"I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry."
Psalm 40:1We received the GREEN LIGHT today for a 24-HOUR global prayer meeting with the students at Bob Jones University in cooperation with SermonAudio. This prayer effort will overlap with the regular Bible Conference week at BJU when normal class responsibilities are suspended, and students are more available.
FEB 15-16 @ 7pm-7pm
Cooper Morter, who works in the BJU Office of Student Life, met with me to discuss and pray through some final logistics in this effort to mobilize as many interested students as possible to engage in 24 hours of uninterrupted prayer for the revival of religion and the advancement of Christ's kingdom on earth.
GLOBAL
This prayer effort is unique in that it will involve BOTH in-resident students at BJU that will be gathered in our Vault Room as well as those who wish to join from around the world in various time zones via our regular United Prayer Zoom link.
The Vault Room is located on the second floor of Mack Library on the campus of BJU and will be open for the entire 24-hour duration to in-resident students of BJU only.
24-HOURS
Beginning THU Feb 15 @ 7pm and ending FRI Feb 16 @ 7pm, there will be a brief prayer talk given at the top of each hour by a different speaker and the remaining time in that hour will be given over to prayer. This pattern will continue uninterrupted for 24 hours, with each devotional being uploaded hour by hour.
This will involve 24 speakers, multiple hosts throughout the day and night, and supporting staff to operate the webcast and upload the devotionals.
PRAYER
At the heart of this effort, it is an old-fashioned prayer meeting. There will be no secret agendas, no ulterior motives, no gimmicks. Simply put, it is a call to gather with a group of burdened saints that desire to seek God with all their heart in extraordinary prayer. Can we expect such a thing anymore in our day? I hope so.
ZOOM & WEBCAST
For those around the world in any time zone, all are welcome to join via Zoom, day or night, or tune in via the 24-hour live webcast that will run uninterrupted on the front page of SA. Only the devotionals at the top of each hour will be webcast.
MOTIVATION
The challenge of a 24-hour prayer meeting may prove helpful to a generation that is typically characterized by short attention spans, bite-sized content, and instant gratification. We're asking God to disturb the status quo, unsettle the comfortable, and put a spotlight on something that needs to be emphasized once again.
WHY 24-HOURS?
It's a good question. Is it all simply a novelty? Is any of this really necessary? As I was thinking about this, I had no better answer than what Jonathan Edwards said when answering the critics of his day.
In his little book, An Humble Attempt, Edwards makes the case that there ought to be seasons of extraordinary, united prayer among God's people as they take into consideration the state of the church, and of the world of mankind generally. In other words, the times call for it. However, in order to answer the criticism of such efforts being a "novelty," he answers like this:
Agreeing on certain times for united extraordinary prayer is a likely and proper means to promote and maintain (I would say, sustain) such prayer; I think will be easily evident to any one that considers the matter. If there should be only a loose agreement or consent to it as a duty, or a thing fit and proper, that Christians should be much in prayer for the revival of religion, and much more in it than they used to be, without agreeing on particular times, how liable would such a lax agreement be to be soon forgotten, and that extraordinary prayerfulness, which is fixed to no certain times, to be totally neglected!
Don't get lost in the language. Edwards makes a powerful point that the organization of such efforts in prayer is more for OUR aid and benefit than for God's. Meaning, it's not as if our prayers become more effective by virtue of the fact that we are praying in this fashion, but rather, our prayers become more effective because we are actually encouraging and sustaining one another MORE in the duty of prayer!If that point wasn't clear enough, he goes on to say this:
Though it would not be reasonable to suppose, that merely such a circumstance, (as a 24-hour prayer meeting), will directly have any prevalence with God; yet such a circumstance may reasonably be supposed to have influence on the minds of men. Will any deny, that it has any reasonable tendency to encourage, animate, or in any respect to help the mind of a Christian in serving God in any duty of religion, to join with a Christian congregation, and to see an assembly of his dear brethren around him, at the same time engaged with him in the same duty?
We are creatures of weakness. God has so ordered it to have God's people in a body so that we can help and encourage one another. Included in this is the discipline of prayer.Extraordinary times of declension call for extraordinary efforts in prayer. This 24-hour prayer meeting is part of a larger effort of Daily United Prayer.
Learn more about the 24-Hour United Prayer:
https://www.24prayer.com
Learn more about Daily United Prayer:
https://www.unitedprayer.net
