Manifesto Value: Biblical Justice
When the KC Underground launched in 2019, part of our formation was to adopt the Underground Manifesto created by the Tampa Underground. The Manifesto is comprised of eighteen values that reflect our theological convictions. These values bind us together as a diverse and creative network. This prayer guide will cover one of those values.
Read: Spend some time slowly reading and rereading this value:
Biblical Justice
We will live for the Biblical concept of justice. We have to take a prophetic stand against all kinds of evil, not only spiritual but also societal. All sin and injustice are the enemy of the church and the Kingdom of God. The search for the Kingdom of God is also a search for justice. They are the same longing. In the Kingdom, we find ultimate justice and Biblical justice is more than just punishment for wrongdoing and oppression; it is also the restoration of wholeness, equality, and peace between people and with God. Our value of justice is a call to seek the welfare of every person in our city and in the world that we can influence. It is to hope and work for the Kingdom of God to come to bear on the place where we are. For that reason, our value of justice will mean action in the places where we have power, as well as the pursuit of justice in the proclamation of the Kingdom wherever we have a voice.
Retell: As a practice to embrace what you are reading, grab a journal and write the value out in your own words.
Read: Choose at least 3 - 5 of the following supporting passages and read through them.
Biblical Foundation
Psalms 9:8, Psalms 96:10, Proverbs 31:9, Isaiah 1:15-17, Isaiah 56:1, Jerermiah 29:7, Ezekiel 34:16, Hosea 12:6, Amos 5:15 and 24, Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:6, 6:10, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 12:18, Matthew 18:5, Matthew 25:40, Luke 11:42, Luke 18:7-8, Luke 19:8-10, John 2:14-17, Acts 6:1-6, Ephesians 6:12, James 1:27, 1 John 3:17,18
Consider: As you read and rewrote this value, what stood out to you the most? What did the Spirit highlight as you read the supporting passages from Scripture? What do you sense the Spirit is saying to you? Take a few minutes to journal your thoughts.
Pray: Now that you have had a few minutes to consider what the Spirit might be saying to you, turn these thoughts into prayers.
Perhaps it is a prayer of repentance: Jesus, I repent for the times I have turned a blind eye to injustice or failed to act when I had the power to make a difference. Forgive me for being complicit in systems of inequality and oppression, whether through apathy, ignorance, or self-interest. Jesus, I confess the ways I have separated spiritual righteousness from the call to seek justice in society. Renew my heart and align my life with Your Kingdom values. Help me to see injustice as You see it and to respond with courage, conviction, and love.
Perhaps it is a prayer of invitation: Holy Spirit, I invite You to lead me into the work of Biblical justice. Open my eyes to the brokenness around me, and fill me with Your wisdom, compassion, and boldness to act. Show me how to use the power, privilege, and voice You’ve entrusted to me to seek justice and restoration in my community and beyond. Lord, let Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done through my words and actions. Use me as an instrument of Your peace and righteousness, that I may proclaim Your justice and bring hope to the oppressed and marginalized.
Perhaps it is a prayer for strength and restoration: Father, I pray for strength to stand boldly for justice in the face of opposition and weariness. Empower me to speak truth to power and to act in ways that bring Your Kingdom to bear in places of brokenness. Father, I also pray for restoration—for those who have suffered under the weight of injustice and for those who work tirelessly for righteousness. Heal their wounds, renew their strength, and remind them that Your justice will prevail. Let us not grow weary in doing good, knowing that in due season, we will reap if we do not give up.
Each of these simple prayers can be a springboard into more. Use the thoughts you journaled above to help guide your prayers. Take some extra time today to pray for the disciple-makers and microchurches across our network, that we would be prophetic voices and active agents of Jesus’s justice, working tirelessly for the restoration of wholeness, equality, and peace in our communities and beyond.
Respond: If Jesus highlighted a particular way for you to respond in obedience to Him today in light of this value from the Manifesto, consider sharing this response with another disciple-maker.