This article will teach you how to take preventative steps and what to do to help keep your community and neighborhood murder-free.
I know this may be a strange or uncomfortable discussion to have today. Murder is a scary topic. The reality is that Murder is going on around us every day in quiet tiny communities and neighborhoods, places with people you would never think of.
How many of you are looking across the street at a house where a murder recently happened, and you had no idea that that would happen? there? It’s one thing when you live in an area where Murder is more prevalent, and you can become somewhat desensitized.
I don’t want to be superficial; I want to delve into one of the biggest problems we are facing today in our country and our neighborhoods.
Many of us are not living in compromised neighborhoods. I’m not, and so we would not expect that we would have to worry or be concerned about our kids going out and playing, then suddenly hearing gunshots next door to us. Seeing police cars and hearing sirens racing up onto our street…
No, this is not what we want. We don’t want our neighborhood block to be on the news. We have to read and hear about horror stories of Murder happening to one of our neighbors and friends. This kind of thing brings about a devaluation of our properties and becomes a permanent record in the police department’s crime statistics for that area.
So how do we become proactive about this? What can we do about this?
When I was growing up on my block, there was a couple that would always get into arguments,and the husband would walk out of the house to get away from the woman running after him. She would still be yelling, and he would yell back. Back in the 70s, when I saw couples fighting, there was no thought that they might fatally hurt one another, but today things are different.
Since we can’t go into people’s homes and ask husbands and wives if there is any possibility that one might kill the other, or if there any guns in the house. or is Little Johnny a gang banger, This why it is important to pray.
Here are some of the possible scenarios that can happen in a small community:
· Family disagreement or argument turns lethal
· Possible crime takes place, and the intruder fatally maims someone
· Jealous boyfriend or girlfriend fight turns deadly
· Many more scenarios
We have to do something strategic yet powerful, and that works—something that will work behind the scenes but in the forefront of it all.
The More Danger, The More Prayer
Prayer is a common thread that runs throughout the world. It doesn’t matter the religious belief; it happens in nations all around the globe. Prayer is necessary, and not only because GOD commanded us to pray, but it also helps when terrible events or dangers occur.
In those high-crime neighborhoods that we see and hear about on television, parents fear for their children’s lives, and when something happens and their child is involved, they pray. And not only when something happens, but before something happens, I’ve also had conversations with mothers who told me that they pray every night when they get in the bed that GOD will watch over their children. The more danger, the more prayer. We even start asking strangers and other family members to pray. Believing that all their prayers are bombarding heaven and GOD will take care of the situation.
Murder Is A Enemy Of Life
Somewhere in our minds and hearts, the GOD who created the foundations of the world sees what is taking place in households everywhere. He gave us life; he wanted us to be happy and to have a fruitful and prosperous journey while living here on earth. But the life that he gave us has an enemy of which Murder is one.
It’s time for us to rise and do what GOD wants us to; pray and intercede for our communities and people living in the households on our blocks, area, city, state, and anywhere that there is Murder.
We need to be safe and to feel that way again, not worrying about who may be lurking past our doors. Next-door Neighbor is a great resource, but people are so afraid because of all of the Murder and dark things that are out there that they are now checking their security systemslooking for a problem.
As much as I like Next-door Neighbor – there are great benefits and possibilities having a neighbor, but there’s so much fear perpetuated on that thread. That now they’re injecting it into other people’s lives. What are we going to do about it? Prayer is the answer and the chain that should be a significant part of the solution.
If we’re going to be honest with ourselves, we know that the law is powerless to stop the murders occurring in our city. No amount of threat from the judicial system or jail time, prison, etc., has erased it. No, it’s going to take us, and we’re going to have to care enough to go to the only person who could stop the crime and murder infiltration. Almighty GOD!
We have to help our neighbors who are in bad marriages but afraid to leave because of abusive spouses. We have to pray for the son and daughter that is violent who may end up murdering their family, and there are so many more scenarios.
Families, Please Pray
I’m asking neighbors in communities to consider praying in small groups, starting with their area and then the city at large and then the nation. And to keep the prayer going once a week in a group and privately when you are at home.
I know that prayer is powerful, and if you want to take Murder down, that’s where you got to start. Most communities have a newsletter that might be a way to communicate or ask people if they would like to pray with each other in the community. Whoever comes should be congratulated for their generosity and concern for their community.
Murder never takes a vacation.
Murder never takes a vacation; it’s an enemy to life. Just look at the TV shows that we watch. We’ve become so comfortable with seeing people being killed on TV. If they removed the Murder element in the shows, I think they would lose their audience.
The networks toggle between fear and entertainment when it comes to Murder. Because when you watch a TV show and someone’s being killed, then it’s entertainment, but when you turn on your news, it’s the fear of it because now it’s no longer play-acting, someone really just lost their life. And you don’t want that someone to be in your neighborhood or close by because then it turns on the fear element in you.
In the story in the Bible, where Cain and Abel, two brothers, were together in the field, Cain rose and killed his brother. He did it out of jealousy. GOD had rejected his offering but accepted his brother Abel’s, so he took it out on his brother. This kind of thing happens daily. Unfortunately, this is one reason why GOD said to pray for each other and love your neighbor as yourself.
I have been walking with GOD for the last thirty years. He has helped me understand the fundamental practices that the kingdom of heaven utilizes to support his family on earth.
Prayer. GOD keeps all of our needs, and wants in life situations before him. I found this out in the late 90s when he commissioned me to open a seminary in Yonkers, New York. The Bible says that Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us, which is essentially prayer. This kind of prayer is when you stand in the gap for someone as though you are that person.
Now Jesus does this for us regularly. During this time, GOD started calling people’s names to me. Some I knew or knew the name, but I didn’t know if it was the person. Afterward, he would lead me to pray by downloading thoughts and words in my mind as I’m praying for this person.
I do not doubt that GOD uses this approach for his prayer intercessors all over the world. Prayer warriors are committed to praying to the Lord for whatever his plan and purpose are on earth. So there is a lot of prayers going up all day long throughout this world. How phenomenal is that? So if you are not praying for yourself, know that prayers are going up somewhere for you.
The prayer of agreement spoken about in Matthew 18:19 is a strategy that every believer should utilize for every area of their lives.
“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19-20).
This is the heavenly formula that he revealed to his people on how to get their prayer answered. I find it highly fascinating that there’s an effective type of prayer that Jesus gave to us, yet many people don’t use it. Unfortunately, we often think that we know the answer to problems or figure it out when we usually can’t.
To find the truth, the real solution to the problem is as easy as talking to GOD and praying about it. We can take it a step further by asking someone who agrees with you regarding the situation to pray about it with you.
GOD is talking to believers every day. These are people who love him and invited him into their lives to be their Lord and savior. Turning and directing your conversation to him shows you are relying on him and are confident he has the power to bring about what you are asking for.
Prayer is vital for every human being. And when you start interceding for the safety of the community, you will notice the difference. Your prayers for your neighbors will help them live a better life.
Inviting some of your neighbors to pray about your community is good. You never know what will ignite out of it. Friendship is the kind of fellowship GOD welcomes. He is a strategist and knows precisely what door to open and what doors to close.
I want to include a prayer here that you can say for your community and surrounding areas. This is a starting point, but please feel free to build on it as the Holy Spirit guides you.
If you want to intercede for your neighborhood and community, this is a great place to start
A PRAYER FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
Eternal GOD,
Thank you for being available to me. I am happy to reach out to you concerning my life, community, and neighbors, including businesses and every other aspect of the city that I live in.
First and foremost, I ask you to forgive me for my sins and shortcomings. Lord, if I’m holding anything against anyone, I willingly forgive them and ask you to wash me and cleanse me from all my sin.
GOD, I lift my community to you and intercede for every household in my neighborhood for all the families, the mother’s fathers, and the children. Protect our families and us.
If there’s any violence occurring in those households, GOD, I ask that you would deliver the entire family from violence. Keep us safe don’t let murder, death, or violence touch our wonderful community. Lord, we are grateful and thank you in advance. In Jesus’s name. Amen
GOD enjoys hearing your voice and the fact that you would be willing to make your requests known to him. Like any good Father, he wants to encourage you and provide for your homes and where you live. After all, GOD made us he provided the incomes, homes, and food we have. This is proof of how good of a Father he is.
Success
