"Seek the shalom of the city..."

"Prayer for the cities is missionary activity. "Seek the shalom of the city," Jeremiah told God's people in Babylon, "and pray for it!" (Jer 29:7) Neither Satan nor city problems can withstand the effects of prayer... Prayer is missionary action." from Roger S. Greenway's "The Challenge of the Cities"

Prayers last week for BUMP focused on the six cities BUMP serves, beginning with Baltimore. Mike Wilkerson in Redemption describes shalom as "the universal peace, harmony and wholeness of God's original design of humankind and the whole earth." He also reminds us that in the end, "God will wipe away every last trace of sin's vandalism and re-create shalom... Wherever we find chaos and sin unmaking God's creation, we find a God who ultimately triumphs over them by making a new creation."

THAT is our prayer for our BUMP cities - that they would become places where God's triumph is evident through the new creations He makes, particularly during BUMP week!