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Keith Wood is Calvary's Churchwide Prayer Coordinator. You can find out more about him and his passion for God by going to our Leadership & Staff page.
Keith Wood is Calvary's Churchwide Prayer Coordinator. You can find out more about him and his passion for God by going to our Leadership & Staff page.
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PRAISE
Praise is:
Acclaiming God’s great attributes or character:
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable His judgments,
and His paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been His counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay Him?”
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.
Romans 11:33-36
Recounting God’s great works
Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”
Rev 5:1-2
He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song:
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and with Your blood You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
Rev 5:7-10
Why praise the Lord?
One answer is that we are commanded to.
Sing the praises of the LORD, you His faithful people; praise His holy name.
Ps 30:4
Another answer is that He is worthy of praise from us.
In a loud voice they sang:
“Worthy is the Lamb, Who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
Rev 5:12
Another answer is that it brings us joy to do so because there is nothing more essentially worshipful to God than praising Him:
Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Ps 22:3
You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Ps 16:11
Join me as I praise God and listen for the two types of praise within this prayer.
Model Prayer:
Father, we praise You because You are great and mighty, sovereign over all You have made. You are enthroned in the heavens in the splendor of Your great glory. You are worthy of praise because of Your righteousness and justice. How wonderful are Your works – who can understand Your wisdom and insight? We praise You for the great kindness You have shown us by saving us through Jesus Christ. You saw a way to save us and did so at great cost to Yourself, proving forever Your kindness and compassion. We praise You for the greatness of Your salvation. Amen.
REPENTANCE
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 1:4
Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:14-15
He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luke 24:46-47
Repentance is realigning our lives with God in obedience to His word and is central to our relationship with God.
Repentance is not asking for forgiveness – it is a decision we make – not a request that we make of God.
Repentance is also not saying “I’m sorry” to God. You can do that, but it is not the same thing as repentance. People can be sorry without repenting.
Repentance is a decision to live according to God’s word. So a prayer of repentance should ideally refer to God’s word. I say ideally because new believers might not know much, if any, of God’s word. That’s OK – God is interested in the stance of your heart toward Him with regard to the sins you understand. But over time, try to work in the word of God. For example, if I have been hard hearted toward people, speaking badly of them to others, there are many scriptures that speak against this. Here is one, and I’ll work it into a prayer of repentance in a minute:
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
Col 3:8
Here is a model prayer:
Father, I repent of the sins of malice and slander. I turn from these sins and will obey You from now on. I will measure my life by Your word, which says I must rid myself of all such things as anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language. Keep me in Your way as I seek to obey You. Thank You, Lord, for Your forgiveness. Amen.
PRAYING FOR THE LOST
In the beginning God created the entire universe by speaking it into existence. His words alone were powerful enough to do so.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Gen 1:3
And it goes on from there – God speaking, and what He said happening.
However it took an even greater effort to save us than it did to create the world. If just speaking the words “I forgive you” was all that was needed God would never have sent His son to die for us. But God’s justice demanded a payment be made. So Jesus came at God’s command and made the payment for us. It was with great effort that God saved us. Just as it says:
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:4-6
When we pray for the lost we are asking God to go to great effort on their behalf. But we know He is willing to do so, because for one thing, He has saved us. For another, He doesn’t desire for the lost to perish.
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
So when you pray for the lost, plead with God on their behalf, have confidence that He desires their salvation as well, and be persistent. There may be many things God needs to arrange in order to save someone, and your persistent prayers show that you recognize this and are in it for the long haul.
I have a friend named David whom I’ve known twenty years. He still doesn’t know God. Join me as I pray for him.
Father, You know my friend David. You see him where he is even now. He still doesn’t know You, Lord. Please save him. Only You can. Have regard for how lost he is and take action. Break the hold that Satan has on him. Bring Your word into his life and cause him to understand it. Look at the mercy and grace you’ve shown me. Didn’t I also shake my fist in Your face? But I’ve received mercy from You. Please grant mercy to him as well. Your word says You don’t desire anyone to perish, so please continue to work in his circumstances to bring him to You. Please make Your name great before him, and save him. Thank You for hearing my prayers. Amen.
GIVING THANKS
Here is an important command:
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
I Thess 5:18
If you’ve never sat down to a time purposely devoted to giving thanks this may seem to you a difficult thing to do. Really, you might think, give thanks in all circumstances? Here’s the thing. When we give thanks in bad circumstances we are showing our determination to worship God and acknowledge his goodness and trustworthiness. It is a powerful expression of worship to Him by which we set our minds back on Him and the kindness by which He draws us to Himself.
He honors this kind of worship. I have never failed to find deep comfort from God when I have approached Him in this way. When the verse says this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus, it means His good and trustworthy will, that will lead us to overflowing life, if we obey. He commands this because He knows we need to set our minds on Him. But it is only through obeying this that you will know how good He is and how ready He is to draw near to you.
So join me as I pray. I’m going to pause in the middle and give you a moment to think of something you find it hard to be thankful for, and then we’ll press on and obey God’s command by giving thanks even for that.
Father, first, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for saving us through Him, and granting us nearness to You. Thank You for Your favor that rests on our lives, that we can trust You at all times. Thank You that You never stop working on us to lead us toward a better life of nearness to You, and that the things You command are for our good. Father when we consider our troubles ……… we remember that You’ve promised that the testing of our faith produces endurance. Thank You for this circumstance. I trust that You are at work in it. Even though it is hard to say it, thank You. I will obey in thanking You because You’ve proven Your goodness in the past. Even through tears I will thank You. Even in deep sorrow I will thank You and remember Your faithfulness, because You cause all things to work together for my good. Thank You that no suffering goes to waste when we’re willing to be taught by You. Thank You for the many other things in my life that are good. Thank You. Amen.
PRAYING FOR UNITY
When non-believers look at the churches of Elko they’ll often say, “You guys are all fighting with each other and doing different things. Why should I believe anything you say?”
I think we can agree that their observations are somewhat valid. The Body of Christ is not especially unified across the city. In effect, what they are saying is that they see something other than Jesus when they look at us. I’m not beating up the church here, just pointing out that we’ve got a ways to go. This disunity is one of the main things we would like to see change in this town, so when we have the Concerts of Prayer we always recite as a group these two passages. The first is Romans 12:4-5:
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
The second is I Cor 12:12-13:
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
These passages teach us that our unity has been brought about by God’s doing. When we recite these together we are affirming this truth before God, to all the Heavens, and to the kingdom of darkness. It is a powerful testimony of confidence in what God’s word says about us, and it rings defiantly in the ears of the spiritual forces of darkness that want us to be divided. See, Satan knows that if we begin to live out the unity we have in Christ he stands to lose a lot of ground here. People will begin to see the church here differently, and it will look more like Jesus. That is what the Body of Christ is to be in this community – a believable manifestation of Jesus.
So after reciting these verses in the Concert of Prayer we might pray something like this. Join me as I pray.
Father, your word speaks clearly that those you have chosen in this city are one in your Spirit. You haven’t tasked with ginning up unity on our own. Instead you’ve made us one people in Christ and You command us to live accordingly. Father we confess that this has not been our mindset, that we have looked at other churches with disregard, or worse. We have not properly represented Jesus to this community because of this disunity. Come, work among us, that we should be unified here in Elko. We ask you to heal us, and accomplish your purposes though us. You’ve given us this bond in Christ as a blessing and as your means of making yourself known. Be honored here, Oh God. Amen.
FAITHFULNESS IN THE LITTLE THING
There is a biblical principal that bears on what were are trying to do with communal prayer. Here it is:
When God looks at His church, he looks at it in terms of cities, and when it comes to evangelism He sends his workers to cities. God has cities on His mind.
You can see this in the way Jesus sent his disciples to cities, how Elders are appointed as His delegated authority in cities, how Paul and Barnabas approached their work in terms of cities, and that the letters to the churches in Revelation were written to cities. Just look at how the words city and cities are used in the New Testament and it will be pretty obvious. You can try this at www.biblegateway.com .
So we have a responsibility to reach our city for Christ.
But there is another biblical principal at work and it is this:
He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much.
Luke 16:10
When we are faithful with a little, God will give us more.
We have been praying for the church across Elko to be united, so that Elko will see Jesus when they see our unity. But the truth is that although God is clearly at work within us here, there has not yet been much movement at the city level in terms of increasing unity across the Body of Christ. We are interpreting that as indicating that we have further to go in being faithful with a little thing. In other words, we are still growing up in our practice of communal prayer, and though we are looking for ways to connect with other churches, and for God to bring fruit out of that, right now it seems as though the little thing in which we need to be faithful is increasing the amount of communal prayer we are giving to God.
So this morning, more than simply asking you to join me in a prayer, I am asking you to faithfully join us in communal prayer. When we are faithful in this, then God will open the city to us. So join me as I pray for us.
Father, we desire to be unified, but we understand that unity will come as fruit from our pursuit of you. Just as your word says “love the Lord with all your heart,” it is you that we seek first of all. We praise you for your wisdom and your mercy to us, for your kindness and your interest in us. And we will obey you in joining for prayer, and look for you to bring the unity in your time. Be Lord of all, Father. We are your people. Amen.
A GIRL GETS HEALED
Here’s a story I found on 24-7prayer.com. A guy named Phil wrote this on the blog:
When I offered to pray for Charly, she wasn't enthusiastic about it. In fact, she wasn't enthusiastic about the 24-7 Prayer Room we’d set up in her school at all. She preferred to lean on her crutches in the entrance and watch her ninth grade class-friends noisily explore the room.
"No thanks," she mumbled, when I offered her a chair, "I'm OK."
"You don't look OK," I replied, motioning to her plaster-casted foot, "How did you do that?"
She explained that a horse had trodden on it a few days before, and had badly fractured one of the small bones.
"Does it hurt?"
"All the time," she replied.
She was due back in hospital to have her foot re-cast on Tuesday and the Doctors had warned her that she'd be in this cast for about 6 weeks. She wasn't enthusiastic about that either.
I decided that if Charly wasn’t going to venture into the prayer room, then I'd just explain each of the prayer stations to her where she stood. At the end of her stationary tour, I asked again, "Would you like me to pray for your foot? I can't promise that your foot will get better," admitting that my 'healing' track-record wasn't very impressive. I told her about my daughter Poppy's deafness, and about others who I've prayed for, who haven't been healed. But then I also told her a few stories about those I know who have been unexplainably healed. "It's Jesus who heals, Charly... he's the one I believe in, he's the one I have faith in - even just a little bit." Charly just listened without saying anything.
"Look at it this way," I said, "if we pray for you, the worst thing that could happen is... well, nothing; but then, if something does happen, if the pain goes away or if your fractured foot gets suddenly repaired... well, you've got some explaining to do!" She smiled... and eventually nodded her agreement. So, I prayed a very simple little, hopeful more than faith-full, prayer.
Yep, I admit it... I honestly didn't think she would be healed, but I really hoped that something would happen. On the way home that afternoon I pointed out to the Lord Of All Creation what an excellent opportunity this would be for him to 'make an appearance' via one of those 'miracle things' (I reminded him of a few I remembered were in the Bible too).
So... I was a bit disappointed, but not very surprised, when Charly didn't come skipping and dancing into the prayer room anytime that week. Oh well...
Halfway through the following week, I received this text from one of the Christian teachers in the school:
"Hi Phil. Charly came to PE today. She said that the day after you prayed for her foot the pain had gone. When she went to the fracture clinic, the fracture was fixed. They have removed the plaster. She still has crutches but she said it is nearly better. One of her class mates asked if her knees could be prayed for!"
The teacher also said that other students had been pummeling her with questions about why she is a Christian and others had been asking for prayer. Needless to say, we are very, very excited! Thank you Jesus. You are amazing.
This story pretty much speaks for itself, but, the thing I like about it is the guy shows Charly love and gives her hope, all in the context of faith working itself out through communal prayer. I like that he prayed with her, but also kept praying for her. So, join me as I ask God to do similar things in our midst.
Father, just as the apostles prayed, we also ask that you would “Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:30) In His name, Amen.
OUR VISION FOR PRAYER
Our vision for the church here in Elko is pretty simple. If we really pray and don’t give up, God will do great things and save many people in Elko.
In 1958 Billy Graham held a crusade in the San Francisco area. He preached for seven weeks. During that time 28,254 people responded to the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. That was widely publicized at the time.
What is not well known is how much prayer was going on behind the scenes. Sherwood Eliot Wirt, who later worked for Billy Graham, reports in his book A Personal Look at Billy Graham that “nearly every city in Australia had a Graham prayer group praying for the meetings in California. Bob Pierce reported that Soviet Christians in Kiev and Moscow were praying for San Francisco. In India, Germany, and Taiwan it was the same story. Around the shores of San Francisco Bay 1,200 cottage prayer groups gathered weekly, asking God to bless the meetings.” 1
People were praying and God responded. But don’t say in your hearts “that was Billy Graham, and that was San Francisco, and that was 1958 – things were different then.”
In 1990 an evangelist named Don Anders went to Alliance, Nebraska, a town about the size of Elko. This town was such a mess it was featured on a Paul Harvey news program as having the highest per capita drug use in the country. Anders planned an eight-day evangelistic series. But eight days stretched in to nine weeks as the response grew and grew. By the end, 900 people out of a population of 9500 had come to the Lord. 2
But again, in the background there was prayer. Fifteen months earlier the pastors from five or six denominations began praying for the town for an hour a week. They prayed for fifteen months before the evangelist came. 2 They lived out the kind of cross town prayer and unity that we are looking for, and beginning to see. The result was that God listened to them and did more than they could ask or imagine. (Eph 3:20)
God still works this way. He seeks people who will call upon Him, who believe that he will act on their prayers and do amazing things. When He finds them busy obeying Him in prayer, purifying themselves, and seeking His Kingdom for their town – He acts and saves many people. Will you stand on the sideline in unbelief, refusing to take prayer seriously, or will you join us? It’s a choice, but it’s one that you have to make. There are opportunities to join with us in prayer – will you actually do it?
So join me as I pray: God, please move among us to make us a people who call upon your name. Make us a people of prayer in this body, and a church of prayer across this town. Please do what only you can do and bring about your will among us, and truly make us a people of prayer. Give us a vision of what you will do through the prayers of your people, because Elko needs you, and you are a compassionate God, abounding in grace and kindness toward all people.
1. Billy: A Personal Look at Billy Graham, the World's Best-loved Evangelist, 1997 Sherwood Eliot Wirt; Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois
PRAISE
Praise is:
Acclaiming God’s great attributes or character:
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable His judgments,
and His paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been His counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay Him?”
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.
Romans 11:33-36
Recounting God’s great works
Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”
Rev 5:1-2
He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song:
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and with Your blood You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
Rev 5:7-10
Why praise the Lord?
One answer is that we are commanded to.
Sing the praises of the LORD, you His faithful people; praise His holy name.
Ps 30:4
Another answer is that He is worthy of praise from us.
In a loud voice they sang:
“Worthy is the Lamb, Who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
Rev 5:12
Another answer is that it brings us joy to do so because there is nothing more essentially worshipful to God than praising Him:
Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Ps 22:3
You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Ps 16:11
Join me as I praise God and listen for the two types of praise within this prayer.
Model Prayer:
Father, we praise You because You are great and mighty, sovereign over all You have made. You are enthroned in the heavens in the splendor of Your great glory. You are worthy of praise because of Your righteousness and justice. How wonderful are Your works – who can understand Your wisdom and insight? We praise You for the great kindness You have shown us by saving us through Jesus Christ. You saw a way to save us and did so at great cost to Yourself, proving forever Your kindness and compassion. We praise You for the greatness of Your salvation. Amen.
REPENTANCE
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 1:4
Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:14-15
He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luke 24:46-47
Repentance is realigning our lives with God in obedience to His word and is central to our relationship with God.
Repentance is not asking for forgiveness – it is a decision we make – not a request that we make of God.
Repentance is also not saying “I’m sorry” to God. You can do that, but it is not the same thing as repentance. People can be sorry without repenting.
Repentance is a decision to live according to God’s word. So a prayer of repentance should ideally refer to God’s word. I say ideally because new believers might not know much, if any, of God’s word. That’s OK – God is interested in the stance of your heart toward Him with regard to the sins you understand. But over time, try to work in the word of God. For example, if I have been hard hearted toward people, speaking badly of them to others, there are many scriptures that speak against this. Here is one, and I’ll work it into a prayer of repentance in a minute:
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
Col 3:8
Here is a model prayer:
Father, I repent of the sins of malice and slander. I turn from these sins and will obey You from now on. I will measure my life by Your word, which says I must rid myself of all such things as anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language. Keep me in Your way as I seek to obey You. Thank You, Lord, for Your forgiveness. Amen.
PRAYING FOR THE LOST
In the beginning God created the entire universe by speaking it into existence. His words alone were powerful enough to do so.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Gen 1:3
And it goes on from there – God speaking, and what He said happening.
However it took an even greater effort to save us than it did to create the world. If just speaking the words “I forgive you” was all that was needed God would never have sent His son to die for us. But God’s justice demanded a payment be made. So Jesus came at God’s command and made the payment for us. It was with great effort that God saved us. Just as it says:
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:4-6
When we pray for the lost we are asking God to go to great effort on their behalf. But we know He is willing to do so, because for one thing, He has saved us. For another, He doesn’t desire for the lost to perish.
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
So when you pray for the lost, plead with God on their behalf, have confidence that He desires their salvation as well, and be persistent. There may be many things God needs to arrange in order to save someone, and your persistent prayers show that you recognize this and are in it for the long haul.
I have a friend named David whom I’ve known twenty years. He still doesn’t know God. Join me as I pray for him.
Father, You know my friend David. You see him where he is even now. He still doesn’t know You, Lord. Please save him. Only You can. Have regard for how lost he is and take action. Break the hold that Satan has on him. Bring Your word into his life and cause him to understand it. Look at the mercy and grace you’ve shown me. Didn’t I also shake my fist in Your face? But I’ve received mercy from You. Please grant mercy to him as well. Your word says You don’t desire anyone to perish, so please continue to work in his circumstances to bring him to You. Please make Your name great before him, and save him. Thank You for hearing my prayers. Amen.
GIVING THANKS
Here is an important command:
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
I Thess 5:18
If you’ve never sat down to a time purposely devoted to giving thanks this may seem to you a difficult thing to do. Really, you might think, give thanks in all circumstances? Here’s the thing. When we give thanks in bad circumstances we are showing our determination to worship God and acknowledge his goodness and trustworthiness. It is a powerful expression of worship to Him by which we set our minds back on Him and the kindness by which He draws us to Himself.
He honors this kind of worship. I have never failed to find deep comfort from God when I have approached Him in this way. When the verse says this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus, it means His good and trustworthy will, that will lead us to overflowing life, if we obey. He commands this because He knows we need to set our minds on Him. But it is only through obeying this that you will know how good He is and how ready He is to draw near to you.
So join me as I pray. I’m going to pause in the middle and give you a moment to think of something you find it hard to be thankful for, and then we’ll press on and obey God’s command by giving thanks even for that.
Father, first, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for saving us through Him, and granting us nearness to You. Thank You for Your favor that rests on our lives, that we can trust You at all times. Thank You that You never stop working on us to lead us toward a better life of nearness to You, and that the things You command are for our good. Father when we consider our troubles ……… we remember that You’ve promised that the testing of our faith produces endurance. Thank You for this circumstance. I trust that You are at work in it. Even though it is hard to say it, thank You. I will obey in thanking You because You’ve proven Your goodness in the past. Even through tears I will thank You. Even in deep sorrow I will thank You and remember Your faithfulness, because You cause all things to work together for my good. Thank You that no suffering goes to waste when we’re willing to be taught by You. Thank You for the many other things in my life that are good. Thank You. Amen.
PRAYING FOR UNITY
When non-believers look at the churches of Elko they’ll often say, “You guys are all fighting with each other and doing different things. Why should I believe anything you say?”
I think we can agree that their observations are somewhat valid. The Body of Christ is not especially unified across the city. In effect, what they are saying is that they see something other than Jesus when they look at us. I’m not beating up the church here, just pointing out that we’ve got a ways to go. This disunity is one of the main things we would like to see change in this town, so when we have the Concerts of Prayer we always recite as a group these two passages. The first is Romans 12:4-5:
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
The second is I Cor 12:12-13:
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
These passages teach us that our unity has been brought about by God’s doing. When we recite these together we are affirming this truth before God, to all the Heavens, and to the kingdom of darkness. It is a powerful testimony of confidence in what God’s word says about us, and it rings defiantly in the ears of the spiritual forces of darkness that want us to be divided. See, Satan knows that if we begin to live out the unity we have in Christ he stands to lose a lot of ground here. People will begin to see the church here differently, and it will look more like Jesus. That is what the Body of Christ is to be in this community – a believable manifestation of Jesus.
So after reciting these verses in the Concert of Prayer we might pray something like this. Join me as I pray.
Father, your word speaks clearly that those you have chosen in this city are one in your Spirit. You haven’t tasked with ginning up unity on our own. Instead you’ve made us one people in Christ and You command us to live accordingly. Father we confess that this has not been our mindset, that we have looked at other churches with disregard, or worse. We have not properly represented Jesus to this community because of this disunity. Come, work among us, that we should be unified here in Elko. We ask you to heal us, and accomplish your purposes though us. You’ve given us this bond in Christ as a blessing and as your means of making yourself known. Be honored here, Oh God. Amen.
FAITHFULNESS IN THE LITTLE THING
There is a biblical principal that bears on what were are trying to do with communal prayer. Here it is:
When God looks at His church, he looks at it in terms of cities, and when it comes to evangelism He sends his workers to cities. God has cities on His mind.
You can see this in the way Jesus sent his disciples to cities, how Elders are appointed as His delegated authority in cities, how Paul and Barnabas approached their work in terms of cities, and that the letters to the churches in Revelation were written to cities. Just look at how the words city and cities are used in the New Testament and it will be pretty obvious. You can try this at www.biblegateway.com .
So we have a responsibility to reach our city for Christ.
But there is another biblical principal at work and it is this:
He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much.
Luke 16:10
When we are faithful with a little, God will give us more.
We have been praying for the church across Elko to be united, so that Elko will see Jesus when they see our unity. But the truth is that although God is clearly at work within us here, there has not yet been much movement at the city level in terms of increasing unity across the Body of Christ. We are interpreting that as indicating that we have further to go in being faithful with a little thing. In other words, we are still growing up in our practice of communal prayer, and though we are looking for ways to connect with other churches, and for God to bring fruit out of that, right now it seems as though the little thing in which we need to be faithful is increasing the amount of communal prayer we are giving to God.
So this morning, more than simply asking you to join me in a prayer, I am asking you to faithfully join us in communal prayer. When we are faithful in this, then God will open the city to us. So join me as I pray for us.
Father, we desire to be unified, but we understand that unity will come as fruit from our pursuit of you. Just as your word says “love the Lord with all your heart,” it is you that we seek first of all. We praise you for your wisdom and your mercy to us, for your kindness and your interest in us. And we will obey you in joining for prayer, and look for you to bring the unity in your time. Be Lord of all, Father. We are your people. Amen.
A GIRL GETS HEALED
Here’s a story I found on 24-7prayer.com. A guy named Phil wrote this on the blog:
When I offered to pray for Charly, she wasn't enthusiastic about it. In fact, she wasn't enthusiastic about the 24-7 Prayer Room we’d set up in her school at all. She preferred to lean on her crutches in the entrance and watch her ninth grade class-friends noisily explore the room.
"No thanks," she mumbled, when I offered her a chair, "I'm OK."
"You don't look OK," I replied, motioning to her plaster-casted foot, "How did you do that?"
She explained that a horse had trodden on it a few days before, and had badly fractured one of the small bones.
"Does it hurt?"
"All the time," she replied.
She was due back in hospital to have her foot re-cast on Tuesday and the Doctors had warned her that she'd be in this cast for about 6 weeks. She wasn't enthusiastic about that either.
I decided that if Charly wasn’t going to venture into the prayer room, then I'd just explain each of the prayer stations to her where she stood. At the end of her stationary tour, I asked again, "Would you like me to pray for your foot? I can't promise that your foot will get better," admitting that my 'healing' track-record wasn't very impressive. I told her about my daughter Poppy's deafness, and about others who I've prayed for, who haven't been healed. But then I also told her a few stories about those I know who have been unexplainably healed. "It's Jesus who heals, Charly... he's the one I believe in, he's the one I have faith in - even just a little bit." Charly just listened without saying anything.
"Look at it this way," I said, "if we pray for you, the worst thing that could happen is... well, nothing; but then, if something does happen, if the pain goes away or if your fractured foot gets suddenly repaired... well, you've got some explaining to do!" She smiled... and eventually nodded her agreement. So, I prayed a very simple little, hopeful more than faith-full, prayer.
Yep, I admit it... I honestly didn't think she would be healed, but I really hoped that something would happen. On the way home that afternoon I pointed out to the Lord Of All Creation what an excellent opportunity this would be for him to 'make an appearance' via one of those 'miracle things' (I reminded him of a few I remembered were in the Bible too).
So... I was a bit disappointed, but not very surprised, when Charly didn't come skipping and dancing into the prayer room anytime that week. Oh well...
Halfway through the following week, I received this text from one of the Christian teachers in the school:
"Hi Phil. Charly came to PE today. She said that the day after you prayed for her foot the pain had gone. When she went to the fracture clinic, the fracture was fixed. They have removed the plaster. She still has crutches but she said it is nearly better. One of her class mates asked if her knees could be prayed for!"
The teacher also said that other students had been pummeling her with questions about why she is a Christian and others had been asking for prayer. Needless to say, we are very, very excited! Thank you Jesus. You are amazing.
This story pretty much speaks for itself, but, the thing I like about it is the guy shows Charly love and gives her hope, all in the context of faith working itself out through communal prayer. I like that he prayed with her, but also kept praying for her. So, join me as I ask God to do similar things in our midst.
Father, just as the apostles prayed, we also ask that you would “Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:30) In His name, Amen.
OUR VISION FOR PRAYER
Our vision for the church here in Elko is pretty simple. If we really pray and don’t give up, God will do great things and save many people in Elko.
In 1958 Billy Graham held a crusade in the San Francisco area. He preached for seven weeks. During that time 28,254 people responded to the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. That was widely publicized at the time.
What is not well known is how much prayer was going on behind the scenes. Sherwood Eliot Wirt, who later worked for Billy Graham, reports in his book A Personal Look at Billy Graham that “nearly every city in Australia had a Graham prayer group praying for the meetings in California. Bob Pierce reported that Soviet Christians in Kiev and Moscow were praying for San Francisco. In India, Germany, and Taiwan it was the same story. Around the shores of San Francisco Bay 1,200 cottage prayer groups gathered weekly, asking God to bless the meetings.” 1
People were praying and God responded. But don’t say in your hearts “that was Billy Graham, and that was San Francisco, and that was 1958 – things were different then.”
In 1990 an evangelist named Don Anders went to Alliance, Nebraska, a town about the size of Elko. This town was such a mess it was featured on a Paul Harvey news program as having the highest per capita drug use in the country. Anders planned an eight-day evangelistic series. But eight days stretched in to nine weeks as the response grew and grew. By the end, 900 people out of a population of 9500 had come to the Lord. 2
But again, in the background there was prayer. Fifteen months earlier the pastors from five or six denominations began praying for the town for an hour a week. They prayed for fifteen months before the evangelist came. 2 They lived out the kind of cross town prayer and unity that we are looking for, and beginning to see. The result was that God listened to them and did more than they could ask or imagine. (Eph 3:20)
God still works this way. He seeks people who will call upon Him, who believe that he will act on their prayers and do amazing things. When He finds them busy obeying Him in prayer, purifying themselves, and seeking His Kingdom for their town – He acts and saves many people. Will you stand on the sideline in unbelief, refusing to take prayer seriously, or will you join us? It’s a choice, but it’s one that you have to make. There are opportunities to join with us in prayer – will you actually do it?
So join me as I pray: God, please move among us to make us a people who call upon your name. Make us a people of prayer in this body, and a church of prayer across this town. Please do what only you can do and bring about your will among us, and truly make us a people of prayer. Give us a vision of what you will do through the prayers of your people, because Elko needs you, and you are a compassionate God, abounding in grace and kindness toward all people.
1. Billy: A Personal Look at Billy Graham, the World's Best-loved Evangelist, 1997 Sherwood Eliot Wirt; Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois
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