I looked for the one my heart loves. (Song 3:1) May this be the joy and discovery of many Dutch people!
God of the great and the small, at this time when we are concerned for such very major issues amongst the nations,
we are praying for Your power to burst forth in one of Your smaller countries.
You love to bring life where there is no life; and just as you have reclaimed so much of Holland from below the sea level,
we are asking You to bless these polder lands with seedtime and harvest in the spiritual world.
Make this a place where Jesus is known and Your word is welcome.
Let the Waal (the Rhine), the Maas (The Meuse) and the Scheldt be rivers that bring great blessing rather than being the source of great fear of inundation.
And likewise, Jesus, we ask to You to protect this land and the Dutch people from the weighty flood of wayward ways, beliefs and attitudes; for whilst extreme liberalism on the one hand has swept many far out to sea on currents not of You,
stagnant deadweight traditions have kept many more immured in the past.
We are asking You now Lord Jesus, that You inspire a new trajectory that takes people far from their own self-interests and right into the expression of Your creative love.
Redirect the steps of many to encounter the God of living destiny. Raise up many means and ways by which young and old alike shall come into the fullness of both Your Word and Your Spirit.
Find fresh ways to shape inspire and gather up the Dutch anew in You, so that whether they are finding life cosy or challenging, You may have a people for Your own possession.
In this land of artists and musicians let people recognise the Lord Jesus as the greatest artist of all.
From cradle to grave,
in centres of learning;
in churches and town halls,
in streets and along canals,
may the wind of Your Spirit blow through the land, set windmill sails turning in the heart and make them fit for planting.
You work around and through and despite people’s choices; You know the things in the Dutch psyche that have caused the hearts of many to stray far from You, the living God.
Sift out that purely man-made region that limits Your freedom to work so that many may catch the flow of your living Spirit.
Raise up shepherds after Your own heart,
and give many the eyes to glimpse Your majesty, and the determination not to be deterred from running after You.
Let them chart brave new courses for You, as so many Dutch people have done through the centuries.
Thank You for all who have looked to You and known You as Lord of the rhythms of their life:
Raise up now those who will be outstanding pioneers for You.
In Jesus name and for His sake, Amen.
Pray for Holland
Join with others in praying for the Netherlands at this Prayercast website, where you can also read a few brief paragraphs about the long history of tolerance and acceptance that Dutch culture is renowned for – but where Christians are becoming increasingly afraid of speaking out in case they are regarded as being ‘intolerant’.
Pray that by whatever means the Lord chooses faith will flow freely and joyously in the Netherlands – and with a greater freedom and passion than ever before. It appears that many of the most dynamic expressions of faith today are to be found primarily amongst immigrant churches – especially Indonesian, Antillean, Ghanaian, and Chinese.
God still has much He intends to do in and through the Dutch people!
See also Operationworld.org
