‘Jesus replied “What is impossible with man is possible with God”’ (Luke 18:27)
What?
Hendon Baptist Church (HBC) has now held several 24-hour prayer days, starting in September 2020, and with one a month through 2021 so far. We believe that God is now calling us to embark on the next stage of our journey into 24-7 prayer, so we are planning a week of non-stop prayer, 24-hours-a-day, to be held on 20–26 June 2021. Our aim is that at least one person will be praying every single hour through the whole week.
Why?
We want to focus all our efforts and energies on seeking God and His plans for us as individuals and as part of His wider Christian family. There is so much going on in the world today that calls for believers to cry out to God, to get stuck in and pray – and to act as He directs us. Let’s not get distracted from seeing the bigger picture – Jesus tells us to pray ‘Your kingdom come’, so how does God want this to happen in and through each of us? Of course, we can – and must – pray for all the real concerns in our own lives and the communities in which we live, but let’s also be bold enough to ask God to lead us to pray the ‘Big Prayers’. Some suggestions:
· For an end to COVID-19, and especially for those countries that are really struggling in fighting the virus, such as India
· For lasting peace between Israel and Palestine
· For the spread of the Gospel where we are – and for those who don’t yet know Jesus
· For our children and young people
· For those who are sick, lonely and feeling on the outside
· For the persecuted church across the world
· For revival in our own land
· For whatever God wants for us, where we are now.
Who?
This initiative is being opened up by Hendon Baptist Church (building on and linking in with the 24-7 movement that began in 1999). We are joining in prayer with churches with whom we are already connected: Vimukthi Baptist Church in Hyderabad, India; Bethany Baptist Church in Santandrei and Carmel Baptist Church in Giris, Romania; Reiger Park Evangelical Bible Church in South Africa; Pastor Mike and Teresa Glisson in the USA; and Bible Christian Baptist Church in the Philippines.
How?
We want to make this as easy as possible:
· We have created a main rota, which will be available online to everyone, so we all know who is praying, when and where. This is the link for the shared document, so you can sign up here – just put your name down for the time you want to pray, according to your country and time zone (it’s all sorted clearly so you don’t have to worry about trying to work out times)
· Alternatively, you can tell whoever is your contact in your own church when you would like to pray and they will add your name to the rota for you. For HBC that’s Jacqui and Lanie – just get in touch with us by email or WhatsApp or phone
· We are aiming to fill every hour between us – so each church involved fills in the times they can manage rather than trying to cover every single hour during the week on their own (unless they want to!). What we are aiming for is that the whole week is covered, with someone praying, whether in the UK, USA, Romania, India, South Africa or the Philippines
· It doesn’t matter how many – or how few – slots anyone chooses; our hope is that everyone will be involved as much as they feel is right for them and everyone in each church will take at least one slot during the week
· It also doesn’t matter if there is already someone signed up for the slot you’d like – we can have as many people as would like to pray in any one slot at any time during the week.
Where?
Given the continuing uncertainties relating to COVID-19, especially with different countries coming together for prayer, this will be a virtual prayer adventure, taking place within your own home and connecting via the internet or by phone when appropriate:
· People can pray on their own, or they might like to pray in pairs or groups over the phone or via Zoom, as they feel led – we don’t have to stick with a one-person/one-hour model but can be as flexible as possible and follow the leading of the Spirit
· Existing meetings – such as life (home) groups or Junior Church (Sunday School) – might like to spend their usual time together in prayer (via Zoom) as part of the 24-7 rota
· On the final Saturday we would like to have a Zoom meeting to which all participating churches will be invited. If we meet at 2.00pm BST this is probably the best way to allow for all the time differences. This won’t be a long meeting and we won’t go into breakout rooms because of language differences, but it would be really good for a spokesperson for each church to share something of what we feel God has been saying to us over the week and to lead in prayer on behalf of everyone in their church. A link for this meeting will be sent out during the week of prayer.
Communication
It will be important for us all to keep in touch throughout the week, so that we can:
· Share specific prayer requests
· Share what we feel God is saying to us
· Give real support to each other that will last beyond the designated week.
In order to do this, we will need to explore ways of sharing online and in person:
· Within your own church keep in touch through WhatsApp, Signal or other similar platforms – whatever works best for you
· We can set up a special group WhatsApp address that will connect all the participating churches and enable us all to share what we feel God is telling us and our requests for prayer
· Prayer requests will also be added to the sign-up sheet online, and listed by country (on a separate worksheet from the main rota)
· Everyone is encouraged to look at the available resources on the 24-7 website, which can be reached via the link above and here.
What next?
As we spend time connected in prayer and seeking God, we should be asking Him how he wants to develop this venture further. How does He want us to continue this way of praying after 26 June?
· By holding coordinated one-day 24-hour prayer watches once a month?
· By holding further weeks of 24-7 prayer at regular intervals (quarterly, monthly)?
· By continuing 24-7 prayer throughout the year?
Think and pray about it and do let us know what you feel God is saying to us all.
‘God never forgets a single prayer you pray, even though you may forget. Things may have happened to you today as a result of prayers that you prayed years ago and you have forgotten all about them. But God is still working on them in his timing. Keep stacking up the prayers. Persevering prayer prevails.’
(Bible in One Year, 20 May 2021)
‘Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.’
(Habakkuk 3:2)
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