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.
"When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." Mark 2:5.
This is one of those stories that we all love to rehearse. There was a man who was paralyzed and bed-ridden, but he had four friends that were determined to bring him to Jesus. They couldn't reach him because of the thick crowds and if they were of the more timid variety, they would have turned back saying perhaps it was not God's will that they bring him to Jesus that day. Clearly, they were hindered, right? But this was not the spirit of those four friends. They saw this as their only opportunity and the desperation of the situation combined with the love for their friend compelled them to take bold action and persist in their pursuit of the Savior. They started to break up the roof of the house and by hook or by crook they were going to reach the Lord. They cared not for criticism. They cared not for man's opinions. They were desperate and their faith in Christ and in His benevolent power gave them the assurance that what they were doing would not be met with disappointment. And as we all know the end of the story, their faith was soundly rewarded.
Friends, this is what we are doing as we gather together to pray. We are the "four friends" that are often found carrying the limp and lifeless souls of our loved ones to the Savior. They cannot pray for themselves, so we must pray for them. They won't move an inch toward Christ, so we must come boldly on their behalf, and carry them to Him. And you'll notice that there were four. They each took a corner of that bed and they pulled together with united resolve to bring this sick man to Christ. As we gather day by day in united prayer, let us play the part of those four friends, take a corner of the bed, and with full assurance of faith, bring our loved ones to the Lord in prayer. And may it be said of us, "When Jesus saw THEIR faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."
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: