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.
"And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people." Genesis 49:33.
What an end to a life. The final moments of Jacob's earthly pilgrimage were spent blessing each of his children around his bedside. And after he was done, he "gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people." I love that little expression, "and was gathered unto his people." Who are his people?We are his people! It is the people of God. That means you, and that means me. But it's not merely about the gathering of the people, for verse 10 tells us that "unto [Shiloh] shall the gathering of the people be." We are gathered together as God's people only because we are gathered together around Christ. The closer we move towards Christ, the closer we move towards each other. Christ's prayer for unity in John 17, is in fact a prayer to draw us all closer to Himself. For, "wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together" (Matt 24:28). Wherever you see pockets of God's people gathering together, you know that Christ is in the midst. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt 18:20).
When I pass from this scene of time, it too will be said of me that "he was gathered unto his people." I am Korean by ethnicity. But it won't be the Korean people that I will be gathered unto in that day ... my people are God's people. As we gather together as God's people here below, may it be a sweet foretaste of what awaits us up above. For though we are from different nations, kindreds, people, and tongues, we will all gather together around Jesus Christ and around His throne. I count it a privilege to pray with you, friends. May God give us a heightened sense that we will one day, like Jacob, be gathered unto his people.
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:
