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Kneeling in Prayer

9651026461?profile=originalThe etymological root of the word bless in the Old Testament is, to kneel! The implications of the idea are explosive. In northern Europe, inside one of the great cathedrals, there is a triptych of paintings depicting prayer. The first portrays a marketplace scene full of hurried activity, merchants selling and shoppers bartering. The second offers a window on a small sacred assembly, a handful of folks who have stepped from the busy streets into the temple for a moment of prayer. There, priests occupy themselves with candles and oil, lamps and basins. Even there, one finds bustling and busyness. In the final scene, behind closed doors, is a solitary seeker. He is alone, kneeling in the Presence of God, humbly, in prayer. Here at last is the hidden, secret life of prayer. It is the key to power. It is this calibration with heaven of our inner gyroscope that keeps us upright and sane in the crazy, covetous world in which we live.

To kneel is to position oneself for blessing from God. It is a declaration of dependence. It is an act of humility. It is the tranquility of stillness. How can we move about on our knees? It is the lowering of self. It is coming beneath the shadow of God. It anticipates God above, hovering, touching, giving life, brooding, anointing, imparting – blessing! It the opposite of arrogance, of self-sufficiency, of proudly standing by one’s own strength. It is the end of pride. In the Hebrew mind, the knees were an indication of strength and, therefore, to bend a knee was to subordinate strength to God. Prayer, kneeling, is learning to lean into His strength. To kneel is to seek the blessing of God. It anticipates a positive response. It expects the gift of grace. It awaits a sense of His loving Presence. It looks forward to what God might say or do!

In your prayer time this week, draw even closer to God by falling to your knees as an expression of humility to Him.

  • This blog is part of The Praying Church Handbook – Volume III – Pastor and the Congregation which can be purchased at alivepublications.org>

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9651024652?profile=originalIf you were to create an annual prayer calendar with the most significant prayer events included, one of those "must-have" events would be Seek God for the City, the Lenten prayer campaign promoted each year by Waymakers.

Seek God aims to unite believers and churches in prayer for their cities and communities by providing a daily prayer guide covering the period from Ash Wednesday through Palm Sunday.  Available as a printed booklet and as an app for iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire, the SGFC prayer guide leads participants on a prayer journey through their communities and around the world.

Seek God is written in devotional style, each day featuring Scripture verses, a brief written out prayer, further prayer bullet points and countries of the world to pray for.    The app links these countries to Operation World's website, which provides more detailed information for each country.  Each day also includes an idea for prayer-walking.  The daily devotions are grouped into weekly themes, all around the general topic of Seeking God.

Churches and individuals across the country use Seek God for the City to inform their prayers for their cities and communities.  The consistently vertical context of the prayers combines with a focus on specific segments of city and community to create an unusually well-balanced prayer initiative.  If you're looking for a great way to pray for your neighbors and your community, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more comprehensive, more God-focused, more balanced prayer guide.  Additionally, a free children's prayer guide (PDF) is available for download from the Waymakers website, making prayer accessible to the entire family.

The Seek God for the City campaign runs from Ash Wednesday (February 10) through Palm Sunday (March 20). We invite all members of Pray.Network to join in the prayer!  The printed guide is sold out, but you can still download the app - click on the picture at the top of this Spotlight to go to the webpage where you can access the various app stores.  In addition, you can participate in several ways right here on Pray.Network:

 

The greatest gift you can give your neighbors, your community, and your city is the gift of prayer.  Join us!

 

Pray.Network Spotlight by Andrew Wheeler.

See Andrew's website at www.togetherinprayer.net

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Jennifer Kennedy Dean joined Pray.Network in July 2010.  She is a featured speaker at prayer conferences and is the founder and Executive Director of Praying Life Foundation.  Pray.Network recently caught up with Jennifer for a quick interview.

 

PN: What is the heart of the Praying Life Foundation's ministry?

JKD:  My passion is to see the body of Christ become the prayer force it is designed and called to be.  “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms“ (Eph. 3:10 NIV). And to see individual believers living in the power and provision of God, thereby acting as platforms for God’s activity. Being His living proof.

 

PN: You distinguish between a "prayer life" and a "praying life".  Can you explain that?

JKD: You might think of prayer this way, “I have a home life, I have a work life, I have a leisure life, I have a prayer life… .” Prayer is part of your life. Or, you might realize that you can live a praying life. That prayer is more than words sandwiched between “Dear God” and “amen.” That prayer is a constant and uninterrupted flow between your heart and His, sometimes articulated in sentences, but sometimes rising from the heart in like incense and understood perfectly by your Father in heaven. All my adult life—40 plus years – from my earliest days, I have been writing and speaking about a praying life. It defines the essence of my message.

 

PN: What led you to start Praying Life Foundation?

JKD: My late husband and I constituted The Praying Life Foundation in 1990 to provide a ministry framework for the message we felt called to invest our lives in. We wanted to offer resources to the body of Christ to help develop mature intercessors.

 

PN: What do you believe is the unique contribution that God has called PLF to make in promoting and teaching about prayer?

JKD: I think my particular call in communicating truths about prayer is to help believers tackle some of the hard questions about prayer, like “If God is sovereign, why do we pray?” My niche is to be an “explainer.” I believe my strength is to be able to impart a deep and solid understanding of prayer that will give my audience a grounded discernment and acumen in the area of prayer.

My own private approach is to pull at every thread until I find its end—to ask every question until the Living Word has revealed in Scripture a satisfying answer. Over all these decades, I keep discovering more and more about what makes prayer work the way the Scripture promises it will work. I am on a long journey, the end of which I have not seen.

 

PN: In your experience, what are one or two areas that people struggle most with in prayer?  How would you address those struggles?

JKD: My book Prayer Fatigue: 10 Ways to Revive Your Prayer Life  addresses just this. If I had to choose just two, I’d say (1) Feeling that prayer is having no effect; and (2) trying to follow someone else’s pattern and feeling that you fall short.

 

PN: Finish this sentence:  "If you _______, then Praying Life Foundation can help you _____.

JKD: Want to find a deeper understanding of prayer, or are feeling stuck and discouraged about prayer, the Praying Life Foundation can help you discover what the Word says about living in the power that prayer releases.

 

PN: Any parting thoughts for Pray.Network members?

JKD: I am obsessed with prayer and how to live a praying life! Have been for all of my adult life.  My core message comes in Live a Praying Life® which was one of my earliest works and has been updated and revised several times since first released. Teaching and talking about those concepts is as new and exciting to me as when I first began to teach them, decades ago.

 

PN: Be sure to check out Jennifer's latest blog entry on Pray.Network.

 

Bloggers can sign up for a copy of Jennifer Kennedy Dean's new book #Synced. Join the tour with @litfuse http://bit.ly/1IYXT9H.

 

Pray.Network Spotlight by Andrew Wheeler.

See Andrew's website at www.togetherinprayer.net

 

 

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Explosive Faith

By Jennifer Kennedy Dean

From The One Year Praying the Promises of God

Fear flees when faith is activated. No matter how intimidating your circumstances appear, you don’t have to succumb to fear. You can exercise explosive faith.

 

The LORD said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors.” Joshua 6: 2

 

As God was speaking these words, the Israelites were standing outside the fortified city of Jericho. It was surrounded by two parallel walls about fifteen feet apart. Jericho was no illusion. There it stood— fortressed, barricaded, impenetrable. To the Israelites’ physical sight, taking Jericho was difficult, if not hopeless. Cities such as Jericho had convinced ten of the twelve spies sent to scout out the land forty years earlier that Israel could not conquer it (see Numbers 13: 27-28). Fear activated by the sight of such an intimidating obstacle had already stolen forty years as well as an entire generation of people. Now, everything their eyes could see told them that this was still a lost cause.

 

But when God spoke to Joshua and called him to battle, he said, “I have given you Jericho” (emphasis added). The verb tense indicated that it was already a done deal. Finished work. Just waiting for the people’s obedience to bring that completed promise into their experience.

 

The writer of Hebrews tells the story in a few well-chosen words: “It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down” (Hebrews 11: 30). When the people obeyed the Lord’s command and marched around Jericho for seven days, the walls fell.

 

When the promise of God comes into contact with our faith-fueled obedience, an explosion of power results. Walls fall. Obstacles disappear. Enemies flee.   

 

You may be looking at a Jericho today. Maybe something in your life looks too big for you. Your enemy might be pointing out all the reasons why your obstacle will win the day. If so, remember this: when God calls you to battle, He has already won the victory. The only way your Jericho will stand is if you believe your limited perceptions instead of God’s Word and slink away, missing the opportunity to see God’s power in action.   

 

RESPOND

What obstacles in your life look too big for you right now? What changes in your perception if you redefine your circumstances by what your heart knows instead of what your eyes see?

 

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9651021870?profile=originalThe Church Prayer Leaders Network (CPLN) is an organization devoted to helping prayer leaders grow their churches in prayer.  Led by Jon Graf (who also publishes Prayer Connect), CPLN provides a number of resources for prayer leaders - whether on a church staff or volunteers - and also for other leaders interested in growing prayer.  An excerpt from their website explains their purpose:

The Church Prayer Leaders Network is for anyone who desires to see his or her church make prayer foundational to its entire ministry. Though designed specifically for the person in a local church (pastor or layperson) who has been given the task of leading prayer, the site and network is much broader than that. If you are in any type of ministry in your church, and have a heart for encouraging others to grow in prayer, this is for you. Pastors, small group leaders, intercessors, elders, youth and children's workers, worship leaders--anyone who leads and wants prayer to be central to what they do--will benefit from joining the CPLN.

Our desire is to encourage, challenge, and equip you to be a champion of prayer in your church.

Among the resources available on CPLN's website, you'll find:

  • A link to the Connection! Daily devotional (which we've covered in a previous Spotlight)
  • Articles and prayer ideas to help prayer leaders promote prayer within their churches
  • Pray the Word, a collection of scriptural prayers to pray for your church
  • Subscription to Prayer Connect, a bi-monthly magazine for prayer leaders and intercessors

Besides the website, CPLN offers memberships for individual or churches.  These memberships include subscriptions to Prayer Connect and discounts on prayer resources at www.prayershop.org (Harvest Prayer Ministries).

One of the most interesting aspects of the CPLN ministry is their regional prayer conferences (we highlighted the Midwest Prayer Conference in a previous Spotlight).  These conferences are great opportunities for prayer, learning, and networking and provide great spiritual retreat experiences.  They're hosted by churches - see the "conferences" page on their website for more information.

The life of a prayer leader can be a lonely one, especially in churches where prayer is a relatively small ministry (which would be most churches).  CPLN is a great way to be reminded that as a prayer leader, you're not alone; and it's a great source for resources to help you honor God through growing your prayer ministry.

 

Pray.Network Spotlight by Andrew Wheeler.

See Andrew's website at www.togetherinprayer.net

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PRAYING HISTORY

At the beginning of a new year it is worthwhile to consider God's perspective of time. While we indeed pray to the God who cares about you every day and every moment, we also pray to God who holds all of history in his hands.

In Isaiah 46:10,11 God says, "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish my purpose. . .  I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.’"

God sits above time. And He hears and answers prayer from that perspective. Look with me at Romans 8:26-30.

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."

This is a powerful passage to meditate on at this or any time of year. I am convinced that you will get more out of this by memorizing these verses and praying over them than by anything I can write here.

But let me point out some important truths about prayer in this passage. When does God hear and answer your prayers? God who is omniscient heard your prayer before the beginning of time. In His great love God invited you to pray before the foundation of the universe. God planted you as a prayer warrior in this moment of history. And He does whatever needs to be done down through the tapestry of history to answer your prayer.

God created beings that could love Him by giving us choice. But angels and men have chosen evil over God. And now we live in a broken world. Yet God has promised to weave His goodness into a tapestry of good in the lives of His own people. A poem on John 8:32 from my book I AM has the lines

"Then you will come to know and understand

All that you longed for, but you couldn’t be."

God is working everything together in your life for good.

And God is weaving the glorious tapestry of your eternal destiny. The final verse that I printed from Romans 8 tells us that God has justified those whom He has called. And everyone whom He has justified, He has already glorified. God also hears your prayer from the end of time. And He sees His completed glory in your life and in all of history.  

http://daveswatch.com/

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PRAYING IN THIS HOUR

Jesus began His powerful prayer in John 17 with the words, "Father, the hour has come."

Dawson Troutman is one of my spiritual heroes. Daws (pronounced dos) preached a powerful message entitled The Need of The Hour. In the sermon he said he started by thinking the pressing need was to train men. But as he prayed about it, he decided that the need of the hour was for us to believe God would accomplish what He alone can do. Faith-filled Prayer is the need of this hour as well.

This final week of 2015 is a crucial time for God's people to pray. Are you praying? Are you Praying in this Hour of Distress? Are Praying In this Hour of Glory? Are you Praying In this Hour of Deliverance?

The Hour of Distress

In John 17 Jesus was praying at the threshold of the cross. All the distress of human history was pressing upon Him. We face much of that distress in these days. And you need to understand that God has intentionally planted us in these days. Like Queen Esther, we have been brought forth for such a time. We are the people called to live and pray and serve Him in these days.

The Hour of Glory

I have been struck by the prayer of Jesus, "Father, glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you?" Who would have believed Jesus could be glorified on the cross? Yet all glory from before the beginning to the end of the age rests on the cross.

I have never prayed such a prayer. I have always been afraid to pray for glory. I know my wicked heart that desires my glory above the Father's glory. To be honest my fear of praying for glory is like burying my talent instead of investing. Awareness of my sinful heart is not unwarranted. But I must step out on faith and immerse my temptation in prayer. And I can pray that my Father and the Son will be glorified more and more as He glorifies me.

The Hour of Deliverance

In John 17 Jesus prayed that we would have eternal life which is knowing Him, God the Son, and knowing the Father. I want to pray for many to come to know Him. Some years ago I prayer-walked in Central Asia. There was a pastor there who came from Iran. He was converted to Christ during the Iranian revolution. He said during that time thousands of people came to Christ. I wonder if millions will come to Christ during the Great Tribulation. How many will come to Him in these days?

Let me encourage you to read Anne Graham Lotz' Preprayer for the new year. www.annegrahamlotz.org/cate

I am not sure why the message comes up that the page can't be found. If it does, ignore it and scroll down to 111: Preprayer for the new year.

 

Next week I plan to write on praying for the new year.

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

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THEIR FAITH

A powerful event in the life of Jesus, recorded by Matthew, Mark and Luke, is the paralytic brought to Jesus by several men bearing him on a stretcher.

Matthew 9:2 reads,

And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven."

Notice the wording of this verse. When Jesus saw their faith He told the man his sins were forgiven. This is hard for us to swallow in our individualistic society. We think of spirituality as only one on one with God. But this lone wolf Christianity is not found in the Bible. We come to our Heavenly Father as a family. In Ephesians 2:20-22 we read that we are built up together as a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Lord indwells His church. Jesus established His church so we would pray, trust and experience Him together.

In the church we encourage one another's faith. You may have heard this important truth before. You need other believers in your life to help you process what is teaching you from scripture. You should have someone who is more mature than you spiritually. You need people who are struggling along at about the same place as you. And you need someone who is not as far along in the journey. I have discovered that the person less mature than me in many areas often encourages and strengthens my tenuous faith. And God often gives clear insight to a weaker believer to help me see and believe.

The most astounding thing in this passage may be that Jesus forgave the man's sins because of the others' faith. In the church we even believe for one another. This is not an uncommon experience in the church. Someone is facing a crisis that requires greater faith than she has. She shares the situation with other believers. They begin praying together and the others believe for her as well as with her.  

watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

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An Answer for a Blue and Gloomy Christms

An Answer for a Blue and Gloomy Christmas        9651025694?profile=original

Does the song, “I’ll be home for Christmas”¹ Frank Sinatra made popular in the 50’s make you blue and gloomy because you are not going to see all of your family during this Christmas season make you sad? Grandparents love to be with their loved ones to celebrate Christmas, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. My husband and I will miss several of our family members this year at our family gathering, so we share that disappointment with you.

However, during my winter morning routine of sitting by the fire, having a cup of tea I was reading from my favorite devotional book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. I was reminded of the wonderful gift of God’s presence in my life and the peace that is available to fill my deepest longings when my focus is on Him. 

God never meant for us to be self-sufficient, He designed us to need Him so we will stay close to Him and be complete in Him. He is sitting at the right hand of God waiting for us to bring our lonely heavy hearts to Him to experience His peace, which only He can give.

Very often, I want to figure out how to solve my own issues. Sometimes I try to bury or deny my neediness by pacifying my longings with people or possessions. God carefully designed our longings and feelings of incompleteness, to point us to Him to weather the storms of life.

Sarah Young also writes from Jesus Calling, “When your focus is broad enough to include Me in your thoughts, you feel safe and complete. When your perception narrows so that problems or details fill your consciousness, you feel empty and incomplete.”² 

During the Christmas season, we often hear Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a Child is born and He will be called Wonderful Counselor”. A counselor is an adviser, an advocate or one who gives guidance and instruction. With the promise of Jesus as our counselor, ask yourself, “What need am I holding in my heart, that I can trust God for guidance today?”

As believers in Jesus Christ, we have the privilege to wrap our neediness, our concerns, our loneliness, and our worries into a package and give it to Jesus this Christmas. He is waiting to receive your package so He can give us a gift, which will be beyond our comprehension.    

Prayer

Dear Father, I come to you with all my neediness.

Forgive me for trying to bury and deny my thoughts and feelings,

 pacifying my deepest wishes with people or possessions.

Help me to focus my thoughts on You so I will be aware of your presence.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.  

 

¹ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pk-SLQPYJ0

² Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2004). p 358.

 

 

 

 

 

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The energetic binding force of prayer

Super Glue

When you think of super glue holding things together, what do you picture?  Possibly you first want to know what we are binding together.  Animal, mineral, vegetable…?  A physicist might tend to think of forces like electromagnetic or even atomic.  Scientific observation and study yielded new progressing thoughts in areas like conservation of energy (including measuring all forms of energy before and after a reaction), electromagnetic interaction studies, the vacuum-inertial speed of light (c) is a constant, kinetic energy is proportional to velocity SQUARED, and finally E=mc2, leading to powerful release of atomic energy.  But today we are diving into spiritual power that is “out of this world.”

Are humans actually capable of taking actions that can result in the release of tremendous spiritual power?  The answer is YES when we become aligned with God’s desires and purposes; this brings glory and recognition to Him, and it humbles and satisfies us.  “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

Man’s ability to release God’s power is NOT at all like rubbing a lamp and commanding a genie.  Nor is it like chanting “magical words” or expecting consistently dependable and repeatable results from the application of a formula. 

There is no substitute for humbly submitting our will to the will of God in prayer in dependence and trust in His written promises.  Typically the process of conforming our will to God’s will takes time, commitment to Him, and devotion to prayer.  Psalm 37:4 promises, “delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”  In the middle of that promise is a spiritual reaction (transformation), a yielding of our spirit to His Spirit, including prayers of praise and thanksgiving where we learn to appreciate Him and His ways more.  Philippians 2:13 states for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”  When prayer aligns our spirit with His Spirit He can safely grant us the desire of our heart, since our heart has become conformed to His heart.

But this kind of prayer priority places it above the attention of men, with no fanfare or recognition, but with tremendous godly benefits, like the secret prayers of George Mueller which tapped into God’s grace of daily provisioning of the needs of 10,000 orphans in Bristol during his lifetime.

Here are a couple of passages on being devoted to the priority of prayer FIRST and foremost.  Romans 12:10-12 (AMP) 10 Be devoted to one another with [authentic] brotherly affection [as members of one family], give preference to one another in honor;11 never lagging behind in diligence; aglow in the Spirit, enthusiastically serving the Lord;12 constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ], steadfast and patient in distress, devoted to prayer [continually seeking wisdom, guidance, and strength],  Colossians 4:2  Be persistent and devoted to prayer, being alert and focused in your prayer life with an attitude of thanksgiving.

The early church in Acts practiced such corporate devotion to unifying prayer.  120 were united (powerfully held together) in prayer as they awaited Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit- “with one mind, continually devoting themselves to prayer.”  Acts 1:14  After seeing the fruit of over 3,000 believers added to their numbers in one day, they also continued devoting themselves to prayer.  Acts 2:42  This is the key to doing things God’s way, producing patience to see Him gloriously work as the Head of His body to coordinate our attitudes and actions in accordance with His will at His timing. 

What would our churches and our city be like if we repented and put prayer as the top priority in our personal and corporate lives, transforming each church into “a house of prayer for all nations?” – using the super glue of attitudes and actions of love, and first priority of prayer, depending on, and trusting in, God and His promises and provisions. Jesus prayed in John 17 for us to be known in this world by His badge of love, and united (One in Him- powerfully and corporately) as His effective body. “In Him, all things consist” (hold together). Col 1:17 And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.] We know that He reveals and manifests Himself through His Word and through praying together.  Better times are ahead!

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Pray.Network Spotlight: Urbana 15

9651024661?profile=originalEvery three years between Christmas and New Year, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship sponsors a 5-day mission event called "Urbana", named after its longtime location at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.  The last several events have been held in St. Louis (due to outgrowing the venue), but the conference retains the Urbana brand.  Urbana challenges college students to see the needs of the world and to respond to God's call to expand his kingdom globally.  My own personal prayer life and prayer ministry owes its origins to Urbana '84, so I thought I'd focus this spotlight on Urbana '15, scheduled for 12/27-31, 2015.  (Where did those 30 years go?!)

Urbana is a conference founded on prayer (I've included some of their specific requests for prayer below).  When I attended, we had small group Bible studies in the morning and those same groups met for prayer each night (usually around 10:00), reviewing our days and praying for discernment of God's call; in fact, this was where I (and probably thousands of other college students) first learned to consider and pray about God's path for my life.  And it's no wonder, given the amount of prayer that goes into the conference. 

Urbana's prayer page notes this from David Platt: 

David Platt’s first exposure to InterVarsity came at a preparatory retreat for Urbana 12 speakers in August 2012. One of the things that impressed him the most was our commitment to prayer. He said, “I speak at a lot of conferences. And I have never seen a group putting on a conference who takes prayer as seriously as you all!”

 

Urbana 2015 will guide attendees through studies on the book of Matthew through small groups and expositions; broaden their vision through plenary sessions (with about 16,000 attendees!); and challenge their thinking through hundreds of breakout sessions focused on different topics of missions.  Of particular interest to us as people of prayer, Urbana will open the eyes of students to the concept of missional prayer and will challenge them to understand that, in the words of Eric Alexander, "Prayer is fundamental, not supplemental" to the work of the church.

Students will have an opportunity to begin to practice missional prayer both in their small groups and through a missional prayer room, where they will intercede for the needs of the world.  They'll be given an opportunity and space for worship and reflective prayer, and times and spaces to receive prayer from volunteers at the conference.  In short, not only the conference but also the attendees will be saturated with prayer.  I speak from experience when I say many of them will be changed forever by the encounter.

 

To get a taste of what students will hear, check out this excerpt from Eric Alexander's exposition of Ephesians in Urbana '84: The Ministry of Christian Intercession.

 

If you're passionate about raising up the next generation of prayer warriors within the church, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more strategic event to pray for than the Urbana missions conference.  As God leads you, please lift up the following requests from the Urbana staff:

 

  • Pray that all participants would encounter Christ as we spend hours studying the Gospel of Matthew, hearing careful exposition, and receiving from the Spirit through the gifts of artists.
  • Pray that the Lord would protect, sustain, and direct everyone working to make Urbana as useful and beautiful as possible, including leadership, the worship team, volunteers, media, operations staff, speakers, and prayer ministers.
  • Pray that while on break from campus life—where many are in important conversations about racial justice—students would hear God’s call to justice and be equipped as agents of change and reconciliation. 
  • And pray that we all hear, discern, and embrace God’s call to his global mission—that we have courage to reach beyond perceived limitations, encounter the unfamiliar, risk failure, and say “YES!” to Jesus. 

 

If you're interested in praying during the course of the conference, Sign up to receive daily prayer requests from December 27-31. You can also watch the live stream at urbana.org to guide your prayers.

Pray.Network Spotlight by Andrew Wheeler.

See Andrew's website at www.togetherinprayer.net

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You may have seen Merton Hershberger's posts for prayer for the Arabian Peninsula. Merton has a huge heart for the Peninsula and for prayer for the world.  This week, Pray.Network caught up with Merton to learn a bit more about him.

PN:  How did you come to be interested in prayer?

Merton: I saw my parents pray for the sale of their house and it sold within 4 hours of being offered on the market ... for exactly what they wanted. My final year of high school, God answered 2 major prayers: He provided a full tuition scholarship to the University of Arkansas and the Lord revealed what real love is from 1 John. This was life transforming and I realized quickly about the dialogue nature of prayer and that God really does want to answer our requests prayed in Jesus' Name.

 

PN: What's your favorite passage about prayer and why?

Merton: Psalm 2:8 "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of the earth your possession." This has motivated me to pray for the nations at the ends of the earth where I have seen churches planted, Bibles distributed, and movements amplified in answer to prayer. I have also seen that if I lose faith and cease my prayer, it has negative effects.

 

PN: How have you seen the negative effects of lack of prayer?

Merton: Once I was praying for the salvation of 5 people in Yemen. I had heard nothing about any believers there. I only knew that I was committed to pray for Yemen. However, in my wavering, I gave up praying for those anonymous 5 people. I told God it was ridiculous. Within 2 weeks, the Lord rebuked me by sending news of a group of 5 men who had been studying the Bible and had been found out. The group scattered and was disbanded. Some fled. Some denied. One was held in prison, I believe. I had to confess my lack of faith.

 

PN: Was that the end of what happened in Yemen?

Merton: No! Since then, the church has been planted and hundreds of Yemeni believers gather in various places. The church is heavily persecuted and is facing great difficulty, but prophecy is being fulfilled in Yemen and God is being glorified (Isaiah 60:6). The Lord is using me as the coordinator of an email list and Facebook page that focuses prayer on Yemen. God used my weakness to do something beyond my wildest imagination!

 

PN: What topic(s) of prayer make your heart beat faster?

Merton: Mission to the nations (Hence Psalm 2:8). Prayers for renewal in the church & reformation in society and healing in individuals & families. After highlighting all the prayers in the Bible during one read through, I have seen how deep and high and long and wide are the purposes of God. Salvation. It is huge.

 

PN: What has been your best experience of prayer in community?

Merton: When a prayer missionary was set apart in the community where I live who went on to establish 2 houses of prayer for 2 different regions. Or maybe when I learned via letter that a community of ESL teachers were united in a city in Asia at a university and then saw God enlarge my faith as He established a small movement to Christ among the students, saving exactly the number I prayed for.

 

PN: What resources would you recommend on prayer?

Merton: The Bible. Ears to hear. Eyes to see. Hands to serve. Feet to walk through an area. A heart to love people. And a mind patterned after Christ. Being renewed inwardly day by day.

 

PN: How have you benefitted from the Pray Network?

Merton: Seeing more people praying for the Arabian Peninsula and learning how to cultivate communal prayer in churches. It must be integrated into the church at every level in every person.

 

PN: What word of encouragement do you have for the Pray Network community?

Merton: Stretch out your tent pegs and enlarge the tent. Bring in more people who will pray. Be prayer evangelists: if someone is not saved, pray for them and witness to them about the Lord. If someone is weak, strengthen them in the Lord and bless them. If someone is strong, pray with them for the tearing down of the devil's strongholds. God will watch your back, cause Jesus is coming back.

 

Pray.Network Spotlight by Andrew Wheeler.

See Andrew's website at www.togetherinprayer.net

 

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HEAL OUR LAND

“If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray,  and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way, then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their land.”

It is important for us to see the promise related to this powerful invitation to prayer. God promises to forgive our sin and heal our land.  

There are a number of modern complications to this promise. We need the illumination of the Holy Spirit to apply it. I am going to make some suggestions for doing so. But I urge you to struggle prayerfully with this concern that God may radically impact the way we pray. Notice I did not simply say, the way you pray. There is an urgency in these days for God's people to join in prayer for our nations. And the depth of your convictions will influence the prayers of many.

Here is the first difficulty. When the Lord gave this promise, His people were the nation. His people were the Children of Israel to whom he had given that land. I remember having a friendly disagreement with my college roommate about whether this promise was for America or the Church in our day. Is God promising heal a nation like America, Myanmar Guatemala or China where most people may not be praying? At least as it applies to specific prayers, times and situations, I do not know. I don't believe we can successfully pray for the "Great Tribulation" that Jesus warned us about, not to happen. But I think we are to pray for our nations. Abraham was invited to intercede for Sodom and Gomorrah. In Jeremiah 29:7 the Lord addressed the people taken into exile and captivity in Babylon. He commanded them to pray for the prosperity of that wicked city.

I believe this means we are to pray for the leaders of whatever nation we live in. That sometimes means praying for people who are enemies of God's people. And this means praying for the healing of social problems. Are you praying and working to bring people up out of poverty? Are you praying for people who are addicted to drugs? Are you praying for wounded soldiers returning from war? Are you visiting and praying for prisoners? Are you praying for health care and problems related to it?

This is moral and spiritual as well as social, political and economic. We need to pray for hearts and minds to be changed. I recently had an exchange with an apologist who was angry at someone who was having an evil influence upon young people. He took offense at my suggesting that we need to love this man and pray for him.

I need to be honest, I am tempted to be cynical about the condition of our world. I want to say, "Leave them alone until Jesus comes back. He will make a new heaven and a new earth." But that is not God's will. It is also true that I will be made new when Jesus comes. Should I give up on trying to become like Jesus because it will not fully happen until we see Him? Just as becoming more like Him now relates to being made like Jesus when He comes, so praying and working to make the world a better place now, relates to His reign after He returns.

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http://daveswatch.com/

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A Gratitude Attitude

A recent survey showed Psalm 103 to be the second most favorite Psalm in the Bible (following Psalm 23). Few Psalms are more beautiful; few anticipate the New Testament more. There is no mention in this Psalm of war, illness, calamity, sadness, as in other Psalms. Perhaps there is no purer outburst of praise in scripture than Psalm 103. It is a Psalm for the season. One definition of Thanksgiving is “a holiday set aside to remember with gratitude the blessings God has given us” – even with those things that have become synonymous with the day – family in the house, turkey on the table, football on the TV, leftovers in the fridge, etc. But what about gratitude, the attitude of being thankful? Will you find a place in your Thanksgiving schedule for gratitude, Psalm 103 encourages us to be grateful not only for God, but for the benefits we enjoy because of God. I challenge you to read Psalm 103, then, do as I do every Thanksgiving, express your gratitude to a few people who have blessed you this past year. God is giving you 86,400 seconds each day this week. Surely you can use a few of them to express gratitude to someone. I promise it will make your Thanksgiving more meaningful.

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Prayer, Thanksgiving, and Peace

I recently finished Tim Keller's Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering - a book I highly recommend for those who pray for and with the suffering.  I'll post a review on the book soon.  The next to last chapter had some thoughts on Philippians 4:6-7 that have stuck with me, and I'll try to do them justice here.

Keller makes the point that the "prayer with thanksgiving" that Paul talks about in Philippians 4:6 is different than the way we tend to think of it.  We tend to think of thanksgiving in terms of thanking God for what he has done; in the context of prayer, thanking him for how he has answered prayer.  But Paul's actual instruction is different.  Rather than waiting for God to answer prayer and then thanking him, Paul tells us to pray and thank God at the same time. 

So what are we thanking him for, if we haven't yet received the answer?  This isn't thanksgiving that presumes that God will do exactly what we asked - this is thanksgiving that recognizes that God is in control and that expresses gratitude for his intervention in our lives.  It's thanksgiving that is answer-agnostic; that is, it's thanksgiving that doesn't know how God will answer this particular prayer, but that recognizes that he acts always for our best in the context of his glory.  We thank him for what he has done, but we also thank him for what he is still going to do.

I can't help thinking of a couple of other passages in this context.  Hebrews 11:6 tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."  I've usually thought of these "rewards" in somewhat of an abstract sense but I now think of them more concretely.  Faith isn't just believing that God will answer prayer but that he actually is answering prayer.  We're not waiting for God to work; God is actually working - and the time that seems to us like just waiting is really part of the work that God is doing.

Similarly, James 1:6 tells us that when we ask we must believe and not doubt.    I think the "belief" that James is talking about is more than just belief in God in general - it's belief that he is answering our prayer (specifically in this case, a prayer for wisdom). 

Coming back to Philippians 4, I think that the kind of thanksgiving that Paul is talking about - the kind that's not based on receiving a specific answer but that rather is based on our confidence in God's character and his love for us - helps us to recognize answers that are for our best.  (An example of this is 2 Corinthians 12:9) This, I believe, is the secret to the peace that transcends understanding.  Prayer that's focused on receiving a specific answer doesn't bring peace - it brings uncertainty.  Will I receive the answer I want or not?  How many times I have prayed but not experienced peace - because my prayer was all about a specific answer and not about trusting God for the answer.  But the prayer with thanksgiving that Paul talks about here really does lead to peace, because it enables us to pray and leave it in God's hands, rather than continuing to wonder and worry how he will answer.

So I'm learning to try to hold my desired answers with open hands, and to thank God for the work he is doing - work that he will reveal to me at the time he knows is best.  And I'm experiencing peace by relinquishing my need to have things work out exactly the way I want them.

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We continue our spotlight on the Persecuted Church this week with International Christian Concern (www.persecution.org).  Like Voice of the Martyrs, ICC emphasizes awareness and advocacy on behalf of the persecuted.  ICC specializes in up-to-date news from around the world related to Christian persecution, and is a great source of information for prayer.

Each organization devoted to the persecuted church has a sightly different focus.  ICC's website summarizes their focus this way:

Christ promised his disciples that they would face persecution in the world. He also called the church to be a voice for the voiceless and a defender of the afflicted. We accomplish this by working in three areas: Advocacy, Awareness, & Assistance.

ICC's unique contribution to ministry to the persecuted church is their emphasis on constantly updated news stories.  The home page divides persecution-related news items into three major geographical areas: Far East, Islamic World, and Asia/Others.  Five recent news items in each area are featured, with links to read the full stories.  For a way to keep up to date on persecution-related news, ICC may be the best source on the Web.

ICC has perhaps the most organized advocacy arm of the major persecuted-church ministries.  The advocacy page on their website (http://www.persecution.org/advocacy/) explains the role of advocacy in ministry to the persecuted, provides information about advocacy efforts undertaken by ICC, and offers many opportunities for the individual to advocate for the persecuted church.

Like Voice of the Martyrs, ICC carries out a number of programs to assist the persecuted church around the world, and offers many opportunities for the individual to get involved, through donating, volunteering, etc.  ICC perhaps focuses even more on offering volunteer and even internship and employment opportunities.

ICC offers a number of ways to stay informed and pray for the persecuted church, including  a weekly prayer e-mail, a bi-monthly newsletter, and updated news stories and press releases.  If praying through current events is a focus for your prayer life, International Christian Concern is the place you'll want to go.

 

PrayNetwork.org Spotlight by Andrew Wheeler.

See Andrew's website at www.togetherinprayer.net

 

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Can You Judge a Book by its Cover?

9651023091?profile=originalWe’ve all heard that well worn cliché, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” While most people tacitly assume the wisdom of this statement, we must ask ourselves whether this is universally true. While the saying may apply well to interpersonal relationships, I would argue that in this age of instant communication and sophisticated design, it does not.

Imagine yourself in a in a store. You find yourself considering the purchase of only one of two different brands of shampoo: one is artfully designed and the other looks rather like a junior high school art project. Market research indicates that you will choose the well-designed product, even if it happens to be more expensive.

The undeniable fact is that consumers judge the quality of a product, in large measure, by the quality of that brand’s design. A well designed product reflects an image that the manufacturer wishes to project with regard to the kind of care and attention that went into the development of the product itself.

It is no different for any other type of organization such as a ministry, church or company. One of the main criteria employed to judge all organizations, at least in part, is the quality of their brand. When we speak of “branding,” it involves more than simply graphic appeal. Your brand is a clear, iconic representation of what makes you, you. A brand is your reputation. It tells people how to feel when they think about you. To build a brand for your organization, you must begin by clearly articulating your vision and the outcomes you seek. Practically, your brand ought to be marked by a well-designed logo and overall look. It's important to seek out a design professional for this task because they are specifically trained in design and color theory and understand the affect different design schemes have on various demographic groups. Done right, your brand will clearly communicate what your organization is about — to visitors, donors, members, and the local/national community. How people feel about your organization has everything to do with its success.

The following are some questions to consider as part of your branding strategy:

  1. What is your vision?
  2. Who are you are trying to reach?
  3. What do you want people to feel about your organization/product?
  4. How does your organization define success? Or, what are the results you are looking for?

A well designed brand will give your constituents or consumer base an instant understanding of what is really important to your organization. If your base were to judge your organization by its “cover,” what do you think it would tell them?

 

9651023479?profile=originalKATHRYN MCBRIDE, a Colson Center Fellow, is the founder/principal of Letcetera, Ltd., a graphic design and publishing firm in suburban Chicago. While a visual artist by profession, she also enjoys a variety of creative pursuits. In all that she does, she endeavors to make things beautiful. Kathryn founded and led a ministry for Christian artists and also maintains the website www.AValiantLife.com. She is deeply affected by stories of sacrifice, nobility and courage and seeks to honor those who have given their lives for something greater than themselves. Kathryn was raised in a large family with a rich heritage of Christian missionaries who lived by faith and modeled powerful prayer lives. She resides in the western suburbs of Chicago where she seeks to live out her “life verse”— There is only Christ, He is everything. (Col. 3:11)

It would be such a pleasure to work with you!  I work for a variety of ministries, organizations and corporations. Please visit my website at www.KathrynMcBride.com to see my design portfolio, a partial client list, publishing information and bookstore. If you know someone who has been faithful to the call of God, please visit www.AValiantLife.com and let us know about them. We would love to tell their story.

 

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9651022075?profile=originalContinue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 

-- Hebrews 12:3, NIV.

 

Persecution is not new to the Christian church.  No sooner did the church get off the ground than the persecution began, as Peter and John were brought before the religious leaders and threatened.  Not long after this, the apostles were jailed (Acts 5:17-18) and then flogged (Acts 5:40).  Next, Stephen was seized and stoned to death (Acts 6-7) and a great persecution broke out in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-3).  The conversion of Saul, one of the chief persecutors of the church (Acts 9) didn't stem the tide; we see James the brother of John beheaded (Acts 12:2) and Peter imprisoned Acts 12) shortly after this. It's no wonder that Peter later wrote to the scattered believers that they shouldn't be surprised at the persecutions they were undergoing (1 Peter 4:12-19). 

 

Paul, once a persecutor of the church, found himself on the other end of that persecution after his conversion.  Jesus had warned him how much he would suffer in his new role as proclaimer of the gospel (Acts 9:16), and much of the rest of the book of Acts chronicles not just Paul's successes, but also his suffering. Paul summarizes some of the persecution he faced in 1 Corinthians 11:24-26.

 

The situation of the church hasn't changed much over the centuries.  Persecution by governments from Rome in the New Testament times to North Korea and the Islamic countries today; violence at the hands of institutionalized religion even within the church (common in the Middle Ages and still prevalent in some countries like Mexico); oppression and harassment from family, employers, and neighbors - these occur on a wider scale today than at any time in the church's 2000-year history. 

 

And what is the response of those persecuted for their faith?  What is their number one request of believers around the world?  Prayer.  Prayer, like the prayer of the New Testament church at the beginning of their persecution (Acts 4:23-31).  Prayer, like the prayer of the gathered believers for Peter while he was in prison (Acts 12:12ff).  Prayer, like the prayer commanded in Hebrews 12:3.

 

Each year, in response to the worldwide persecution of Christians, the church observes an International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  The official dates this year are Sunday, November 1 and November 8; but prayer initiatives will be taking place throughout the month.  And PrayNetwork Spotlight will focus in the month of November on various prayer initiatives for the Persecuted Church, as well as pointing out resources to help believers pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters.

 

A great way to get started observing this month of prayer is to watch the recorded IDOP webcast on the Open Doors website.  It's a couple of hours long, so allow some time.  You can find the link here: http://live.opendoorsusa.org/.

 

We'll feature further websites and resources in the next few editions of the PrayNetwork Spotlight.   Please join us in prayer!

 

How about you?  Do you have any stories of persecution and God's provision?  Any special experiences in praying for the persecuted?  Join the conversation!

 

PrayNetwork.org Spotlight by Andrew Wheeler.

See Andrew's website at www.togetherinprayer.net

 

 

 

 

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AS HE HAS FORGIVEN US

Certainly the most disturbing words in the Lord's Prayer are found in verse 12.

"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."

We sometimes flit like a butterfly over these words without letting them shock us to the core of our relationship with God. Jesus calls us to surrender all of our resentments, all unforgiveness, as we ask for His forgiveness.

As with all of the Lord's Prayer, these words can be expanded. You understand calling on God as Father better when you tell Him all that calling Him Father means to you. Your praise will be more exhilarating when you take time to hallow His name in every way you can think of. And you will receive a far greater blessing from this prayer when you let its seriousness wash over you, struggling to forgive people who are hard to forgive.  

Let me show you two steps of spiritual growth that this part of The Lord's Prayer helps us take. By spending time praying this facet of the model prayer (1)we come to accept the mindset of forgiveness and (2)we surrender our hearts to God in the struggle of forgiveness.

In Matthew 18 beginning with verse 23 Jesus taught something crucial to the kingdom of heaven. He told the story of a king who decided to settle his accounts. He was reminded that one of his servants owed him ten thousand talents. A talent represented a fortune in those days. Ten thousand talents would be like a billion dollars today. It would have been impossible for a servant ever to repay such a sum. So the king arranged to sell the servant along with his wife and children and simply call the debt lost. But the servant came before him and pleaded for time to pay the impossible debt. The king showed him compassion and forgave the entire amount. The servant went away with great relief. But a fellow servant owed him a hundred denari. He went to him and demanded payment. When the other man pleaded with him for more time he grabbed him by the throat and began to choke him. He had him thrown into prison until he paid the full amount. The other servants were upset and told their master. The king summoned his servant and rebuked him. "You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you?" In anger the king commanded that he be turned over to the tormentors until he paid all his debt. Jesus then concluded, "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

Does that mean God will resend your salvation if you will not forgive someone? I do not believe it does. In John 10:28 Jesus clearly said about those who are His sheep, "No one will snatch them out of my hand." But this parable, The Lord's Prayer and other passages like Ephesians 4:32, teach that God's forgiveness is inextricably connected to our forgiving others. Forgiving others should be the natural and supernatural overflow of a forgiven heart. When we pour ourselves into this prayer we immerse ourselves in the mindset of forgiveness. I will be honest there are times that I have had to ask God to forgive someone, still confessing that I was not yet forgiving from my heart. And I had to ask God to do the painful work in my inner being that would bring me to forgive as He so painfully purchased my forgiveness on the cross.

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