Prayer Initiative : RevelationSample

In Genesis 49, we see Jacob on his deathbed and his sons gathered around him: "Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob, listen to your father Israel." One after another he calls them by name and gives each one an appropriate blessing. The twelve tribes of Israel first appear in the book of Genesis but will continue to emerge throughout the Bible – in Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Chronicles and Ezekiel, Matthew, Luke, Acts, James, and, finally, in the book of Revelation. With all its flaws and failures, the people of Israel never ceased to be a chosen people of God. From the first book of Scripture to the last, He never lost sight of them.

In Revelation 7 a mighty angel commands the other 4 angels to hold the harming winds until 144,000 servants of God from all the tribes of Israel will be sealed with a special seal on their foreheads. As we will notice further, when reading Revelation chapters 8 and 9, this seal will protect them from the wrath of God that will fall on the inhabitants of the earth. Keep watching for these servants in Revelation; they will be entrusted with a special mission at the end of times. They will also be the ones who will go through the tribulation, together with a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language.

In today's chapter, this multitude is standing before the throne and before the Lamb and proclaiming His salvation. They are in white robes, but the price they paid is a costly one – These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7: 14). But "the Lamb will be their shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Revelation 7: 17).

Take a moment to ponder on what you've read and respond to God in prayer.

PRAYER

• Pray for the persecuted church. Around 365 million Christians are subject to high levels of persecution and discrimination. 1 in 7 Christians are persecuted worldwide.
• Pray for the top ten most persecuted countries in the world (according to the World Watch list) – North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, Yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Iran, and Afghanistan.