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Several months ago, I remember getting really frustrated at an article I read that some “Christian” site had posted about a mainstream singer and how their music is “dragging a generation to hell.” (which is not true by the way, but that’s a conversation for another day)

You might know that music and entertainment is my passion and I have a huge heart for what God wants to do in that industry.  So in that moment, my already existing passion got fired up again that I don’t ever want to look at a person or a situation and define it by its brokenness. I want to speak the life of Heaven instead. I want to look with God’s eyes and see the hope He sees for people and situations.

Fast forward to a couple months ago. I was laying in bed and I was angry.

I admit I had probably spent too much time watching the news and reading comments on social media that day. And here I was, thinking about the natural disasters, the shootings, the relational tensions and political tensions, and the state of Christianity in America.  I was overwhelmed by the tragedy and brokenness in the world, and the spiritual state of my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I was frustrated and I wanted all the pain, suffering and compromise to stop.  And I had a great rant of complaints going in my head about what’s broken, and whose fault it is and isn’t, and who should be doing what to fix it. I mean it was a really good, justifiable rant.  Then God interrupted my thought process.

“Jas, you need to stop acting like a critic and start acting like an intercessor.”

Ouch.  Gotta love those timely convictions from God, even when they sting a little.

You see, I had forgotten what God had put in my heart about not defining people and situations by their brokenness.

Criticizing or Praying?

I want to ask you a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately: Do you criticize more than you pray?  Do you focus more on what’s broken in people and in our world than you do on the words and plans of life that God has for them?

Because here’s the thing: our anger and our criticism won’t change anything, but our prayers will.

It’s okay to be angry and frustrated and to hurt sometimes.  It’s human and it shows that we care.  Often, we are experiencing a bit of God’s heart for justice and restoration in our world and for spiritual vitality in His people.  It’s okay to challenge and critique.  It’s necessary, even, because we all have blind spots.  Growth and change won’t happen without a healthy balance of confrontation and encouragement.

We just need to be careful that as we honestly acknowledge, challenge, and work to heal places of brokenness that we don’t give in to a spirit of criticism.  A spirit of criticism is hopeless and condemning.  Evaluation and challenge that is godly should always be offered with the intent of redemption and transformation, should be saturated with prayer, and should be expressed with clarity, gentleness and humility. (James 5:16 // Galatians 6:1-2)

Church, we need to stop acting like critics and start acting like intercessors.  We need to act like the people of God who pray the will of God from the Word of God with faith and persistence until God brings transformation to the broken situations in our world.  God calls us to a higher standard than just complaining and criticizing the brokenness.

We need to act like the people of God who stand in the gap between God and the needs of the world in prayer and in service and seek God’s help.  (1 Timothy 2:1)

Prayers impact circumstances.  (James 5:16-18) Prayers prompt the Spirit of God to spring into action and bring help.  (Philippians 1:19) Prayers create a runway for God to move. (Luke 18:7)

Service is God’s strategy to bring His compassion, healing and freedom to people and needs in the world.  God does this when His people invest in the world around them as His voice, His hands and feet, with His heart.  (Romans 12:13 // 1 John 3:16-17)

How To Be An Agent of Healing

God reminded me of a really cool story in the Bible of a prophet named Ezekiel and how he played a part in God bringing life to the people of Israel who had strayed away from God and were scattered from their land.

I believe this story invites us to ask ourselves a question as God’s people:

Are we going to settle that the broken places we are looking at are dry, dead, hopeless and will always be as they are, or are we going to partner with God bring life?

Here are steps you can take to practically partner with God to bring life to the people and needs around you – with some inspiration from an epic Old Testament story and our pal, Ezekiel.

1. Ask God for His perspective.

The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out.  Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”

“O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.” (Ezekiel 37:1-3)

I love that God initiates this conversation with Ezekiel and essentially asks him, “hey, do you see what I see about this and what do you think I can do in this situation?”  I believe God is asking you and me the same type of question.

I like to ask God what He thinks about current issues in society and how He wants to work in them – the spiritual ones and practical ones. I also ask Him to give me verses from Scripture to cling to and pray. I encourage you to do the same.

• Impact of natural disasters
• Survivors of loss and tragedy
• Sexual assault/human trafficking
• Lack of spiritual passion and maturity amongst Christians
• People who don’t yet have a relationship with Jesus
• Government and political tensions
• Racial tensions
• Division in the Church and in society
• Etc.

There are so many areas we can talk to God about.

Ask Him what He sees and feels.  Ask Him what life and hope He wants to bring to what looks to be a dead, hopeless situation. Ezekiel saw a valley of dry bones.  God saw the potential for bones to live and become an army.  No situation is dead and hopeless when God is involved.

Let Him highlight truth from His Word and whisper to your heart through His Holy Spirit as He clues you in to how He wants to work in the needs of the world around you.

2. Speak life.

  Then He said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord!  This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again!  I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

So I spoke this message, just as He told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons.  Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.  (Ezekiel 37:4-8)

Then, take that next step and speak life with your words and with your prayers.

Hurting people and broken circumstances need someone in relationship with God to pray what’s in His heart over them and to speak what He says over them.

When you speak about broken situations in the world be honest, but speak about them with hope for how God can redeem them, not with a critical spirit.  And invest time in prayer asking God to bring that hope and redemption.

For more on how to use Scripture in prayer, access the exclusive content, How To Pray The New Testament Prayers, in the Free Resource Library

3. Be the change.

Then He said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’”

So I spoke the message as He commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army. (Ezekiel 37:9-10)

Do your part to sow seeds of life, hope and transformation however you can with your resources, relationships and sphere of influence.

If there’s a need or problem in society ask how can the Church* pray and how can the Church be the change?  Furthermore, as a part of the Church, how can I pray and how can I be the change?

*(by Church, I mean the corporate people who are followers of Jesus in general, not necessarily buildings or Church the institution)

Often we look at needs and say “someone should do something about that”, or “God should do something about that,” even. We wait around for “someone” to get to work and we don’t realize that there are simple acts of prayer and service that are within our capacity to do that can have great impact on real people and real needs.

If there’s a natural disaster and you can give to a relief fund or go to help with recovery, do it.

Get to know someone of a different ethnic background, political leaning, or denomination than you. Let your genuine friendship be a redeeming relationship in your lives and a testimony to the world around you.

Invest in the spiritual lives of people around you.  Share Jesus with people who don’t know Him yet and commit to practically encourage fellow Christians in your life to love Jesus and people wholeheartedly with their emotions and actions.

Think about how you can support humanitarian organizations and church outreach initiatives that are seeking to bring solutions to the needs and challenges of the world, locally and beyond.

Ask God to show you how you can help.  He will.

It’s simple acts of prayer and service that over time to lead to noticeable transformation.

Because Ezekiel participated with what God wanted to do, he became a part of the change God was bringing to the people of Israel when they were in a broken, hopeless place. (Check out the end of the story in Ezekiel 37:11-14) So can we be a part of the change God wants to bring to the world in our day.

Let’s Talk: How are you going to change the way you speak, the way you pray, and the way you serve to be an agent of God’s healing in a broken world?  Discuss this post in the comments below.

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