Happy Day After Christmas!

I thought I'd just give you a song today. I will be working, and praying for our city. Please do so today. And thanks to Countryside Baptist for covering us today with 24 hour prayer!

Unity

Today I finally share about the 7 spheres of influence that we are to be praying for. Eventually, this will lead to  us having 7 councils in which the local church performs coordinated action. But, before we can do that, there must be some dedication to the unity of the Body of Christ. Otherwise, we are just a para-church organization. And Jesus did not say that upon this rock he would build His PCO.

No. We must recognize that there is one church in Gainesville, and that it transcends our organizational and denominational borders. And we must love one another, and not merely be committed to a unilateral cease fire. Turf-guarding among pastors is like a married couple keeping separate bank accounts, separate bedrooms, and eating at opposite ends of one of those banquet hall tables. Can we transcend our own special interests to the point that the world notices that we truly love one another and that Jesus must be real?

BTW, no church has today covered with 24 hour prayer. But it's not too late!

Missing

Sorry I went missing yesterday. Blogging was something I kept meaning to do, but got distracted. I still want to thank the people at The Rock of Gainesville for covering our city with 24 hour prayer. Today, it's Oak Park Baptist. Thank you so much for all you do.

This has been a bad week for missing persons. Yesterday I got word that authorities had found the body of a young man who had gone missing. He was only 19, and I have no details. I have known his mother for years, though not very well. I am leaving the name out of it because they are getting enough attention right now.

Currently missing is James Boyle, 23. I always knew him as Garrison and I know his parents fairly well. I have been praying for his safety, his return, and I have also been opposing the forces of darkness on his behalf. I pray that none of this is too late. He has been missing since Friday night.

I know of no other connection between these two young men other than the fact that they had some mutual friends. One was found in Tampa, and one is missing in the Ocala National Forest or thereabouts.

Continue to lift up James in prayer, as well as the family of the unnamed young man. God knows who they are.

Finding your place

I just finished reading an article about the New Monastics, urban Christians making their place with the poor and homeless. I can definitely identify with its appeal, as my wife and I are busily paring down our possessions and preparing to downsize to apartment living. The article appears in the "Politics" section of the Huffington Post, so I found it a bit exploitative, but living among the poor and ministering to them is certainly a part of the Gospel.

When I first became a Christian, I read an old book, "In His Steps" by Charles Sheldon, that touched on this in a different way. It's the popular novel in which some of the people of a small town vow to make no decision without first asking, "What would Jesus do?" What was compelling was that no one thought that Jesus would tell them to stop going to work and doing their jobs. Instead, He went to work WITH them and changed their jobs.

Asking yourself that question is a form of prayer, one for guidance. And whether you are led to move into the poor side of town, or move one of them in with you, it is a prayerful decision. But we are called to do something. First of all, we are called to pray. It changes us before it changes things, and that is definitely the will of God.

There is no church holding 24 hour prayer today. Please consider joining us.

You are able

Do you wonder if you are good enough to pray, get a hearing with God, and get an answer? This world's system is one of special access given to special people. If you are rich enough, wear the right clothes, have enough education, or have the right family pedigree, you will be allowed inside life's velvet rope.

Fortunately, God is not like this at all. He says, "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." He said, "whosoever," and that means you. Further more, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Ask whatever you will.

We do not have to earn a station in life, or get the proper documentation to get an audience with God. He just wants US. We must be willing, not wealthy.

This should cause us great joy, because not only is God willing to hear us and help us, he is big enough to fulfill us; all of us. We don't have to take a number. He will never leave us not forsake us.

Let us start this day by renewing our desire to be a part of God's plan, His mission, and pray. This would be a great day to start and download the prayer list on the right sidebar. No church is signed up to cover this city with 24 hour prayer. Can you pray one hour?

Adding works to our faith

I heard of this a couple of days ago, and it seems to be going viral: people going into Wal-marts and K-marts and paying off people's layaway purchases for Christmas.



The first time I heard of this, the woman who got her bill paid said she was going to take what she was going to spend and do the same thing for someone else. It was reminiscent of the movie, Pay it Forward.

This holiday season, let's remember that while we are praying, that we should add our works to our faith and do some good while we are at it. But then the real test is making it a part of our lives during the rest of our year.

Today, there is no church covering us with 24 hour prayer. We must take up the slack as individuals!

Christopher Hitchens is now defending his thesis

Today we are being covered with 24 hour prayer by the congregation of Abundant Grace.

Famous atheist Christopher Hitchens passed away yesterday. He was the author of "God is Not Great," and he had a huge following. I am not saying this to gloat about his passing, but to remind us that there are many people who have a really big investment in there being no God. While many people are simply ambivalent on their way to Hell, these folk deny its very existence loudly and write books about it. Indeed, he speaks for what appears to be a growing group of noisy anti-theists who mock God if only to get my goat.

For those of us who still believe, we must pray for them to be loosed from this blindness and stubbornness. It is not the argument that will win them over, but a visitation of the Spirit of God.

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 1 Corinthians 1:21

My prayer is that their hearts will be softened and that they will not go the way of their teacher. Ours is a spiritual battle, and we will not win it with words alone. 

The Holy Ghost in the Machine

First, I want to thank Oak Park Baptist for their dedication to praying every Thursday, keeping up a prayer watch of 24 hours. Today, this is your day! They are also being joined by Parkview Baptist because they cover the 15th of every month.

I first heard the expression, "Ghost in the Machine," by a technology writer who was talking about the inexplicable way that computers sometimes act. Now, a couple of years later, I looked it up and discovered that it is a little more philosophical, referring to the primitive parts of our brains where hate, anger, and other destructive forces live.

I was listening to a radio show while driving home one night, and it depressed me. It was a bleak assessment of our American society and culture, and it left me with little hope for this nation. But then I remembered that real change is supernatural. The hopelessly embedded sin that leaves us with cycles of degradation, redemption, and apathy, followed by degradation again, does not get the final victory. There is an eternal life that outlives this cursed planet. And until then, "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:2.

In this present time, we are given a new "Ghost" for our machine: the Holy Spirit, "who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1:14.

This is why we pray: not just to change our temporal situations, but the eternal situations of our fellow citizens, who will outlive this sin-cursed world if we do not give up!

The Season is not the Reason for Jesus

Every year we get touched by something sentimental about Christmas. Something reminds us that we have what we have by the Grace of God. We renew our sense of meaning and being. And after Christmas, so many of us forget it faster than we will forget our New Year's resolutions.

This is why it is important to be a part of something that is ongoing, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our occupation of Earth as the manifestation of the Kingdom of God is not seasonal, and it's not an event. It's reality!! God has called us to pray for the rest of our lives! And we need one another to do that because the things of this world NEVER stop calling us away from God. And the devil NEVER takes a day off. That is the reason this world, this nation, this city, and many of our own lives are lost and full of strife and hopelessness. The Kingdom of Darkness is the real City that Never Sleeps, and we are waiting to get caught up during the holidays...if we are even doing that.

I challenge you to become a better Heavenly citizen. Embrace your rights in Christ Jesus; exercise His power, and repudiate the "god of this world," Satan. (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Meanwhile, today has no 24 hour prayer sponsor...

Divine Intervention or Dumb Luck?

First, I want to say that no church has had Saturday, Sunday, OR today covered with 24 hour prayer for Operation Rolling Thunder. Second, I did take the weekend off from blogging here because I had other writing and reading obligations to attend to. I only have so much time. But I did pray the list yesterday morning before church!



This video has ORT founder Tim Taylor talking about how 24 hour prayer affected a community up north, and about how we, as one city church, are building a wall of prayer around our city.

This weekend, a woman in our church came to me with a story about a group of Christians in Jacksonville, FL mapped out their city to pray over it street by street, on foot. She said the crime rate had decreased by 12% by the time they had covered 12% of the city.

I have not had a chance to verify this story yet, but if it happened, do we believe it was the prayers of the saints, or was it dumb luck? I guess the question should really be, do we give God the glory, or do we attribute it to some sort of mathematical randomness?

This must lead, once again, to Tim Tebow. He won again yesterday, and it has raised the question in living rooms and bars across America: Is it God, or just luck? Week after week, he steps up and it appears that the Lord bails him out. Is that really what's happening? Does God really care about football? Really?? Or does God care about being glorified? That one is much easier to swallow.

And does this Tebow example matter to those of us who want divine intervention in our city? Yes, and here is why. Tebow is committed to a schedule in which he will be on public display, and millions will be watching to see if it happens again. Tim cannot walk away from the table a winner, and let the team play without him. He will be tested week after week until the season is over. But what about us?

When God answers our prayers, do we quit and go out a winner? NO! We come out and play and pray day after day. We glorify God, and let the critics come and do their worst. And our season does not end until WE do.

I challenge you to stick your neck out; spend time in prayer regularly; glorify God, and give Him the opportunity to win the big one while you are on the field, and not on the bench.

Prayer Ambitions

First, there is no church signed up to pray for 24 hours today. Second, I erroneously reported that there was no one covering yesterday, but Oak Park Baptist recently turned up their commitment to every week, and they are doing it on Thursdays. Thank you, Baptist brothers and sisters for having our backs!

Consider this passage and what it means:

12“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." -Jesus in John 14:12-14

It sounds like Jesus has pretty much given us a blank check. And I have heard arguments that discount this, as well as some exploiting it to a somewhat questionable degree. The disciples seemed to have taken this at face value. They healed the sick, did signs and wonders, and converted thousands at a time. They also had violent opposition and suffered great persecution. Was it because they failed to pray that this would not happen?

Mark 10:29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, 30 but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

 Ah, yes. Jesus actually promised us persecutions, so they come with the territory. Nonetheless, the check Jesus has signed off on seems to be of a considerable amount. Why are we not spending it? It may be that we are like the servant who was given a talent of silver and told to invest it. When the master returned, he brought it back to him, wrapped up in the cloth in which he had buried it. He was afraid to use it because, "Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine" Matthew 25:24-2.


I am longing to cash Jesus' big check in Gainesville. I want to see miracles, signs, wonders, and revival. I don't want to stand before Him some day, with these shiny verses in my dirty cloth, saying, "See? I remembered these! I was just afraid to use them because I thought I might make a mistake..."

This is why I am seeking after others who will pray. I believe in Jesus more than I believe in my doubts.

Praying for our Business Sphere

First, I want to thank Fire of God Ministries for their commitment to 24 hour prayer today!

What follows is a part of the ORT Prayer list for Business. This comes on the heels of my post about The Original Occupy Movement. Here is a way to pray for God to influence our business life, and for us to resist the devil in the same place...

Areas concerning Business to pray for: For business owners to prosper and create good jobs with fair pay, for employees to have good work ethic, for fair-minded, reasonable and wise Government Officials that pass righteous laws that help create an environment for good paying jobs

Thank God for:  

• His provision and His plans & purposes for the work of our hands

• His Divine Wisdom & Strength to help

• His Redeeming Grace to sanctify such a significant area of our lives

Repent for:

• Complaining about work – not recognizing your work or job is a gift from God

• Dishonesty in the workplace

• Being a poor Christian example in the workplace

• Complaining about our bosses and our work

• Leaving God out of our business life

• Mistreating other people in the workplace

• Lack of diligence, attentiveness, & excellence in our work

Declare:

• Jesus Christ is Lord over all businesses

• God's Power and Wisdom is available to help prosper the work of our hands

• Our businesses in Gainesville will glorify & please God and help others

• Christians will be salt and light in the workplace

• The Gospel will go forth in the workplace

Pray:

• For those who are unemployed and desperate for work and steady income

• That business leaders will have wisdom & vision to make good & righteous choices

• For Christians to have favor in the workplace

• That there would be honesty and integrity in business dealings

• For bosses to respect workers and workers to respect bosses

• That growth, development, & mentoring be made available in the workplace

• For creative ideas from management and workers to improve product, working conditions & relationships

• That the City, State and National Government would make it possible for companies to be profitable in Gainesville and create a positive workforce

• For Business & Education to network together for the benefit of all

• For Christians to have wisdom and boldness to share their faith in the workplace

Resist the enemy:

• Resist dishonesty and abuse in the workplace

• Resist complaining, back-biting and dishonor in the workplace

• Resist the spirit of greed and the temptation to make money more important than people

The Original Occupy Movement

First, I want to say that there is no sponsor for this day's 24 hour prayer.

In Luke Chapter 19 Jesus tells a story about a nobleman who is leaving for awhile and he gives money to his servants and tells them to, "Occupy until I come." Those servants went out and got mixed results. Some made profits of varying sizes, while one hid his money in a piece of cloth and brought it back, making no profit. The nobleman comes back to reward each according to what he has done. The person who made the most gets more, the person who made no profit has his money taken away and given to the one who made the most.

This is a story that Jesus is telling about himself. His disciples thought the Kingdom of God was going to be restored at that time, and Jesus wanted them to keep their eye on the ball and realize that they had work to do, and that He would not be returning for a long time.

Today's Occupy movement is about taking up space, holding up progress, and making a statement against greed. And it takes place in the vacuum left by the church, which takes up space and has little to say about greed. Well, OK, some churches actually promote greed and materialism.

The church needs to reclaim the original occupy movement by entering the greed discussion from a Biblical point of view instead of what the modern occupiers are doing: opposing it with envy and anger. All of our political problems are merely manifestations of sin and spiritual death. They cannot be defeated by rules and regulations and ignorance-exploiting politicians. Only revival of the church and a Great Awakening in America will really give us Hope and Change.

The Lord's Prayer

First, I want to thank New Horizons Outreach for covering this day with 24 hour prayer.



I planted this video of Charlotte Church singing the Lord's Prayer simply for your inspiration. Have a blessed day.

Covering all the bases

First, I want to thank my home church, Vineyard Christian Fellowship, for stepping up and covering Gainesville with 24 hour prayer today!

In my last post I talked about resisting the enemy, and I remembered something I meant to add to it. Many years ago my son was feeling sick before he went to bed. He was about five years old and he was trying not to cry, but he was in pain. I prayed for him, used all the appropriate promises of God from the Bible and finished it off in Jesus name. He was still sick and in pain. I told him goodnight and closed the door.

On the other side of the door, I could hear him crying, and it made me mad. Why was he still sick? Why was he still suffering? I was really angry! I turned, opened the door and shouted, "Satan, I bind you and your spirit of infirmity in Jesus name, and I command you to leave!" I told my son goodnight again and closed the door.

Suddenly, I heard him cry out, "Dad!" When I opened the door and looked in he was smiling, and he told me, "It's gone!"

Sometimes we are asking God for things that we already have the authority to do ourselves. We just have to evict the spiritual forces that are hindering our prayers.

In the Old Testament, there is a story of Daniel praying and fasting to get and answer from God. After more than 3 weeks he got this message:

Daniel 10:11 He said to me, “O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14 “Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.”

 In the new Testament, Paul refers to the Devil as "the prince and power of the air" in Ephesians 2:2, and later he tells us that we do not struggle against flesh and blood, "but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

So, it's not weird to take authority over the enemy. It's just Biblical!

Resisting the enemy

First I want to thank Victory Church for giving us 24 hour prayer cover today!



For many years I have looked at God's Word and His promises as a life support system in a sinful world. And I have certainly benefited from that way of thinking. But I am afraid I have been only thinking of myself and my own survival!

God has not intended that I merely survive here on Earth. He has expected me to wage war against the Kingdom of Darkness, and overcome the spirits that oppress this world. That is supposed to take place NOW, in this time, and not in the next life, when I won't need it, nor be able to act in this world.

In over our heads

First, I want to thank Harvest Bible College for stepping up and covering this day in prayer for 24 hours.



Here, John Piper is exhorting us to use prayer for wartime communications. Well, we are at war with spiritual forces that want us dead and in hell. If we are not aware of this, or if we are just bystanders in this cosmic conflict, it may be that we are being herded timidly to disaster.

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." Paul, in 2 Corinthians 10:4.

As you go through your day and look at your city, do you see it as a place that is occupied by foreign invaders from the Kingdom of Darkness? Or are you just used to it, because it was always this way? Or, worse, are you a collaborator, some one who assists the wicked at staying in power by keeping the other prisoners docile and busy?

This is why we pray for every sphere of society: because the enemy has influence over every one of them. And that is why a part of our prayer is to resist the enemy and to repent of our sins and of cooperating with him. Please join us today!

Prayer is intentional

First, I want to thank Servants of Christ for taking this day for 24 hour prayer!



I heard someone putting down prayer meetings one day, saying he didn't need them because, "My life is a prayer!" I suppose it can be, if you are "in the moment" all day long. But most of us aren't. I believe that people have to draw away from the mundane, daily grind to pray; especially to pray effectively. Even Jesus took time to get away from everyone to pray, and He was probably "in the moment" more than anyone!

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Jesus, in Matthew 6:6

When God says, "No."

There is no church sponsoring 24 hour prayer today in Gainesville. Think about getting your congregation involved.

I have heard people say, "God answers prayer every time. The answer is either yes, no, or not yet." A pretty simple concept, but what happens when life is complicated? What do you do when it seems like God has said "no," and there is no where else to turn?

Judges 10:¹⁰ Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”
 ¹¹ The LORD replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, ¹² the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites^[c] oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? ¹³ But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. ¹⁴ Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”
 ¹⁵ But the Israelites said to the LORD, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” ¹⁶ Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD. And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.

 The Lord told the Israelites in no uncertain terms that the answer was "No." He even told them why. But the Israelites admitted their fault, put away their false gods, and threw themselves on God's mercy. And it worked.

The Lord wants to deliver our city. He wants to save us from our troubles. It remains to be seen that we are desperate enough to own our faults, admit our slackness, and show God that we are serious.

Tebowing for Dummies

This weekend, for the first time n DECADES, I watched a regular season NFL game. Why? Because of Tim Tebow. This is a first. No great athlete, Christian or otherwise, has been able to get me to watch NFL games. And I am one of those people who finds it a bit irksome that people will pray for a field goal with more earnestness than any other prayers. It's just football.

But this phenomenon is too big to ignore. Tim Tebow is all the rage, not for being the greatest quarterback ever, but by being sub par. But, he wins games, all the while he is glorifying God for wins that nobody else would use to make a highlight reel. Some people hate him. Some people love him. He is the spotless lamb that his detractors are sure is infested with ticks. He also inspires hope as he wins games while posting really unimpressive numbers (except for maybe this week).

I was reading the Twitter feed a couple of weeks ago, and saw one that said, "I am an atheist, but even I think God is helping Tim Tebow." It appears that it is Tim's faith, humility, and below averageness that has even the ungodly pulling for him.

I believe the lesson we should be learning here is that most of us are too proud to risk looking bad by taking big risks. Most Christians play it safe, lay low, and expect little from their prayer life. Tim Tebow has been the subject of endless criticism and disparaging comments in public, and then walks out before national television audiences to be judged. Was he afraid of making God "look bad" by failing? Was he afraid of being mocked for is signature prayer stance? He was mocked, but he kept on bowing his knee to God.

Until now, I have never though the football field was an authentic proving ground for anyone's faith. But it's hard to argue with results. It's not even the winning. It's the conversation he has inspired. God is glorified in him more than if he threw for 300 yards per game. It is the adversity that makes his example matter.

I want to thank Compassionate Outreach for covering this day with 24 hour prayer!

Cyber Monday

First, I want to thank Grace at Fort Clarke for giving their effort at 24 hour prayer today!

Before shopping til you drop this holiday season, let us pray before we commit our resources to the purchase of more consumer goods. I'm not saying you can't spend money during the Christmas season. I am just saying that we should be open to the idea if the Holy Spirit wants you to do other things with your money. And we won't know that unless we pray.

The webmaster speaks!

First, I regret to inform you that no church had today covered with 24 hour prayer.

I have decided to start using social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) to promote Operation Rolling Thunder. Of course, I will be doing this locally, but a part of the wonder of the Internet is the fact that I will inadvertently help spread this idea around the world as well.

I have been making YouTube videos for several years. They are almost entirely about owning a window cleaning business. One day I went to check my YouTube stats and saw that I had over 270,000 viewings of my videos! That is really pretty impressive for such a boring subject of little consequence.

I believe a big reason for my modest success is that I don't drone on endlessly. I get to the point and say what I have to say in 4-5 minutes. If you talk longer than that, you lose people. I am also pretty good at simplifying things, and I have a pretty dedicated fan base. One guy wrote me to tell me he spent all night watching all my videos one after another. I was amazed.

Below is my first one about 24/7 prayer. I thought it was marginally OK, but my charm is authenticity and simplicity. I will make more about the seven spheres of influence and how and why we pray for them.




I am using Twitter with each blog post now. The blog software I am using allows me to post automatically, and it begins with the blog's name. It starts "Gainesville Prayer Aggregator" and then lists the link to the post. Well, I put a hash tag, the # symbol in Twitter-speak, in front of the first 2 words. That means it starts, "#Gainesville #Prayer Aggregator."

What does this do? It means that people who follow those hash tags, #Gainesville and #Prayer, will be automatically notified of these posts! It will attract like-minded people and increase the size of our army.

God bless you and see you tomorrow!

Permission Slips for Angels

First, I want to thank Countryside Baptist for their commitment to 24 hour prayer today!





I came upon this video today and heard Intercessory prayer being taught on in a different way. David Edgren is a storyteller and he relates this story about finding his mother praying in the middle of the night. This is David's YouTube channel, and here is his blog.

Let us stir ourselves

First, I want to thank Oak Park Baptist Church for sponsoring this day of 24 hour prayer. Brothers and sisters, we thank your for your steadfastness.



What gets you in the right frame of mind to pray? I know that we can pray any time and any where and that we are even told to pray without ceasing, but for times of focused, purposeful prayer, do you make preparations? James writes that the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). I don't know about you, but I am always up for knowing how to be more effective and righteous.

I have never been one to put on music while praying, but I recently stumbled on this group that specializes in music that puts all other things out of your mind. At least, that is how it acted on me. They are called the The Lilly Band, and they also have a YouTube Channel. Try them out and see if inspiration strikes!

Happy Thanksgiving

Although there is no sponsor for 24 hour prayer today, I do take some comfort in the fact that more than the average number of people are at least giving thanks to God.

The Forgetful Church

Today has no 24 hour prayer sponsor.

Many years ago I was the member of a church that taught us how to pray, prayed with us, and got amazing results. It was a wonderful thing to discover that God heard us, cared for our needs, and exercised His power on our behalf. Of course, we also learned that there was an adversary, the devil, who did all he could do to hinder our prayers, our faith, and our relationship with God.

We discovered that our faith in eternal things could change temporal things. But it was a battle:

Ephesians 6:¹⁰ "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 ¹⁸ " And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

So, why did I stop praying with these things in mind over the years? I believe it is because my senses are bombarded with the temporal things and that after awhile, that which is seen is the only reality. Oh, I never stopped believing in God, and I did pray sometimes, but it was  not with the same fervency and effectiveness. I did not see the eternal as clearly anymore. I believe that is because we must seek the eternal things. The unseen requires an effort to perceive it, whereas any unbeliever can see the temporal.

Today, I pray that all God's people begin to see the eternal, the unseen, so that they will pray and bring it into the temporal, where we need it, in Jesus' Name.

2 Kings 6:¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
 ¹⁶ “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
 ¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Semantics and Seeds of Doubt

First, I want you to know that there is no church sponsoring 24 hour prayer on this day. And I really do want to talk about this today.

I was on YouTube this morning, looking for a clip to use for "Praying for Revival." I did find some, but what is more troubling is that I also found videos in which Christian ministers were either discouraging us from praying for revival or parsing words in such a way that would cast doubt on your prayers.

"Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him." -Jesus in Mark 11:23

 This is not the only place in the New Testament in which faith is depicted as powerful and doubt is the undoer of that power.

"But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways" James 1:6-8

 So, if we can be kept on fence, so to speak, on whether or not it is worth the time and effort to pray, then whatever we do pray will be a waste of time. Meanwhile, Jesus has told us that tossing a mountain into the sea is available to us if could adequately believe such a thing. I believe that Jesus used such an outlandish example to make a point, not to encourage large scale topographical arrangements. And the point is this: nothing is really impossible to you if you can believe it!

So, when you are praying something easy to believe: that God wants people saved, healed, delivered from addictions, and forsaking their sin; and some self-appointed Bible scholar comes to tell you that you are praying wrong or at the wrong time, etc., tune him out! And then pray for him, because such a person needs to be delivered from some spiritual ailment that has caused him to sell God short.

Father, open our eyes and help us to understand what you have given us that we might use it for your glory and your purposes, in Jesus' name.

Activism in Gainesville

First, I want to thank the Rock of Gainesville for covering this day with 24 hour prayer.



I didn't blog that last two days, but I was praying. Yesterday, before church, I was praying in the prayer chapel with another member of my congregation. As we were praying the Health Care portion of the ORT prayer list, I remembered the old days of my Pro-Life activism. I used to picket clinics, as did a lot of people in the 1980s. Then there came the court ruling of the "Exclusionary zone" that denied protesters the right to free speech in front of clinics. I heard this was overturned, but it seemed to be enough to deaden the enthusiasm of the clinic protests. After all, most Christians are law-abiding.

Today, I believe we are praying for abortion to end because God has not forgotten. And there seems to be a renewed interest in speaking out against a sin that is a symptom of America's hard heart. Although this group in the video above is protesting our local clinics, I had recently stumbled upon The 180 Movie. It's a video that is making the rounds, and it is about confronting young people who don't remember who Hitler was, and using this as a jumping off point toward evangelism.



Pray for the unborn, their mothers, and those who seek to rescue the unwanted.

Jesus wants us to be one

From Jesus' prayer in John 17: ²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

Unity was a pretty big deal to Jesus. It still is. We must seek it and desire to serve one another. We cannot remain as separate tribes in our city. We must be one; a city within a city. The world needs to see that our love is real.


No sponsor for today...

Preaching the cross

There is no sponsor for 24/7 prayer today. Please consider getting your church on board.

This is just a short clip of the entire sermon, but I recommend you download the audio, put it in your portable device, and listen to it. It is one of the best messages on the crucifixion I have ever heard, if not THE best!



Pastor Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington is my current favorite Bible teacher. Seattle is a much more hostile environment for the Gospel than Gainesville. At only 8% of the population confessing faith in Christ, it is about as Christian a community as Communist China. The big difference is that Mark will not not be called in for questioning after one of his sermons. He only gets picketed.

Does God need us to pray?

For there is no sponsor for today's 24/7 prayer; no, not one.

Can God act without our prayers? Are our prayers necessary, or are they just preferred? Let it never be said that I tried to put limits on God, but I think our prayers are mostly necessary, and that God even set it up that way.

Many years ago I heard a man preaching about "the Earth lease." His supposition was that God had made the Earth and that He still owned it, but that He had given it to man, but that man did not own it. In effect, man has a lease on the Earth.

"Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey." Jesus in Matthew 21:33

If you've ever leased an apartment, you know that the owner cannot just come and go as he pleases and disrupt the tenant's life at will. He must be invited to do so. That makes it easy for me to see God as someone who owns the Earth and is responsible for some of the upkeep, but that we, as tenants, also have obligations as to how we treat the property and even what activities take place here. After all, he made US, too!

This is why, when I pray, I often invite God to interfere in my circumstances. And when it involves someone else's will, I ask Him to influence that person. After all, He has not made us to be puppets. He doesn't pull our strings, but He does have influence.

What does revival look like?

First, I want to thank Parkview Baptist Church for sponsoring today's 24/7 prayer! Go team!



I am not sure if I have seen revival before. I have seen a move of God and I have seen miracles, but I am unsure of what it takes to have revival. I have certainly been TO a revival. As some understand it, it is a series of meetings where a church brings in a guest preacher who says the things the pastor cannot get away with.

Years ago, I did belong to a church in a small town that was very disruptive to the community. You could tell because other pastors did not like it and they labeled it a cult. In retrospect, I think the pastors did have some control issues, but otherwise I think the thing that bothered other churches the most was that the church was growing, signs and wonders were happening, and the lead pastor was insufferably happy and went about glorifying Jesus with no reserve whatsoever. In short, he made people feel bad about having a tepid and boring relationship with God.

It makes me think of that story in  Acts 17:5-7:

⁵But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.  ⁶And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
 ⁷Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

I am not saying the local pastors didn't believe in Jesus. I'm just saying they didn't appear to believe in Him enough to turn much of anything upside down.

In recent days, I have come to realize that I needed to be turned upside down. I needed to believe more than I have over the past several years, and that if I do that, I will take people with me. That is why I pray for revival. I don't want a few rousing good meetings. I want a move of God that is disruptive and troubling and goes everywhere. Fortunately, I am not alone. And I am sure not the first. I'm just willing to blog about it and ask you to pray for this, too.

Competing for prayer warriors

First, I want to thank Abundant Grace Community Church for sponsoring today's 24/7 prayer!

Last night I was talking with my wife about getting more people to pray, and how to do that. Naturally, we realized that many people are already praying at some time or another, for one thing or another. But we are talking about a city-unifying, concerted effort to bring the Kingdom of God to Gainesville in a more tangible way. Yes, I know that in some Biblical, theoretical way that the Kingdom of God is already here. But, Jesus must have meant that there should be some more tangible manifestation, such as what He meant when He said to pray, "Thy Kingdom  come, thy will  be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven." We should desire more disruptive evidence of God's Kingdom intruding upon a sinful world, if you will.

So, we are praying for people to join us in this endeavor. If you are already praying, yes, we are asking you to pray even more. If you aren't praying at all in your private time, here's your opportunity to get started. Give me a call and leave a message at 352-870-8808. You will get my business voice mail, but I will call you back!

Praying for our government

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1 Timothy 2:1-4

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

In this passage, the Apostle Paul is writing to a young pastor, Timothy, and instructing him to make sure that he prayed for all those in governmental authority. This was written to people who were living in a land that was occupied by a foreign invader: Rome. People didn't like the Romans, but Paul did not urge Timothy to engage in civil disobedience. That sort of thing could get you killed. Instead, he instructed him to pray for them and even to give thanks for them.

It is likely that the Romans, a dictatorial government, was the replacement for a series of local dictatorial governments. The Roman government, though harsh, provided order and peace and predictability in ancient times.There was no enlightened form of self-government to long for. There was only the Kingdom of  Heaven to wait for. But until then, they prayed for peace and order.

Today in America, although we are going through a rough patch, we have relatively little to complain about. But that doesn't stop us from complaining and accusing one another of terrible things. Our biggest problem is that we do not trust God. We are fat and spoiled and convinced that we deserve better and are determined to take what we want from one another through our political proxies after a nasty election.

The more I pay attention to what's in the news, the more convinced I am that there is no hope without God. So, I am praying for those who are in authority and for the people who put them there. And I am praying for a revival of  the church and an awakening among the unbelievers. Let us all pray for the Change that comes from Believing.

Our desire to pray

A friend recently shared a book with us that is a joy to read from the beginning. It's "Window on the World," by Daphne Spraggett and Jill Johnstone. What looks like a coffee table book on world missions is actually a tour of people groups that are currently being reached with the Gospel that need our prayers. Each two page spread gives a thumbnail sketch of the land and it's people and includes a brief, intimate excerpt from someone's life. It makes you want to stop what you are doing and pray right then. And that's exactly what I did.

Although this has little to do with praying in Gainesville, it does put our own struggles in perspective. My hope is that it will encourage our local readers to become more likely to pray for the spreading of the Gospel all over the world. Then, perhaps, they will spare one hour each month to join us in the ORT prayer initiative for our own city.

This day had no Church to sponsor 24 hour prayer. If you are a member of a congregation, please consider talking to your pastor about encouraging your fellow members to get involved. Tell him you will organize it and attend whatever meetings are necessary. Remember, this is supposed to be a blessing to him, too!

Building a city within a city

Today I listened to the audio of this presentation by Mark Driscoll, Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. I found it so compelling, and relevant to our aims of praying for revival that I am posting the video here.

This is the first in a series on the Book of Nehemiah. I will post the others as I listen to them.



And for those who would rather listen or download the audio, here's the audio version.

Download in mp3

Of course, if you can't wait, the rest of the series is here.

How do you pray for an economy?

Once in awhile I hear someone talk about "praying for this economy" and I wonder how that looks in practice. After all, I believe that our prayers should be specific, so our prayers may take on a form that matches what we think needs to be done, specifically. Some people may pray for the government to please pass a trillion dollar jobs bill to hire all the jobless. Someone else may pray that the government simply print up enough money and distribute it to make us all millionaires so we can retire and stop worrying. And someone else may pray that we all just concentrate on our own austerity and quit buying stuff we don't need.

Each of the above solutions carries with it its own unintended consequences. Not only that, but it's pretty hard to find someone to pray the prayer of agreement with you in today's political climate. The fact is that our economy is unbelievably complex, largely because we are a free people acting independently. We all affect the economy in miniscule ways. Acting together, those ways are magnified, such as the way so many Americans have gone deep into debt that presumed upon real estate values that would increase forever. Many of us borrowed against those phantom values, and no election can change that.

For many of us, what is in order is a prayer of repentance, followed by consecrating ourselves to obedience in the future. Many people are praying right now, and we must all do our part in miniscule ways to improve the situation. And we must trust God to get us to do so together.

Today, there is no church sponsoring 24/7 prayer. If we had fewer unsponsored days, I think things would get better.

Purity

Ephesians 5:3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.

It is stunning; the swiftness with which a lifetime of reputation can be shredded before our eyes, just by NOT doing what should be done. And I am only talking about a football coach.

Penn State's head coach Joe Paterno is guilty of not going far enough to protect a child. Passing a complaint up the food chain is not the same as calling the police, which is what you are supposed to do if you discover that a minor is being sexually abused by an adult in your department. You don't just trust that "somebody else will get that."

There have been a few sex abuse scandals in our churches over the years. I vividly remember three but I am sure there are more. We must do more than hope these things do not go public. We must even do more than act proactively when they happen. We must do what we can to prevent them from ever happening. That means that we must examine closely the people who want to work with kids, and that we must pray for discernment. And that is not mere suspicion.

Father, in Jesus Name, we ask you to expose the schemes of the devil, the plans that he has for our children. And, Lord, we ask you to give us the courage to act swiftly, even when it's uncomfortable.

We want this

Last night a friend told me about this transformed community.

Prayer for families

First I want to  mention that there is no sponsor for today. So I call upon people in the Body of Christ at-large to pitch in and help!

Second, I just made it possible to leave comments anonymously.

Third, I just wanted to post the section of the ORT prayer list that pertains to families in our area, and beyond:

FAMILY

Malachi 4:6 (King James Version)
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Colossians 3:18-21 (King James Version)

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. (Other Scriptures: Eph.5:22-6:9 1Pet.3:1-9, Prov.4:1; 10:1; 14:1; 12:4; 17:1; 18:22; 19:18; 21:9, Mal.4:5, 6)

Areas to pray for families: husbands, wives, children, parents, extended family, all age groups/generations [from babies in the womb to toddlers to teens to adults to the elderly], families with special needs children, singles (young & old), the lonely, widows, orphans & run-a-ways, dysfunctional families, the breakup of the family unit, finances, families attending church together.

Thank God for:

• His beautiful plan & provision in the institutions of marriage & family

• His restorative power, wisdom & grace to fix what has been broken

• His willingness to use imperfect vessels to work out His perfect plan

• Our natural parents, spiritual parents and National/Local parents

Repent for:

• Not treating our family members with honor

• Taking one another for granted

• The abuse that is so prevalent in many families

• Abortion

• Absent fathers

• Sex outside of marriage, adultery and fornication

•Divorce

• Money and things and careers becoming more important than family

• Not being thankful for our families

• Leaving God out of family life

Declare:

• Jesus Christ is Lord over the family

• God's power & grace is well able to fix what has become broken

• God has a great plan and purpose for each and every person in our families

• As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord

Pray:

• That God's Word would prevail in instructing people about family

• That God would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers

• That Government legislation would be pro-life & pro-family

• That the Church would be a place of healing, restoration and modeling what God intended for the family

• That abuse would be exposed and properly dealt with

• That love, peace, honor, forgiveness, nurturing & protection would be the environment of our homes

• That families would gain financial discipline and prosper

• That families would have quality and quantity time together

• That communications between family members would be blessed

• That loving foster families become available for needy children
Resist the enemy:

• Resist the enemy's slanderous/scandalous/venomous verbal abuse one towards another

• Resist the temptation to be unfaithful

• Resist anger, rage, malice, discord

• Resist resentment, bitterness & unforgiveness toward family members

• Resist the temptation to treat family members worse than others

Ambivalence and inactivity

First I want to thank Fire of God Ministries for sponsoring this day with 24 hour prayer!

"For if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for the battle?" 1 Corinthians 14:8

One of the 7 spheres of influence we pray for is Government. We have a roll to play in our government that the Apostles did not have to contemplate because theirs was not a system of self-government. The only roll they had to play was that of supplicant: "Please, could you maybe oppress us just a little bit less?" This is not the system God has given us here in America, although the church is about as compliant as the early Christians.

Not all Christians are inactive and aloof from our political system. Some have very strong feelings. They are even on opposite sides of some important issues. I believe that one of the reasons this happens is because we divide up early and then never discuss anything with people unless they are already in our camp. This is a great tragedy. I believe the church should be willing to seek the truth and the will of God together instead of merely demonizing one another at a distance. But few church leaders are willing to let such a messy process take place.

I have strong feelings. I have Christians brothers and sisters with whom I have strong disagreement. But I do admire people who have strong enough convictions to ACT on them. As it says in Revelation, "So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth." It is the lukewarm, the indecisive, that the Lord finds most revolting.

My prayer today is that we will overcome ambivalence; that we will dare to examine our beliefs and choose what we will live by. We have City elections coming up in January, and about 85-88% of people do not care enough to use their God-given privilege. They are content to let a small number of people choose for them.

The Mission Field Now Delivers

First, I want to remind you that this day, the 7th of every month, has no sponsor. So, today is a guerrilla warfare event! Download the prayer list on the right sidebar and join our insurgency! I also have a version that I reformatted for mobile devices. You can now pray with your iPhone and other smart phones! It even works on my iPod! Tomorrow is sponsored by Fire of God Ministries.

Cindi and I recently got involved in a ministry to international students. We are volunteers that help Chinese, Indian, Brazilian and other foreign students with their conversational English. A part of every Monday night class is reading from the Bible. A lot of American language and culture is from the Bible, so it is a useful text book.

The majority of the students are from China, and most of them are not Christians, so it is a great opportunity to introduce them to Jesus. Some of them even take Him back home! It is a great blessing to us to have this opportunity to serve these students, many of whom really need a friend in the States. I have to admit that this is pretty light duty, and it's also a lot of fun.

This ministry is called International Friendship, and I have added it to the sidebar for future reference. Please pray for us today, and pray for those who hear us.

Giving in a time of lack

There is no sponsor for today's 24/7 prayer, but you can help by downloading the guide on the right sidebar and taking up the cause yourself!

This week I saw an encouraging story in the Sun about Arbor House, a local non-profit that houses homeless pregnant women and women with children. It has been running about $6,000 in the red every month and they were just about to lose $60,000 in funding from grants. When the news got out, in just three weeks $70,000 in donations came in to save Arbor House. All I can say is, those folks must have been praying! And it reminds me that we should pray and help Arbor House in some concrete way regularly. Unfortunately, we don't usually know about things like this until disaster is imminent.

I urge you to look for ministries that match the description in the prayer list and adopt them as regular objects of your prayers...and your good works. Apparently, local people were a part of the cavalry that rode in to the rescue. This is as it should be.

Knowing who you are

Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

When we pray, we should have it firmly in our minds that we belong to Christ. He has forgiven our sins and ever lives to intercede for us. He wants to be glorified through us. So, when we pray, we should expect to prevail!

Even under the old covenant, men like David and Jonathan went into battle with it uppermost in their minds that they belonged to God, and that they expected God to show up at their battles on their behalf.

"Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God." -David as he faced Goliath with his slingshot in 1 Samuel 17:36

Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few." 1 Samuel 14:6

Both men referenced the circumcision, the sign that you were one of God's covenant people. The uncircumcised were seen as being at a disadvantage.

Today, Christ is our sign. When we belong to Him, we have standing before God. We should pray eagerly, expecting victory!

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:6

The prayers of others

First, I want to thank the Vineyard for stepping up and supporting this day with 24/7 prayer!

Many years ago I was at a very low place and some of my friends invited me to their Christmas party. I didn't feel like going, but they insisted, so I did. It turnout out to be a party with a prayer ambush. They sat me down and gathered around me and told me they wanted to pray for me. I was very discouraged and I just told them, "Knock yourselves out."

In spite of my poor attitude and lack of faith, their prayer s were answered and I was delivered from my suffering. It certainly wasn't my faith that got it done. I was the one with lost hope. They were removed far enough from the situation that they still had hope. And faith!

That is why we need to pray for those who are in seemingly lost in hopeless situations. Their faith is so damaged, and perhaps even nonexistent, that others must go to God on their behalf. That is why we pray.

When we look around, we can certainly see bad situations getting worse. We see a world losing its faith in political and economic systems and institutions and one another. Someone needs to believe God and step into the battle!

Jeremiah 32:17 "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you."

Pray for this meeting

First, I want to thank Victory Church for sponsoring this day of 24/7 prayer!

A friend sent me notice of a meeting a few weeks ago and I forgot about it because I have been very busy and my antenna was rusty. So, yesterday I saw this and decided it was worth praying for. I have put a link to the PDF in the lower right sidebar under Links of Interest.

The link opens up an agenda for the Faith Network Committee meeting as part of the Alachua County Mentor Coalition. The meeting is from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Boys and Girls Club Rotary Center, which is located at 1100 SE 17th Dr.

A meeting like this is both a prayer opportunity and an action opportunity. We need to bring the weight of both our prayers and our presence to any local organization that is influencing the youth of our community. If we don't, someone else will. Although I am slammed today and cannot get to this one, the same group will meet again in December on the first, same time and place.

Father in Heaven, we lift up this meeting to you and ask you to bless it with good counsel. We ask you to draw men and women of God to this ministry who have already successfully raised children to adulthood. Open the eyes of your people, Lord, to see that it is in their power to change the destiny of young people with their love and their time. We ask these things in Jesus name.

"Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion." -Jim Rohn

Believing and Receiving

First, I want to thank Harvest Bible Church for sponsoring today's 24/7 prayer!

Today, I want to remind us all why we pray: to get answers. This also explains why so many of us don't pray: we don't expect answers! As I have been re-immersing myself in the works of favorite faith teachers of the past, and remembering the way God answered in the past, I can see how we have drifted from "faith that changes things" to ambivalence to neglect. We finish in unbelief, in which our prayers are random and we even glorify "coincidence" instead of God when there is an answer. Faith and prayer require perseverance and a kind of stubbornness in the face of adversity.

In John 15:7, Jesus told us, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." If you think about this long enough, you must conclude that this is either crazy talk or a challenge to believe God for great things! It is also a test: Do God's words really abide in me? Do I really abide in Christ?

I challenge you this day to dare to take Jesus at His words and abide in Him!

A new month begins!

First, I want to thank Servants of Christ Anglican Church for their dedication to covering this day with prayer. God will truly bless their faithfulness!

I want to challenge the churches in Gainesville to join us in creating a city-wide prayer and mobilization movement! A church that is inward-looking and cut off from the rest of the Body of Christ is on DEFENSE at best. When you reach  out to have relationship with the rest of the body and to pray and work together, it is on OFFENSE!

Look around at your congregation and ask, "What do we have to give our city?" Then, join with others who have similar visions and desires to magnify the power you have, and...magnify the LORD.

Please join this blog and I will contact you! Together, we can bring the Kingdom of God to Earth!

More than praying

As I continue to learn more about Operation Rolling Thunder, I see that it is about a lot more than just getting people to pray over this city. It is about recruiting training leadership in every sphere of influence in our city. But even if it was "just" about prayer, prayer is a fairly complicated matter if you are trying to get answers or project power.

I remember what it was like to pray and see amazing things happen. At this point in my life, I pray and good things happen, but they are not in the amazing class that they once were. So, I have been digging out my old Kenneth Hagin books that were so instrumental in teaching me to pray and get results. I even downloaded one that I didn't have onto my Nook!

Prayer is where we begin, and all that we do must be supported by prayer. And we must expect results! But we cannot expect results if we are unwilling to ACT on the things we believe. Faith without works is DEAD.  -James 2:17

Today, Operation Rolling Thunder/Gainesville has no sponsor for the 31st of every month.

Corrections

On Friday, the last post, I said there was no church sponsor. Actually, I was incorrect. Compassionate Outreach had the 29th. I had incorrectly identified them on the 26th as the sponsor of that day, when it was actually Countryside Baptist's day. Likewise, the 28th was not unsponsored. It was being observed by Grace at Fort Clarke. However, today had no sponsor, and neither does tomorrow. Please pray for the churches in our city.

We often have a tinted view of revival as a time of glory and joy and swelling numbers queuing to enter the churches. That is only part of the story. Before the glory and joy, there is conviction; and that begins with the people of God. There are tears of godly sorrow. There are wrongs to put right, secret things...to be thrown out, and bad relationships, hidden for years, to be repaired openly. If we are not prepared for this, we had better not pray for revival. - Brian Edwards

When prayers are answered

If revival is being withheld from us it is because some idol remains still enthroned; because we still insist in placing our reliance in human schemes; because we still refuse to face the unchangeable truth that, 'It is not by might, but by My Spirit.'

- Jonathan Goforth

There is nothing like it when you're back is against the wall, there is no other hope, and you cry out to God, and He answers.  I had come to realize that these things no longer happened quite as often, not as dramatically, as they did when I was much younger. I believe I have become reliant upon my own human schemes because I had gotten good at them. I had become accustomed to getting along without crying out to God. Yes, part of that is that I am better at planning, and I am in less trouble than I used to be. But that also indicates that I do not use my access on behalf of others as I should.

I long to see amazing things happen once again. And I want to be motivated by the welfare of others instead of my own. In turn, and indirectly, I know this will come back to me in amazing ways.

There is no church sponsoring today. Please start praying the list of ORT prayer initiatives today, and get your church on board tomorrow.

Praying for the Church

Today there is no sponsor for 24/7 prayer, so please feel free to take up the torch today and pray the list. Today I will share the prayer initiatives for the CHURCH segment of the list. After all, we really need it...

CHURCH

1 Peter 2:5,9
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ… ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;
(Other Scriptures: 1Cor.12:12-31; 14:26 Eph.3:10; 4:3-16)

Areas to consider: Unity of the brethren, outreach in the community including: prison ministry, feeding the homeless and poor, friends to the widows and orphans, focus on servant evangelism, supporting one another with kind words, thoughts and actions, building up one another in love; prayerfully and financially supporting church leadership and local houses of God, purity in the lives of believers, restored relationships in the churches, worship, prayer, the study of the Bible, the five-fold ministry, gifts and talents, vision and purpose, growth and protection, passion, balance, maturity, relevance without worldliness, focus on pleasing God in every area


Thank God for:

• • Knitting the Church together as He sees fit
• • Sharing His power, authority, wisdom & purposes with us
• • Devoted Church leadership and their families
• • Missionaries around the world spreading the love and gospel of Christ
• • Local church congregations & ministries, whether large or small, young & old, and of all nationalities
• • The victory we have in Christ
• • The freedom to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ freely

Repent for:

• • Disunity in the Body
• • Ungodliness in the Church
• • Not taking God's Word seriously
• • Placing God below other things in our lives
• • The Church not using the power & authority it has been given
• • Allowing confusion and foolishness to dwell in our lives and churches
• • Not fulfilling the Great Commission
• • Getting caught up in minor issues while ignoring the major issues

Declare:

• • That Jesus Christ is Lord of His Church
• • The Church shall glorify God
• • The Church shall walk in power, purity, unity, & love in and outside of their particular congregation
• • The Church shall delight in worshipping God and God will delight in the worship of His people.
• • The resources of this world will flow into God's Temple and will be used for His purposes

Pray:

• • That God's people would humble themselves and pray
• • That wise strategies for effective work to be down-loaded to the Church
• • For missionaries worldwide and those who support them locally
• • For brothers and sisters who are being tortured and persecuted for their faith
• • That God’s people would receive emotional and spiritual healing and walk in wisdom, power & character
• • That the Church would learn how to be salt and light in the world & souls would be saved
• • That the Church would bind the enemy and loose the prisoners
• • That the Church would cooperate with the Holy Spirit in Her preparation as the Bride
• • That we would have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church
• • That any special meetings in the State would be blessed
• • Deepening of spiritual walk
• • Salvation of souls from Scriptures distributed
• • For funds to translate and spread the Bible throughout the world
• • For expansion of personal witnessing skills
• • For all publishers of Scriptures, that the gospel would go freely throughout the world
• • That unsaved people will welcome the gift of Scripture, and that those already won to Christ will grow in grace and knowledge and share their faith
• • For continued open doors to hotels and motels, schools and colleges, prisons and jails, hospitals and convalescent homes, the military, and police and fire personnel
• • For congregations, pastors, missionaries, and Bible teachers to know God’s Word is inspired, inerrant, and infallible and to share the true message of salvation through the Blood of Christ
• • A closer walk with God through prayer and by reading, meditating on and memorizing His Word
• • To remain sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit

Resist the enemy:

• • Resist the temptation to complain or be disrespectful about God’s church
• • Resist the temptation to bring discord and division
• • Resist the enemy's attempt to bring oppression and depression upon the people of God
• • Resist apathy, hopelessness, doubt and unbelief
• • Resist the reasoning of man

See? That wasn't so hard! Have a blessed day. I leave you with this quote on revival:


Revival is a renewed conviction of sin and repentance, followed by an intense desire to live in obedience to God. It is giving up one's will to God in deep humility. - Charles Finney

Get your own oxygen mask first

First, I want to thank our brothers and sisters at Compassionate Outreach for praying this day.

On every airline flight, the attendant gets out the flotation device and the oxygen mask and reminds you to secure your own mask first, before helping your children with theirs. This is because an oxygen-deprived parent is not much good to his or her children. Likewise, we must pray for ourselves first if we are going to be effective at praying for others.

The ORT prayer list starts with our own repentance and desire to follow Christ more closely. It's a check list to remind us that it's not just those other people who need the Lord. He is a life support system to all of us. It is a humbling thing to start with self-examination that inevitably finds flaws. And it reminds us to be compassionate and diligent in our pursuit of the redemption of others.

Tomorrow has no sponsor. Literally. No church has signed up to pray for our city tomorrow. If you think your congregation might want to do this, let us know how we can help. If you think this is too short notice and want to pray about this yourself, why not download the list in the right sidebar and do just one hour yourself tomorrow?

Comments and prayer requests are appreciated.

A Community in Revival

First, I want to thank Oak Park Baptist Church for sponsoring this day by recruiting its members to pray for the City of Gainesville and the rest of Alachua County.

I make a point of praying the Operation Rolling Thunder initiatives every Sunday morning, and as I have done so, I have realized that if our prayers are realized, then God would be directing us and blessing us in every sphere of our community's existence. And I believe that would indicate that we were in revival.

I understand that most of us in the Evangelical Christian Community imagine revival as something particularly eventful. And that event might include a lot of rapturous emotion and large scale conversion of sinners to faith in Christ. But, what if those things seemed to be happening, but God was not directing us nor blessing us in all other areas of life outside of the church? Wouldn't we find this disturbing?

We should have feelings of discontent if all the "change" seems to be confined to our church buildings and our meeting times. This is the reason I am praying for God to move in all spheres of our city, and praying for more Christians to pray AND take action, no matter what sphere they inhabit. I believe that if His people, who are called by His name, shall humble themselves and pray, and turn from their own selfish agendas and devotion to idleness, then He will hear us, forgive us, and change our city. I believe we would have revival.

Vacancy: this day needs a sponsor

Good morning! I am looking at the schedule for the month of October and I see that there is no church sponsoring this day. That means if this does not change, there will be no 24/7 prayer on November 24th either. So, that is my prayer for today: that someone will see this and say, "Hey! I think my church could come up with 24 people to each cover an hour!" And if someone does, he or she should email Brenda Krames, our area coordinator.

"An awakening is ready to burst on the dismal scene when Christians have a deep, profound Spirit of prayer for an awakening." - Lewis Drummond

Praying and being organized

The point of this blog is to help ORT church connectors to have an idea of what local needs should be added to their prayer lists the day that their congregation has 24 hour duty. Of course, anyone who is looking for a local need to pray for at any given time should be able to come here and find something.

Right now, this post is just to create some sense of agreement about how this works. I have some ideas, but I am sure I only know in part what is really needful. Anyway, here is what I am thinking. I would like to give each connector author permissions so that you can post an article here whenever you think it's needed. You may just want to make sure something is posted on your congregation's duty day, and then other prayer warriors who join the blog can leave real-time prayer requests as comments to that article. Commenters must join the blog. Anyone can join, but trolls and spammers will be banned permanently. Any connector who logs in and sees such a thing could just clean it out immediately.

Prayer request guidelines should be created as a separate page and should help people understand that this is not a place for confidential information. A request may be kind of fuzzy and still be understood by God. The whole world does not have to know your struggle. Most of us know how to deal with those sensitive "unspoken" prayer requests. Maybe wwe need a page to explain that, too. Anyone who feels up to creating such a thing would be a blessing to us all.

So, do we have comments, suggestions? Join this blog, identify the church you represent, and we will start from there.

Thanks!
Don Marsh
Gainesville Vineyard