Invitation to 40 Days of Prayer
Lent begins next week on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 22). Christians throughout church history have designated the 40 days of Lent as a season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. During Lent, some people fast from food, drink, or media in order to focus on Christ more intentionally for the 40 days. My encouragement to you this year is that we don’t just fast from something, but we fill our 40 days with an intentional time of prayer—in order to be filled with the Spirit and be filled with the knowledge of Jesus.
During Lent this year (Wed., Feb. 22 to Sat., Apr. 8) we plan to have 40 days of prayer. And I invite you to join me and others in this wonderful opportunity of spiritual renewal. I would like to share why we pray, how we plan to pray together, and how you can participate in 40 Days of Prayer.
Here are the four reasons why we pray and why we pray together:
1. Prayer is a gift.
We have been gifted with the wonderful relationship with our heavenly Father through Christ our Lord. We pray, not just because we must; we pray because we get to and we want to. We want to experience God and grow in our relationship with him. When we come to hear him and when we come to speak to him, our Father delights in us. And we also delight in him. What a great joy and privilege it is for us to pray!
2. Prayer changes us.
We don’t pray to change God’s mind; we pray to align our mind with God’s mind. We don’t pray to change God’s plan; we pray to find and follow God’s plan. As we pray with God’s word and through the Spirit, our mind is renewed and changed not only to know God but also to love him and obey him. (At least that is our desire and aim as we pray together). We want to be transformed by the power of the Spirit.
3. Praying together for spiritual awakening in our church in our generation.
Have you heard about what is happening at Asbury seminary? Last Wednesday (Feb 8th) during the chapel service at Asbury University something wonderful happened and since then the Lord has been working so powerfully to bring about what some call ‘revival’: people repenting of their sins, reconciling with God and people, renewed in their love for Jesus. Dr. Tennent, the president of Asbury seminary calls it awakening and in hearing about what God is doing, I long for such an awakening to spread at New Hope, on university campuses and in our cities. Prayer has always been at the heart of spiritual awakening.
4. Praying together in the Spirit unites the church of God for the mission of God.
When the early church devoted themselves to prayer with one mind, the Spirit-filled them with God’s empowering presence and united them. And they were empowered and united for God’s mission to the ends of the earth. May God empower us and unite us to fulfill his mission in our generation, as we pray together.
Prayer is a wonderful gift of God we have received in Jesus Christ. Let’s receive that gift with gratitude and use it to cultivate a deeper relationship with our God during this season of Lent. Praying together is a wonderful gift of God we have received together as a church. Let us come together in unity to bring glory to God and bless one another.
Now here is how we plan to do 40 Days of Prayer together:
1. Starting Ash Wednesday (Feb. 22), we will meet via zoom from 6:30 to 7 AM during weekdays and 8 to 9 AM on Saturdays. Each day we will read together with the day’s portion of our Bible Reading Plan, and pray with the Bible. If you want to read a short explanation about praying with the Bible, please check out my column, “Reading, Meditating and Praying with God’s Word.” The best way to find out how we pray is to simply join one morning and see how we pray together. The best way to learn how to pray is to hear other people praying, for prayer is more caught than taught.
2. Each day we read together the day’s portion of our Bible Reading Plan. (This year we are reading and praying with the Old Testament readings).
3. We are given about 10-15 minutes of our own personal meditation and prayer time.
4. We spend the last 10 minutes together to have a few people share their meditation and pray for one another and for the church.
Those of you who may feel intimidated to show up in a prayer meeting, please be assured that you will not be asked to pray aloud. You can even have your camera off in the morning and just hear others' prayers and be blessed and encouraged.
Here is how you can participate in 40 Days of Prayer.
Depending on your desire and schedule, you can participate in 40 Days of Prayer in different ways:
1. You can commit to participating for the whole 40 Days.
It will do your soul good and your participation will bless and encourage others. Even if you may miss a day or two here and there, do not worry. You can always restart the next day.
2. You can commit to participating partially.
You may want to commit to the first 10 days and/or the last 10 days. You may want to commit three days a week or every Monday or every Saturday. However you choose to commit, it will be wise to set your mind and carve out your schedule to commit to it throughout the 40 days.
3. You can commit on your own, or you can commit together with others—whether it be your spouse or your friend, or your Life Group.
Doing it together is always better than doing it alone. It keeps you accountable and encourages you to keep on keeping on with prayers. I encourage you to consider having a partner or a group of friends who can encourage you to “strive together with them in their prayer to God.”
Paul in Romans 15:30 appeals to the church “by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit to strive together” with him "in their prayer to God.” I encourage you to strive together with me and fellow brothers and sisters of New Hope in our prayer to God during the season of Lent. In our praying together God will be glorified, others will be edified, and we will all be filled with the Spirit.
Join us via zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85698528439?pwd=WXGjydLeUBVyZXs1fpfhBuskHrlgjn.1
Meeting ID: 856 9852 8439
Passcode: nhf
