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.
"I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only." Psalm 71:16.
The devil is trying to stop us praying. This is a general truth. But I believe it's also specifically true of us, or perhaps I should more rightly say, of me. Yesterday was definitely one of those days when I was struggling to continue. And maybe some things do need to change, and that's OK. But I think it's the devil that is always trying to stop God's people from praying. Do you not think he'll put up a fight?
I was reading in Psalm 71 this morning again and I ran across the above verse. It is the verse that is inscribed on my father's grave. It was a fitting verse for me because, after yesterday, I did not have strength to go on. I did not have the desire to go on. But this verse states the opposite. "I will go (on) in the strength of the Lord God." Certainly not in my strength. I'll be the first to tell you that I have none. Like Jacob of old, oftentimes we can feel that the hollow of our thigh comes out of joint as we continue to wrestle on with the Lord in prayer. That's the way I felt, friends. But what was his cry? "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me!" With rugged determination, he was not going to stop wrestling until he got the answer. With God's help, may that be my cry as well. What do we do when the strongest part of our body is crippled? I will go on in the strength of the Lord God. For His strength is made perfect in my weakness.
Far from throwing in the towel, I am going to get up and try again (Prov 24:16). I have done away with the participants signatures on the United Prayer page and will resume sending these emails to the full list again. If you'd rather not receive it, just reply with an unsubscribe. Nothing more needs to be said. Also, I am going to ask that we keep the chatting down to a minimum during prayers to avoid distractions.
The following sermon clip sums it up for me.
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:
