This resolution of Daily United Prayer is based on An Humble Attempt, originally put forward by Jonathan Edwards in 1748. Its design is to encourage God's people in the duty of united extraordinary prayer; setting aside some time every day to pray for the revival of His church and the advancement of Christ's kingdom in our homes, in our churches, in our nation, and in the world.
"For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought. Seek the LORD, and ye shall live." Amos 5:4-6.
The command could not be clearer. Don't miss it. The Lord is telling us, "Seek ye me, and ye shall live." He repeats this command again one verse later, stressing its importance, with the words, "Seek the Lord, and ye shall live." Sandwiched in between this clear instruction is a warning. A warning not to seek our deliverance elsewhere, but to seek the Lord, and the Lord alone. These cities mentioned are associated with past blessings from Israel's history. It was at Bethel where Jacob said, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not ... this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." (Genesis 28:16-17). It was at Gilgal where Joshua pitched those twelve stones as a monument to the great miracle of the parting of the waters of Jordan (Joshua 4). And it was at Beersheba where God met with all the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in special blessing throughout the years. The Lord is instructing us to not look to places or patterns of the past for present blessing. Sometimes we can look back on past revivals and imagine that we simply need to "re-create" the setting or pilgrimage to a place in order for the Lord to "do it again." As if revival could be achieved by a mere assembly of ingredients, processes, and incantations. This is how false religions work, but not genuine Christianity. Don't look to Bethel, Gilgal, or Beersheba—no matter how much we can learn and appreciate from the past. Let us SEEK THE LORD and put the full weight of our dependence on Him, and Him alone.
I enjoyed listening to a sermon from last week's Bible Conference at BJU by a speaker named Michael Redick. I've not heard of him before, but I thoroughly enjoyed his message. Here is a clip stressing the importance of a Spirit-empowered life.
DAILY UNITED PRAYER unitedprayer.net
Mon-Fri @ 12pm EDT // Sat @ 10am EDT
We invite you to join our dedicated and earnest group of praying participants of all ages from around the world that meet every day over Zoom to pray. At the start of each prayer call, a different individual will bring a brief Scriptural meditation. Here's the most recent:
