When we serve in the church, there may be times we see the weaknesses of the leaders, workers, or members of the church. Though we have faith that God continues to guide the church towards perfection (Isaiah 62:1-3, Ephesians 5:26-27, Revelation 19:6-8), the church currently is far from perfect.

A key lesson we must learn is how to come to terms with the imperfections we currently see so that we do not lose our zeal, become discouraged, or even lose our faith.

From the beginning of Micah, we see the prophet's love towards his people (Micah 1:8-9). How heartbroken and pained he must be to see his people being so corrupt and sinning against the Almighty God!

After many chapters of warnings, promises, and exhortations from the prophet, the book of Micah, quite touchingly, concludes with the prophet's prayer to God.

The message is clear - ultimately, the most important thing we can do is pray for the people of God.

What, then, should the contents of our prayer be?

Looking to the LORD

Amidst a sinful nation, barren of righteous men (Micah 7:1-4), surrounded by people whom he could not trust (Micah 7:5-6), all Micah could do was look to the LORD and wait on Him (Micah 7:7).

What exactly does looking to God entail?

Despite the adverse situation that he was in, Micah recalled how God in times past led and fed His people, and prayed for God to shepherd them once again (Micah 7:14-15).

Micah also considered the nature of God, how God is a God who does not remain angry forever but is full of mercy and pardons iniquity (Micah 7:18-20).

This also reminds us of another prophet, Habakkuk, whose book ends with a prayer of entrusting to God and waiting on His goodness (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

When we see things in church that we do not understand, things that might feel wrong to us, let us learn to look to the Lord and entrust everything to Him. This is God's church and He reigns in His church (Micah 4:1-3, 7; 5:4).

God is the master, and we are but unprofitable servants. May our eyes look upon Him, until He has mercy on us all (Psalm 123:1-4).

Repenting for our sins

When we truly look to the Lord amidst our troubles, naturally this brings about repentance. Truly coming before God and considering who our God is should lead us to see our unworthiness and faults before God.

Rather than solely focusing on all the wrongs and injustices happening around us, we should instead introspect and see that we are flawed, too. We are perhaps not much better than the others whom we think are in the wrong.

It is scarily easy to be filled with self-righteousness and be wise in our own sight when we see wrong around us.

However, in Micah 7:8-9, Micah acknowledges that he himself has sinned against God too.

Crucially, however, he also has faith in God's forgiveness, that God will be His light in darkness, that God will bring him forth to the light, and that he will behold God's righteousness.

In fact, the conclusion of the book of Micah prophesies of the New Testament, where through the death of Jesus on the cross, the ultimate portrayal of the love of God, mankind can receive the forgiveness of sins.

And this forgiveness of sin comes from water baptism in living water (Acts 2:38; 22:16). When we are baptised, our sins are all cast into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). By the blood of Jesus, we have received the forgiveness of sins, and we continue to be cleansed whenever we repent before God.

Conclusion

It is easy to complain, be frustrated, and be discouraged by what we see around us.

May we instead bring everything to God in prayer, looking to the mercy and faithfulness of God. Rather than constantly pointing fingers at others, may we not forget to continuously introspect and humbly repent before our God.