Big things happen when Christians pray together for the advancement of his kingdom.
As I noted last week, Christians prayed under the cloud of persecution for boldness in sharing the good news of Christ (Acts 4:23-31). God's response was to bring many into the family of God.
A modern revival in Uganda broke out as persecuted Christians from many denominations prayed together ankle-deep in swamps under the murderous regime of Idi Amin in the 1970s.
Yet so many of us evangelicals would never venture to pray with believers in other denominations even though we share the same faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord. The fact that we can't work and pray together is one more obstacle to faith for those who don't believe in Jesus.
There are certainly good things happening in many cities. Our own city has an interdenominational prayer effort for the city every January and a few people from different churches pray together during the year.
But it seems to me we have hardly tapped the power of united prayer among believers.
Certainly, Eddie Smith and Michael Hennen believe that Christians uniting in prayer is key in spreading God's kingdom and defeating the plans of the evil one.
Their book Strategic Prayer: Applying the Power of Targeted Prayer makes a strong case for approaching prayer for our communities by joining together with a definite plan. They say that we need to understand what our enemy - the evil one - is up to in our area and our response should be praying to disrupt his plans and further those of the Lord.
I intend to explore their ideas further in coming weeks.
Their overall message is that Christians should target their prayers specifically after understanding what the enemy is up to in their personal lives and in their communities. This requires serious reflection about ourselves and our local communities, examining scripture, and listening to the Holy Spirit.
They are convinced that our prayers are most effective when we join together to pray these targeted prayers.
They point to Jesus' great statement in John 17, calling on the Father to ensure that the followers of Christ are one just as the Father and the Son are one. He goes on to say that he wants believers to be brought together as one so that the world will know that the Father sent him.
The authors say this unity in the faith is not the same as uniformity - there is room for diversity in the church. But we believers should be able to pray as one since we share faith in Jesus Christ as our Saviour who died on the cross and rose again.
Armed with a clear understanding of what God wants, we can pray with purpose.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:19-20: "I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
That's a promise - God's promise.
May the Holy Spirit help us as followers of Christ to pray together for God's glory to spread around us.
As I noted last week, Christians prayed under the cloud of persecution for boldness in sharing the good news of Christ (Acts 4:23-31). God's response was to bring many into the family of God.
A modern revival in Uganda broke out as persecuted Christians from many denominations prayed together ankle-deep in swamps under the murderous regime of Idi Amin in the 1970s.
Yet so many of us evangelicals would never venture to pray with believers in other denominations even though we share the same faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord. The fact that we can't work and pray together is one more obstacle to faith for those who don't believe in Jesus.
There are certainly good things happening in many cities. Our own city has an interdenominational prayer effort for the city every January and a few people from different churches pray together during the year.
But it seems to me we have hardly tapped the power of united prayer among believers.
Certainly, Eddie Smith and Michael Hennen believe that Christians uniting in prayer is key in spreading God's kingdom and defeating the plans of the evil one.
Their book Strategic Prayer: Applying the Power of Targeted Prayer makes a strong case for approaching prayer for our communities by joining together with a definite plan. They say that we need to understand what our enemy - the evil one - is up to in our area and our response should be praying to disrupt his plans and further those of the Lord.
I intend to explore their ideas further in coming weeks.
Their overall message is that Christians should target their prayers specifically after understanding what the enemy is up to in their personal lives and in their communities. This requires serious reflection about ourselves and our local communities, examining scripture, and listening to the Holy Spirit.
They are convinced that our prayers are most effective when we join together to pray these targeted prayers.
They point to Jesus' great statement in John 17, calling on the Father to ensure that the followers of Christ are one just as the Father and the Son are one. He goes on to say that he wants believers to be brought together as one so that the world will know that the Father sent him.
The authors say this unity in the faith is not the same as uniformity - there is room for diversity in the church. But we believers should be able to pray as one since we share faith in Jesus Christ as our Saviour who died on the cross and rose again.
Armed with a clear understanding of what God wants, we can pray with purpose.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:19-20: "I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
That's a promise - God's promise.
May the Holy Spirit help us as followers of Christ to pray together for God's glory to spread around us.
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