearts to those we see as strangers but You see as souls.

Precious Peacekeeper, The Lord Jesus placed you as a watchman within your community. Ask Him to reveal what can seem to be interruptions throughout the day as opportunities for eternity. Jeremiah 29:7 says that our welfare is intertwined with the welfare of our city—so you carry their gift of peace. They’re just waiting for you to share Him.

Worthy Watchman, The Father wants to be Lord of our closest, King of our churches and the God of our communities. Knowing He’ll turn my pleas into possibilities, today I boldly make this declaration over my city—any and all:

Greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city.

—And I’m believing Him enough to beg Him for it. Who’s with me?