In the
days leading up to the Global Day of Prayer, let’s bombard heaven on behalf of
the United States.
Twelve years ago a South
African businessman, Graham Power, felt God nudge him to organize a prayer
gathering in the city of Cape Town. About 45,000 Christians responded to the
call by jamming into a rugby stadium in March 2001 to intercede for their
nation.
That was the beginning of the
Global Day of Prayer, an event that will likely involve millions of Christians
in 220 nations on Pentecost Sunday, May 27. This year organizers are encouraging
people to extend their prayers for 10 days prior to the event, beginning on May
17. They are also urging pastors to fuel the prayer with sermons about the
necessity of the Holy Spirit’s power.
“One breath of the Holy Spirit can bring life to dry
bones! Lord, send the refreshing wind of Your presence into lifeless
congregations.”
It’s obvious the Holy
Spirit is orchestrating this grass roots movement, and I hope you will join it,
either by attending local gatherings during the next 10 days or by focusing
your personal prayers on the need for a fresh Pentecost. I believe we are on
the verge of a new season of spiritual awakening, and the concentration of
prayer this month is a key to unlock it.
During these next 10 days
I will be meditating on the first chapters of the book of Acts and praying for
an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the United States. If you’d like to join
me, you can use the following prayer points as a guide:
1. Lord, send the wind of sincere repentance. The original outpouring at
Pentecost triggered a wave of repentance that resulted in 3,000 conversions. This level of raw conviction is never the result of eloquent
sermons, staged events or man’s programs.
Only the Holy Spirit can do this. The greatest miracle on earth occurs when a
sinner’s heart breaks before God and he or she is born again. Lord, unleash a
flood of conversions in America! And as sinners repent, let backslidden
Christians, disillusioned believers and weary saints return to You.
2. Lord, send
the wind of spiritual renewal. Many churches in the United States are feeble and
powerless, and some are dying. Many denominations are paralyzed by the spirit of
religion. Many pastors are battle-scarred and discouraged. But one breath of the
Holy Spirit can bring life to dry bones! Lord, send the refreshing wind of Your
presence into lifeless congregations. And with Your wind, send a flame on every
Christian’s head—especially those reluctant Gideons and timid Timothys who know
they are called but need Spirit-inspired confidence.
3. Lord, send
the wind of a youth awakening. When the winds of Pentecost blew the first time,
Peter preached from the prophet Joel, saying, “ ‘In the last days,’ God says,
‘your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see
visions’ ” (Acts 2:17, NIV). This promise is still ours to claim. A huge
percentage of America’s youth are fatherless, addicted, abused, sexually confused
or somehow at risk. Lord, raise up and strengthen ministries to reach our
schools and college campuses. Give students the courage to stand for Christ and
speak for Him. Send another Jesus Movement to this generation.
4. Lord, send
the wind of supernatural demonstration. The most pitiful heresy ever hatched was the idea
that God stopped doing miracles after the Bible was written. Forgive us, Lord,
for limiting You! We need the power of Pentecost today more than ever. When the
first Pentecost occurred, normal people were “clothed with power from on high”
(Luke 24:49), and they began to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out
demons. Forgive us, Lord, for being so smug and sophisticated that we pulled
the plug on Your power. (And forgive us, too, for misusing, merchandising and
exploiting the Holy Spirit’s gifts for personal gain.) Unleash the miraculous
in the American church. Let the same miracles that are occurring in Asia,
Africa and Latin America become common in our nation.
5. Lord, send
the wind of bold evangelism. When the first disciples were touched by the Holy
Spirit at Pentecost, they declared “the mighty deeds of God” (Acts 2:11, NASB)
to every racial and ethnic group that had gathered in Jerusalem. We need this
boldness in the United States because we have become the largest
English-speaking mission field in the world. Many of our communities have no
gospel witness—and many Christians never share their faith with anyone. The
true anointing of the Holy Spirit always results in evangelism. Lord, turn up
our volume! Raise up laborers to touch every sector of American society, including
our forgotten and ignored Native American reservations. Send immigrants to this
nation who can reach their own ethnic groups. Let the gospel be preached in
every language spoken within our borders.
6. Lord, send
the wind of divine intervention. Our nation is in desperate crisis. Families are
disintegrating, morality has eroded, perversion is celebrated, and our culture
is becoming hostile to biblical faith. Unless the Lord answers with His holy
fire from heaven, we are sunk. Lord, deliver us from evil! Extend Your mercy and
send a Third Great Awakening. Amen.
J. LEE GRADY is the former
editor of Charisma and the director
of The Mordecai Project. You can follow him on
Twitter at leegrady. You can find more details about the Global Day of Prayer
at globaldayofprayer.com.
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