Resource available January 3, 2010
It is no small thing, the call to prayer. In the movement of God's Spirit through God's Word which brings the Gospel to the nations, prayer has not only had a role, it has had the lead role. In a reading of the book of Acts, not only did prayer have a lead role but prayer also had a fundamental role in the Spirit's preparation of the faithful for the hard work ahead. Acts 1:14 reveals that the members of the church understood the on-going call to prayer. The believers in Jerusalem did not know what the future was for them nor did they know how God would use them. What they did know was the simple call to prayer. This they did. Peter, in Acts 6, also understood that as the cry for ministry increased, the Word and Prayer could not be compromised, but rather, the Word and Prayer was to be pursued even more tenaciously!
The drive of the Texas District is the mission which God has given to His church. This mission calls for many things. It calls for understanding our communities and the demographic dynamics of our state. The mission calls for personal clarity of the Biblical message of the Gospel and corporate creativity in the expression of God's love in Jesus for all people. The mission calls for a lot of hard work in the pursuit of the right person, place and plan. But none of these will have any lasting fruit apart from the movement of God's Spirit.
And so we pray. We pray, giving thanks for the call to faith in our own lives. We pray, thanking God for His mercy toward us. We pray, asking God to work through a humble response to the love of God in Christ. As good stewards of our time, we take time to pray, pleading for wisdom and courage to bring the Gospel message to people who do not know or trust Jesus, knowing that apart from Him there is Hell to pay. We pray, holding up those who are on the "front lines" of mission. We pray, knowing that He is the One who calls, gathers, and enlightens the hearts and minds of people for His sake.
If you would like to join our one-hundred and twenty prayer partners who are praying for the mission, you are welcome to do so. Your contribution to the mission of God in this way is a serious matter. But as you enter this ministry, you will be tempted to equivocate your time in prayer. You will find reasons not to pray today. Resist that. In an effort to help you, a prayer resource is being developed and will be available in January of 2010. This is offered to assist you in keeping your focus on the mission, beginning with your prayer time.
Resource for 2010
A series of fifty-two worship/devotion guides are being designed to encourage your prayer time. There will be a Scripture reading and a Psalm for each week of the year. I have included only one per week for your meditation. I have discovered that the more time you spend with a passage, the more the Spirit reveals in that passage. In addition there will be an Invocation (to begin your time), a Devotion (short and authored by leaders in the Texas District) and a Benediction (to send you on your way). This resource will be made available by email to those who sign up. (Click here to sign up.)
It is our prayer that your joyful response to the Gospel will find fruit as you serve the people around you.
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