Prayers for Our City: September 17, 2018 – Arts
“Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:5 KJV
As we pray concerning the Arts of Huntsville/Madison County we thank You, Lord, for the experience of restoration and unity created as the old tiles taken from the Cosmic Christ mosaic at First Baptist Church were used to create a new city skyline mosaic. Community folks were given the opportunity at Panoply to glue a tile piece on the sketched scene designed by an artist that worked on the original mosaic. “From the broken tiles, the community was able to come together and make something beautiful, just like Christ does in our own lives.” (Quote from Debbie Bell of First Baptist Church, see full article here.)
“They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. When they keep on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:6-7 NIV
[The following devotional and prayer is written by Joseph Cory, an artist and an Associate Professor in the Division of Art and Design at Samford University in Birmingham, AL and published by Intercessors for America – devotionals on the 7 Mountains of Culture]
Unlike other occasions where Jesus used parables to reply to questions, here Jesus created an image in the dirt with His hand that initiated a reaction from the consciences of those who saw it. Whatever Jesus wrote/drew must have been powerful – powerful enough to make these teachers of the law and Pharisees see their own sin in light of the one they accused.
Christ’s response startled His audience to truth and spoke to the heart of the accusers. He used a visual image to confront them about their actions. Images are powerful things. Because of this, the arts are a formidable way to speak to the collective conscience of our nation.
As American Christians, what if we asked God to use our artistic gifts to startle viewers to truth and empathy in even greater ways? My prayer is for us to learn from our experiences; that artwork created within our different subcultures will bring us to our knees in humility, leading us to recognize our sin, repent before a Holy God, and extend forgiveness to those around us.
IN YOUR TIME OF PRAYER FOR THE ARTS:
- Intercede for America’s artists and storytellers in light of 2 Corinthians. 5:19-20: All of this is from God, who … gave us the ministry of reconciliation…. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
- Pray for God’s servants in the area of arts to walk in righteousness, truth, and integrity; that they will be filled with knowledge, wisdom, inspiration, and understanding that comes from God (Exodus 35:30-36:1).
- Repent symbolically for the ways America’s artists have glorified sin, distorted the truth, and fallen short of excellence.
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