Pray Network Forum

As we slow down after the celebration (and busyness) of Easter week, what do we do now?

The last sayings of Jesus that world-changing day give us a path to tread. Watch this progression:

• “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:32-38)
• “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)
• “Woman, behold your son! . . . Behold, your mother!” (John 19:26-27)
• “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45-50)
• “I thirst.” (John 19:28)
• “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
• “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46)
  
  

The first thing he does on the cross? He prays for others. Even on the cross, praying for others leads to loving them, in this case with his dying gasps for air. Seeing to them by talking to them from the cross, he is loving them. From words of truth and comfort to the criminal, to loving his mother and seeing to her livelihood, Jesus is helping them while being the ultimate intercessor.

But then, note, Jesus' intercessory prayer gives birth to worship. Intercessory prayer loves people; that’s why we have prayer cards on it. With prayer cards to help us, we slow down and look at people in our mind's eye. We think about what their world is like, and what they are going through. The prayer card helps us capture that. So our prayers for them become truly meaningful, not trite.

In Jesus, this was the final path on the cross. The last six hours on the cross began with intercessory prayer for others, and his life ended with the ultimate prayer of surrender. That is worship. In Jesus’ pattern, intercessory prayer becomes the door to complete surrender.

Bob Allums
Director of seeJesus Seminars: A Praying Life

Twitter: @_APrayingLife

P.S. Visit us at seeJesus.net.

There are many ways to pray for the United States.  Some take a very politicized approach to prayer, seamlessly blending politics with spiritual truth in ways that are sometimes inspired and at other times, well, pretty agenda-based.  Others take a more generic approach, simply trusting God to bring about the right results without really concerning themselves too much with specific issues.  Still others take an approach founded not in politics but in Scripture and less issue-based than Word-based.  In this last camp falls a 40-day prayer devotional entitled Desperate for Change, by Dave Butts.

Desperate for Change focuses its prayer topics on scriptural themes such as peace, hope, courage, and wisdom.  Each day's devotion features a couple of paragraphs on that day's theme, then two or three bullet points to guide prayer and finally a written prayer from Dave.  The tone is heartfelt, worshipful - and yes, a bit desperate.  Desperate to see God glorified in our country; desperate to see our country return to His ways.  Desperate, in the words of Day 1's devotion, to see the United States reverse the trend of placing man's wisdom above the truth of God's word.

This 40-day devotional is great for individual or small group use; but perhaps its greatest potential lies in using it as a guide for a churchwide prayer campaign.  If it's true (and it is) that the greatest difference Christians can make on the direction and shape of our country is through prayer, then Desperate for Change is an investment in our country that the Church cannot afford to pass up.

Desperate for Change is available through Harvest Prayer Ministries at www.prayershop.org (click the picture for a link directly to this resource).  It's also the basis for the "As One" prayer campaign featured in the Praying for the United States group (http://www.pray.network/group/praying-for-the-united-states) here on Pray.Network.

 I have an answer for you if you have been looking for a grandparenting resource to help you with your grandparenting. Join thousands of grandparents who have read Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for your Grandchildren who have found the book valuable in praying for their grandchildren.      

I was a frustrated long distance grandparent with little involvement in the lives of my grandchildren. However, God showed me how I could impact the lives of my grandchildren and gave me a passion to intentionally pray for them, if they lived nearby or far away.

Here are five of the many benefits you will learn from my book entitled, Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for your Grandchildren.

• Encouraged to pray regularly and deliberately for your grandchildren.
• Suggestions to imprint another generation with the message of God’s faithfulness.
• How prayer can help bridge the distance between you and your grandchildren
• Creative resources to grandparent with a purpose
• Examples of Scriptures to pray
• How to develop a Photo Prayer Journal

This book won’t make you the perfect grandparent, but it will give you resources to Grandparent with a Purpose. As a result of writing this book I was made more aware of grandparenting with a purpose by the way I live my life and intentionally pray for my twelve grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and their parents. I am the National Prayer Coordinator of Christian Grandparenting Network and eager to share these resources with you that have meant so much to me.

Quin Sherrer, co-author of Grandma, I Need Your Prayers writes, "This book will help you pray with more passion and purpose as you lift those precious grandchildren and their needs to the Lord each day.” Check out the endorsements for the book at on the website: http://www.grandparentingwithapurpose.com/endorsements/

• The soft cover book, retails for $11.99 plus shipping, however, for a limited time I have a special offer of $10.50 including shipping in the U.S. I will include 2 bonus prayer cards of “Suggestions to Pray for Children in School: Preschool, Elementary, High School and College” and “31 Scriptures to Pray for your Grandchildren.” Order soon before the special offer expires. It is also a Great gift idea for your grandmother for Mother’s Day.
• The eBook is available for $3.99 from Amazon or Redemption Press on the website which is excellent for foreign orders to save shipping cost.

Now you are at the point of making a decision:

Are you going to learn how you can Grandparent with a Purpose?

To Buy Now: Go to http://www.grandparentingwithapurpose.com click on the Purchase button, complete order form, and the book and bonus will be shipped immediately for orders in the U.S.

May God bless your richly as you pray for your grandchildren,

Lillian Penner, National Prayer Coordinator

Christian Grandparenting Network

lpenner@christiangrandparenting.net

Last week I started a new blog, Thinking in The Spirit, http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/. I began writing about the relief and refuge of repentance. Next week I will continue that theme. But this week, and every other week in the future, I want to return to Watching in Prayer.

This being an election year in America, I want to talk to you about praying your politics. What does this mean? How do you apply this dictum?

If you get serious about doing this, you will of course pray your thinking. Nearly all of us feel like what we believe our country needs is being threatened. And I believe you need to do that even if I do not agree with your politics.

But let me ask you if you are praying for your morals. How important are your morals to you? Are you tempted to focus more on the economy or your comfort, your own benefit above what God declares to be right or wrong?

Do your morals include compassion? Compassion is the most critical thing Jesus spoke of concerning judgment of the nations.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” 

Matthew 25:31-46

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

Connect, Communicate, Collaborate, Celebrate

Acts 2:46-47 “Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” NAS

I am often motivated by the word, “Together,” especially in Scripture. Jesus called His disciples together in order to teach, fellowship, give instruction, equip, and rejoice with them. He never sent His disciples out alone; He taught them the importance of scattering in groups of two or more to minister and gathering back together to share and celebrate what God had done in and through them.

The Great Commission was meant to be accomplished together; with each person praying, caring for others and sharing the Good News of Jesus with every person on earth until Christ’s return. It would be impossible for one person or even one ministry to connect with every person, and so we MUST work together. We join together neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city, reaching out to and through every cultural sphere of influence – education, arts, healthcare, military, government, church, sports, people with disabilities, workplace, etc., … so that every generation, every race, every person, is being prayed for, cared for and having the gospel shared with them with the authentic love of Jesus Christ.

It is with all of this in mind that I encourage you to Connect, Communicate, Collaborate and Celebrate with one another. The Mission America Coalition and its initiatives such as
LOVE2020, have challenged us as Christ-followers, to live a “Prayer, Care, Share” lifestyle in a deliberate way that touches every person in America with the love of Jesus. This can only be accomplished with TOGETHERNESS; by connecting with other Christ-followers and ministries; secondly, by communicating with one another often and clearly to share ideas, needs and burdens, and to strategize on how to accomplish all that needs to be done. Thirdly we all need to collaborate on the strategies so that there is ACTION and progress that takes place.

Collaboration accelerates the advancement of praying for people, caring for people and sharing the message of salvation. Finally, we cannot miss an opportunity to celebrate every victory; every person who is fed, educated, given healthcare, and opportunities to live out their God- given gifts and purpose. We need to celebrate communities coming together in crisis and in strengthening the connectedness of their neighborhood. Share the stories of people who reach out to families suffering in times of loss, illness, military deployment, or unexpected events that life can bring. Modeling love motivates others to follow these great examples of living beyond ourselves, and celebrating these moments assures us that we are making progress and spurs us on to do more. It lifts hearts and gives hope to a hurting world when they see communities being transformed; as multiple areas of need are met, and people are loved as Jesus demonstrated and commanded.

Who can you connect with? How have you communicated with the ministries and churches in your area? How can you collaborate with multiple ministries to reach the needs of your city? When was the last time you shared a great story of “Prayer, Care, Share,” in action so others could celebrate with you? There are so many ministries, churches and Christ-followers in America and around the world and we MUST practice connecting, communicating, collaborating, and celebrating more and more each day in order to reach America and the world with the love of Jesus.

The prayer of St. Francis.

The peace prayer.

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek 
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

(Claim made in Sports Illustrated, 3/14/16)

The Million Praying Grandparents Movement is for grandparents worldwide who recognize the desperate moral and spiritual climate our grandchildren navigate in a world hostile to truth.

Imagine the impact on our world today when a Millions Plus Grandparents are intentionally praying for their grandchildren and their parents throughout the world.

In an attempt by secular humanists to develop a secular society, they have very strategically and very intentionally whittled away at our Godly heritage. Today there is an urgency for grandparents to unite in mass numbers to be prayer warriors for the next generation.

If you are a grandparent grasping the urgency I urge you to signup for the Million Praying Grandparents. When grandparents sign up they are declaring their commitment to pray regularly for their grandchildren, their parents and outside influences.

 As a way of saying thanks for that commitment, grandparents will receive a free printable copy of a Million Praying Grandparents Prayer Resource to help them pray intentionally for their grandchildren using God’s Word.

For the sake of the hearts, minds and souls of your grandchildren, will you say, “YES, I will join the Million Praying Grandparents movement?”

Go to the Million Praying Grandparents website

http://www.millionprayinggrandparents.com and follow the instructions to sign up to be a part of the Million Praying Grandparents movement?

I would like to have a Million Praying Grandparents joining together to pray for the next generation on September 11, 2016, Grandparents’ Day of Prayer.

Will you encourage your friends to become a part of the Million Praying Grandparents movement to impact the next generation to know and follow Christ wholeheartedly?

Lillian Penner

National Prayer Director, Christian Grandparenting Network

lpenner@christiangrandparenting.net

This first post in my new blog THINKING IN THE SPIRIT. Most of the posts in this new blog will not be good to post here on Pray Network. But this post could well have been entered in WATCHING IN PRAYER, which I plan to continue to post every other week. However, I am approaching even this similar entry from a different perspective and intent.

And as I finished writing this entry, I decided that because the segments were so short my readers would be tempted to skip over them too quickly. These are profound truths even though they can be written briefly and are not difficult to understand. So, I will divide them into three shorter blog posts on this subject.

The first of Martin Luther's 95 Theses read, "All of life is repentance."

We may tend to dread repentance and avoid it at all cost. But that is a wrong view of repentance. Repentance is a relief in the light of the gospel. And it leads to a life of freedom and satisfaction.

Look at this powerful prayer of David in Psalm 139.

"Search me O God and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Searching the Dependence of Your Heart

One of the primary reasons we need God to help us search our hearts is that we fall away from depending on Him for righteousness, meaning and fulfillment. I can avoid examining my heart because I don’t want to admit my weakness and failings. This ignores the source of my righteousness.  

The Hebrew word for thoughts here refers to anxious thoughts. If I am depending on my own goodness to be sufficient, I will be stressed to my limit. But we depend on the sacrifice of Jesus for our righteousness. We come to God in the purifying power of His blood. And we depend upon Him for our purpose, dignity and fulfillment in our lives.

It is a wonderful relief to repent of finding our righteousness and fulfillment in ourselves. Repentance does not just turn from lying, but from the motivation that thinks I need to bolster my position, hide my weaknesses or gain respect.

What are you depending on that needs the relief of repentance?

http://daveswatch.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

A Prayer Guide For Churches Hungry for Revival and Ready for Renewal 

Sundays

• Ask the Lord to bring a fresh wind of his Spirit that revives our devotion to Christ and our dedication to his calling on our Church – no matter what cost or changes we must face

Mondays

• Ask the Spirit to reveal your sins and spiritual weaknesses, then confess them, receiving his cleansing and renewing your commitment to ongoing discipleship

Tuesdays

• Ask the Spirit to reveal the sins and spiritual weaknesses of our congregation, then confess them, welcoming his cleansing and restoration and leading

Wednesdays

• Seek the Lord, declaring our desperation for renewal that purifies our worship and enlivens our fellowship

Thursdays

• Seek the Lord, declaring our desperation for renewal that focuses our leadership and increases the generosity of our stewardship

Fridays

• Seek the Lord, declaring our desperation for renewal that empowers each of us to love our neighbors and impact our neighborhoods

Saturdays

• Pray the “Prayer Adventure” will be attended by many with a heart for revival and a mind open to Spirit led renewal ...will equip prayer champions in every family and ministry ... will result in children and youth incorporated into the Holy Spirit’s ministry of prayer in our church

Recently I read in Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, “Entrust your loved ones to me; release them into My protective care. They are much safer with Me than in your clinging hands. If you let a loved one become an idol in your heart, you endanger that one—as well as yourself. When you release your loved ones to Me, you are free to cling to My hand.”  It is hard to cling to God’s hand when our hands and hearts are full of concerns and worries for our grandchildren and their parents. I have found that if I let go of my concerns and worries asking the Holy Spirit to intercede for me in their behalf according to Romans 8:26,27 I don’t carry the heavy load and He gives me peace.

Our grandchildren hear many voices from our culture telling them who they are, what they can do and what they are to believe, where they call wrong right and right wrong. Just as social media Instagram has filters to focus the pictures; we need filters in our lives to recognize the evil and deception in our world today. God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments to filter their lives when they were surrounded by the cultures of the people living around them.  We have the Word of God to filter our lives in the culture that surrounds us today, so we as grandparents, need know God’s Word to leave an example of a godly legacy.  

Let’s pray our grandchildren will grow into the knowledge of God’s Word so they can use it for their filter to recognize the evil and deception in our secular society.

Can you Imagine the impact on our world today when a Million Plus Grandparents worldwide, are entrusting their dear grandchildren to Jesus and intentionally praying for their them and their parents.

If you grasp the urgency of our time to entrust our grandchildren and their parents to Jesus, then I urge you to signup for the Million Praying Grandparents. You may be a praying grandparent, however will you join the Million Praying Grandparents Movement declaring your commitment to pray regularly for your grandchildren.

As a way of saying thanks for that commitment, you will receive a free printable copy of a Million Praying Grandparents Prayer Resource to help you intentionally pray for your grandchildren using God’s Word.

Benefits of joining the Million Praying Grandparents:

1. Being a part of Million Praying Grandparents uniting in prayer for their grandchildren and their parents.
2. Receiving a prayer resource of “Scriptures to Pray”
3. Receiving a prayer resource weekly.

For the sake of the hearts, minds and souls of your grandchildren, will you say, “YES I will join the Million Praying Grandparents movement?”

Go to the Million Praying Grandparents website http://www.millionprayinggrandparents.com and follow the instructions to sign up to be a part of the Million Praying Grandparents movement?

I will appreciate it if you will share my vision of getting a Million Plus Praying Grandparents to unite in prayer for their grandchildren with your friends. Will you encourage your friends to become a part of the Million Praying Grandparents movement to impact the next generation to know and follow Christ wholeheartedly?

Lillian Penner, National Prayer Director, Christian Grandparenting Network, lpenner@christiangrandparenting.net

1(Taken from Jesus Calling, Aug. 23.)

This has seemed strange to some of you when I have done it in the past. But it is crucial that I ask my readers to pray for me and for my blog. This is important because all wisdom, all discernment and all knowledge come from God. If He does not speak through my writing, no one will benefit.

This is true about anything you read, anyone who teaches or any preacher you listen to. Pray for God to speak to them. And ask Him to speak through them. I have a particular request this week, although God may impress you to pray something entirely different for me.

Here is my request. I am considering starting a new blog. I think I will call it, "THINKING IN THE SPIRIT." If indeed I do this, I will write one week in my WATCHING IN PRAYER Blog, and the next in THINKING IN THE SPIRIT. Pray for clear guidance for me in this matter.

God bless you.

Dave

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

Monday Morning Manna: Angels as Prayer Partners When I teach on prayer I usually include the role of angels as one means through which God responds to our requests. I occasionally have a challenger in the group that questions my comments. I simply reply that 34 of the 66 books in the Bible mention angels, including Hebrews 1:14, which refers to angels as, “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation.” I then clarify that nowhere in the Bible does anyone address a prayer TO an angel, but rather angels assist God as our heavenly prayer partners. Furthermore, the songs we sing often refer to angels – from the traditional, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” to the more contemporary, “We are standing on holy ground and I know there are angels all around.” The Bible tells us of angels protecting God’s people, delivering God’s people, delivering God’s message to God’s people, delivering God’s punishment on behalf of God’s people, renewing physical strength, being accompanied by light, and accompanying the blessed dead to heaven. Following a wreck a few years ago, my wife described it as feeling like a big hand took our van and guided it safely on its side to stop just short of a large concrete abutment. Later I read Psalm 91:11-12, “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” I believe in angels. How about you? Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.

There’s no denying it: smartphones are, well, smart. Nifty and immensely helpful gadgets, they seem to do everything we need: connect us to our peeps, answer all our questions, and guide us to our destinations. We grab them when we wake up, and fall asleep with them in our hands. (See infographic, below). We drive with them, keep track of our kids with them, and work better with them. As a nation, we have become addicted to the kind of personal technology that helps us live life, lose weight, look smart, and keep up with the daily grind – yet still fits in our pocket. There really isn’t much a smartphone can’t do – and we like that – a lot!

For those of Judeo-Christian backgrounds, however, the smartphone explosion looks uncannily like a scripture passage in Deuteronomy 6. It reads:

Click here to continue reading

Jesus says in the Great Commission, "Go and preach the Gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15). 

This week, I was inspired by an idea Kevin Senapatiratne wrote about at Christ Connection. It's a great new "tool" for my missions toolbox, and I asked Kevin if I could share it with others. He is delighted to share this idea with you, too, and you'll find it right here:

Be the Spark to a Great Awakening!

God made the first “Cordless” phone, the model was called Prayer, it never loses the signal, and the Holy Spirit does the recharging. The line is never busy; you don’t have to press a number for your language, it is always available 24/7.

Prayer is the greatest and lasting gift we can give our families. Material things are needed but they are temporary. Our prayers can be lasting and will have a ripple effect to our grandchildren and future generations.  

Several years ago, I found a precious letter in my family’s archives. My great-grandfather in Poland, a minister wrote to my grandfather, who had immigrated to America. (pictured) One line in the letter struck me with both comfort and conviction: “I faithfully pray for you, for your children, and for your future generations.”   

I am happy to say, I along with my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are benefiting from his prayers. It’s been a blessing for me to have such a rich spiritual heritage knowing that before I was born, my great-grandfather prayed for me from halfway around the world.  

However, my great-grandfather’s letter convicted me, making me question myself. How do my prayers spiritually shape the lives of my twelve grandchildren and four great-grandchildren? How can I learn to pray more effectively for them?  Then I learned the best way to defeat the enemy is to pray using Scripture verses, the sword of the Spirit according to Hebrews 4:12.

Let’s intentionally pray for our children, grandchildren and future generations and watch the ripple effect of our prayers in our families, their careers, and their communities as we pray for them. As we invest in our own walk with the Lord, we are investing in their lives.  

Ask yourself:

1. What kind of spiritual impact do I have on my family members?
2. Am I leaving a ripple effect with my prayers for my family?
3. Will my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren want my Jesus?

If you sign up to receive my blog on this page I will send you a free printable copy of “31 Scriptures to Pray for your Grandchildren” taken from the book, Grandparenting with a Purpose available on this website.

By Lillian Penner, National Prayer Coordinator, Christian Grandparenting Network

The Apostle John trembled as he was given this wonderful promise from heaven.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them."

What does it mean to die in the Lord? Whatever it means, I am sure you know the only way you can die in the Lord is to be living in the Lord when you die. This is one of those verses that are so full of truth that it continually spills out on you. God is so anxious to give this promise to you that you cannot read it without hearing His voice speaking to your heart.

This phrase is very like Paul's modest depiction of himself as "a man in Christ." (2Cor.12:2) Being in Christ means being swallowed up in Him. Most pertinent to this blog is being in communion with Him. Are you listening to Him? How much time do you spend each day in prayer.

Being in communion with Christ means being in fellowship with His church. A primary way God speaks to us is through the church. Of course He will speak to you through the teaching and preaching in the church. And God has often spoken to me as I spoke to Him in worship. God also speaks to us through other people in the church. If you allow Him to, the Lord will speak to you through someone who is less mature spiritually. But I believe we experience our closest fellowship with God when we pray together with other believers in church.

Are you in communion with the Lord?