"National Life of Prayer: Defining Moments Can Change History"
Defining moments – have you had one? This one was a while ago, although as relevant today as it was then. It was November 18, 2006 in Kansas City, Missouri. George Otis Jr. had been sharing about his research of the Holy Spirit moving in the nations.
A stranger approached me after the message and shared what the Lord had impressed on him that concerned me. I can recall this moment well from my handwritten note on that day. A defining moment from God needs to be recorded, kept and revisited from time to time, ensuring the fire of His assignment is kept lit.
The stranger illustrated a locket representing my heart and that it had been closed. But now, I was at a tender place open to the Lord and He was pleased. The man unlocked the locket and inside on soft, rich velvet was a message folded up. As the stranger, a Missouri pastor unfolded the message, it read, "National Life of Prayer". The pastor said, "It will affect the nation, a life of prayer to the Living God, Who seeks your permission to open your heart to this."
My recorded response reads, "Father, whatever, please keep me tender...I invite You, beg You to unlock my heart, do what is necessary to keep me tender to You."
National life of prayer has become my life's mission field. The National Day of Prayer Task Force is a Judeo-Christian ministry to the nation that mobilizes prayer through thousands of volunteers in America.
Prayer – the Most Powerful Thing We Can Do For Our Country
The United States of America is the only nation I know of that, byFederal law, has aNational Day of Prayer. This gives these Believers hosting prayer spiritual, governmental authority that originates from God. Through God's providence, President Reagan, in 1988, by Public Law 100-307, amended previous law by, "a suitable day each year, other than a Sunday, and inserting in lieu thereof, the first Thursday in May in each year" (click here to read more about facts/history for the annual National Day of Prayer). (Photo via National Day of Prayer)
May 7th, 2015 is the next annual National Day of Prayer in the U.S.A.
Friends in Jesus, if we do not exercise this day, we will lose it. The principalities at work are evident everywhere to remove anything holy and Christian from the United States of America.What is my responsibility and your responsibility then as followers of Jesus? What can we do to affect the nation? Who are we?
We are sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty. We can pray to Him as Jesus modeled for us. The whole chapter of John 17 is Jesus praying to His Father. We must follow His example.
Prayer is the most powerful thing any of us can do for our country and the nations of the world. Thus you are seeking the Almighty's heart and hand to move for the families, the churches, marketplaces, schools, governments; every facet of your nation. In America, we must also repent for letting our nation decline and move away from God, hurting us internally and affecting the world.
Jesus Prayed, "That They May Be One..."
On the global scene, America has had a great destiny to protect and defend justice. We must pray for what we are to be in the world going forward. The whole world is groaning and shifting. Yet friends, I am very encouraged by God's movement in response to many praying with Jesus. He prayed that we, His Church, would be "one":
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, 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. I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one—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." (John 17:20-23).
I am seeing the Lord connect us very intentionally. The silos of denominations, ethnicity, and other man-made divisions are falling away. The Church as the Bride is rising to answer Jesus' prayer for us to be one:"...brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me." (Photo via National Day of Prayer)
Well the little note (I shared above) resides in its safekeeping place in the Bible I keep on my desk at the National Day of Prayer Task Force office. Many times the enemy has worked to make me weary or discouraged and wants to stop this national life of prayer and the sacrifices that go with it. It's important to capture defining moments to remember the Lord's activity in your life. I don't believe any of us wants to stop short of God's destiny for our lives. Yet, in our humanness we need the reminders sometimes like my note.
I tremble writing this and revisiting my assignment: National Life of Prayer. It is a sobering place of increasing surrender and with you as my witness, also great thankfulness. I cannot think of a better way to invest our lives than the relationship and power through God that prayer offers. There are not more devoted followers of Christ than those who will pray, who intercede for others, without ceasing.
Would you consider joining us for National Day of Prayer for the USA? There are many who oppose the work of this Christian Task Force of the federal day, but we have God on our side.Isaiah 45:22b instructs about Him, pure and simple, "...for I am God, and there is no other."
Visit http://nationaldayofprayer.org/event-finder/ to find events to participate in. Or start a prayer event yourself, begin under Volunteer. I can be contacted from this page:http://nationaldayofprayer.org/meet-your-team/
Lisa Crump, Senior Director, Prayer Mobilization
National Day of Prayer Task Force
Email: coordinators@nationaldayofprayer.org
Website: nationaldayofprayer.org
National Day of Prayer Task Force
Email: coordinators@nationaldayofprayer.org
Website: nationaldayofprayer.org
No comments:
Post a Comment