Call to Prayer
In Beth Moore's latest study, Children of the Day, she presents a call to prayer that I felt was worth typing up and passing along. Consider praying this with someone over the weekend. As we look at fireworks, let's imagine each spark is the result of the excitement in heaven over someone coming to Christ!
"Most glorious, all-powerful, merciful God,
Your Son died for more than these. We thank You for what You've already done, but we beg You to do infinitely more. Look upon this ailing plant, pulsing with the hopeless, the helpless, the hiding, and the dying. You have willed that people would not die in their sins but be saved and redeemed through Your Son, Jesus Christ. You promised that the cross was big enough for us all, with everlasting arms reaching to the ends of the earth. We know what Your word says You can do, and we confess to You that many of us have not yet seen it with our eyes, but we feel it stirring in our souls. Hosanna, Lord! Save now!
We willingly confess to You our sinful arrogance. We have prescribed to You by what means You, the solitary Healer, should heal souls. You have refused to sign Your name to our prescriptions. We ask You this day to write Your Name across our sky and bring revival! Save by whatever means brings You glory. Bring it any way You like, but bring it, Lord. We free You from using our methods. We free You from using our denominational names. We free You from using our buildings, though we cast ourselves before You at Your complete disposal and beg that You would. Use none of us. Use all of us. Use whatever people and whatever means honor You most, but do it, Lord. Please do it!
We confess to You our appalling narcissism in asking You to mirror us. We confess to You our over sophistication and snobbery. We confess to You that we are terrified of Your Holy Spirit. We confess our pathetic arrogance for having forbidden signs and wonders when there could be no rester sign and wonder than a tidal wave of salvation rolling on our dry banks. Oh, Jesus, that we would not leave You to marvel that You could do so few miracles among us because of our unbelief.
We repent this day for not trusting You with what revival should look like. We repent this day from prioritizing our dignity over Your downpour. We confess to You that we have torn pages from our Bibles and handed the back to You and demanded that You work through what was left. We confess to You this day that the tent pegs of Scripture are vastly wider than our imaginations and our expectations.
Lord, if souls are saved by the thousands of thousands and millions of millions, we pledge to You this day that we will not, in our sectarianism, pick apart the process and reason how it was not legitimate. We are ready even if it's messy. Even if, atop the beautiful feet carrying the good news are bruised and broken bodies of willing evangelists.
Open heaven. Rain down, Holy Spirit. We repent for having asked You to respect our boundaries. We bow now to Your boundless Spirit and make room over our lowered heads for You to all upon us with power and might and a firestorm of Your great affection. You have loved us so. You have loved us well. Scar our hearts with Your cross and love through us, Lord. Oh, Holy Spirit of the Living Christ, come without limit. We have known You were able but begged You to be willing. All the while, we have been disabled because we have been unwilling.
To what conceivable degree we could have held them in our hands, we turn the reins of revival back per to the Rider who is Faithful and True, and we plead that You would not let them rest on the neck of that great horse but that You'd bid him run.
Do what You want, but we plead for You to do it now. Do it here. Make Your name glorious. Save now.
In the holy name of Christ our King, Amen"
