Two More Things to Pray For

Yesterday I posted a blog post encouraging you to pray for this election.  In this new blog post I want to do two things. I want to reaffirm the importance of praying for the election, and I want to encourage you to pray about two things which are far more important than this election.

God’s Word encourages us to pray about all kinds of things and to pray for all people (Ephesians 6:18, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Philippians 4:6).  We rightly pray for safe trips whenever we get into a car, for healing from even a head cold, and for every meal.  How much more we should pray for an election which will likely have deep and wide effects on many lives, both here in American and around the world.  So pray for the election!  Pray for “battleground states” (I live in a big one, NC!).  Pray for God to intervene according to His mercy and wisdom.

While you are praying (and perhaps fasting) for this election, please also pray for two things which are even more important.

1.  Pray for a Great Spiritual Awakening

This is not the first time our country has been in terrible moral condition and going downhill fast.  On two occasions in the past God graciously and mercifully sent His Holy Spirit in such a way that many people turned to Him.  These events are called the First Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening.  We need something like that now!

By a great spiritual awakening, I mean a move of the Holy Spirit which results in a whole lot of people trusting, knowing, loving, fearing, and serving God a whole lot more!

Specifically, it would include:

a.  Many people hearing and believing the gospel and being born again.

b.  Many lukewarm Christians repenting and coming back to God and serving Him with zeal and devotion.

c.  Many people being set free from habitual sin.

d.  Current churches seeing new growth and new churches springing up everywhere.

e.  A general increase in righteousness and fear of the Lord which would increase morality throughout whole populations and result in less suffering and sickness.

f.  Many families would be healed and there would be less of the brokenness which leads to spirals of despair, substance abuse, and immorality.

g.  Many people would be called into ministries.  Many would give and would pray and would support God’s work in many ways.  Which would lead to an advance in the second area I ask you to pray about . . .

2.  Pray for the advance of the gospel and the completion of the Great Commission

No Biblically minded Christian can be satisfied with the small ambition of renewal in his or her own local area or nation.  God calls us to join in His great plan to reach all nations with the Good News about Jesus.

So pray for the advance of the gospel around the world.  Pray for missionaries and Christians you know serving the Lord around the world.  Pray for the darkest parts of the world where there is so much suffering: places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the entire Middle East, and large areas of the continent of Africa.  And without apology I ask you to include the nation which I love so much, Indonesia.

Pray for local Christians around the world.  There are Christians living in every political nation on earth now.  It is no longer accurate to think of the Great Commission advancing primarily through missionaries sent from “Christian nations”, although they still have a very important role to pray.  But it is the “national Christians”, Africans, Asians, and Christians in the Middle East, who live and die on the “front lines” of the Great Commission every day.  Many of them are poor.  Many are persecuted.  Pray for God to strengthen, protect, empower, and provide for them.  Ask God to show you how you can help.

Above, I mentioned 7 expected results if the Lord mercifully sends us a Great Awakening.  What do we expect when the Great Commission is complete?

We expect a loud trumpet to sound.

We expect to see armies of angels appear in the sky led by King Jesus.

It won’t matter who is president, because Jesus will begin to reign directly and fully as King on earth.

All evil will end.

Every sickness will be healed.

Every tear will be wiped away.

And Jesus will receive the praise and worship that He deserves from every nation, tribe, and language.

Hallelujah!

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .