Bloom in Babylon

Growing Daily

“Seek the peace of the city where I have exiled you and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its peace you will find your peace.” (Jeremiah 29:7)

God spoke these words to the Israelite exiles in pagan Babylon, surrounded by people who didn’t share their faith. Instead of withdrawing or fixating on everything wrong around them, God told them to pray for the good of the place where they lived. Their own peace was tied to its peace.

The New Testament echoes this call. Paul urges us to pray for leaders and authorities so we can live “peaceful and quiet lives” (1 Timothy 2:2). Praying for peace in our nation and neighborhoods isn’t naïve. It’s an expression of faith that God is still at work, even through imperfect people and systems.

I don’t know about you, but it’s easy to get swept up in lamenting everything that’s wrong in our culture, or to fall into a pattern of doomscrolling. But God invites us to something better. Instead of criticizing the world around us, we can pray for it.

When we pray, we cooperate with His redemptive work. And in the process, He fills our hearts with “the peace that exceeds anything we can understand” (Philippians 4:7).

Today, pray for peace in the place where God has planted you.

- Catherine Reid