B06 Prayer Army
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B06 Prayer Army
The written Word of God (the Bible) and later history show that God’s work on this earth is „somehow“ associated with urging Jesus‘ disciples onto God to cause „something“! Every movement or revival in history was prepared by prayers of God’s people, started with urgent intercession, and lived in prayers before it began to fade out. When the urgency of spiritual warfare was weakened, so did the effectiveness of reaching people for Jesus.
In addition to the barriers that we remove within ourselves, and barriers we stop building between ourselves and our friends, it is important to remember that when we share living Jesus, we enter the realm of spiritual warfare! No reason for fear! Only to take more care for our own intercessions with Jesus and broader „prayer background“. In spiritual warfare, it is difficult to stand alone. That is why I say to those who want to start their Discovery and especially in its further expansion: „hire an army of prayers.“ For a start, it could be two or three people who will intercede for you and your people. Give them clear targets and „bullets“ for how and what to ask the Almighty Heavenly Father.
Examples:
−Your decision to go to people in a club
−To make a connection there and share Jesus
−Specific names to meet
−Who did you meet and what did you share with them
−What you are learning or need to learn
− And so on
The best is to pray for each other. Two or three people come, and each gives two or three names to whom they are trying to bring Jesus. In a week, let your comrades ask you if you were with your people, what you told them, how they responded, and what you plan to do next…
Jesus tells His disciples, „Ask the Lord of the harvest to „cast out“ the laborers into his harvest“ (Luke 10:2b, „b“ means the second half of the second paragraph).
Friends John and Kenny decided for an experiment. With a team of friends who knew Jesus, in pairs (man to man and woman to woman), they contacted each other by phone or over the Internet, and briefly called Jesus as instructed in „Luke 10:2b,“ which is, „Ask the Lord of the harvest, to „expel“ the workers onto his harvest.” After a few weeks, they learned several things: One had too much work or other obstacles, so they agreed on a more suitable time for connection. Sometimes they left a short prayer in voicemail or sent a micro − prayer via SMS or the Internet. Gradually, they added current things from the harvest, where they worked normally every day at work. For example, the names of friends they were about to reach or have already addressed, and planned activities with people who do not know Jesus. In their conversations with Jesus, they quoted God’s promises — Bible passages about the harvest; they learned to be very specific.
Over time, they evaluated their experiment and found that in eight months of urging Jesus in their wider ministry, more than a hundred new communities of various types had sprung up. I know it was in the States, but to a lesser extent we saw something similar here in the Czech Republic; several times in the last 40 years!
Who will be your partner in the background, who will urgently intercede for you with Jesus? And what will you do for your own greater focus and faithfulness in the realm of prayer?
Thank you, Lord, for the great example of Your own persevering and urgent connection with Your heavenly Father…