A 365 Day Global Prayer Journey - January 23 (Day 23)

I'm not sure we can underestimate the impact of the church in the Americas in the big picture of missions, from those who founded the United States to be a beacon of religious freedom to those who pioneered missions all over the world. The church in the Americas is in transition today, and may need our prayers now more than ever. Please read "The Church in the Americas" on pages 51-53, then return here for our prayer time.

Every aspect of this prayer emphasis is crucial, but one thing jumped out at me more than anything else. On point 3e, the authors write: "Prayerfulness must be cultivated once more in evangelical circles." How true - not just for revival, but for every other need that we have touched on in this brief tour around the Americas. I want to commend you at this point in our journey - we've been together more than 3 weeks now, and hopefully this global prayer focus is becoming a habit. I want to encourage you to continue to cultivate prayerfulness -- in your own life, in the lives of those around you starting with your family and circling outward, and in your church. If your church has a prayer group try to attend or get the requests to pray over later. If your church doesn't have a prayer group, pray about starting one! God has all sorts of creative ways to get people to pray together -- this group is one example of how a non-traditional format can look. But let's not overlook the benefits of face-to-face prayer time - from simply holding a person's hand praying the moment they make a request, to sharing a structured prayer time together -- let's be people of profound prayerfulness!

My prayer for today: Thank You, Lord, for the impact of the church in the Americas on global missions. Thank You for the model of religious freedom the early Christians established, and for the revival movements that have flowed from prayer in the Americas. We ask today for the church in America to be strengthened, Lord. We pray for the Catholic church to be centered on Christ alone and encouraging of people's desire for the Word of God; for the evangelical church that needs a new revival and renewal; for the many churches that falsely emphasize prosperity theology; and for the churches that need to have a fuller inclusion into the circle of Christian churches and clearer understanding of the Gospel. We pray for maturity, for disciples Lord Jesus. We ask you for church leaders to set an example of moral purity in every way - sexual, financial, family life. We pray for holy and authentic living. We pray for the proclamation of Your Word with power in such a way that people are encouraged and passionate about learning. We pray for people to love Your church, to not see it as cultural or secondary but as central to faith as we learn to walk it out together. Give guidance to those who teach Your word so that what is taught is solid meat. Guard Your church from false doctrines. We pray for evangelicals in the political realm to have wisdom and guidance and to use their influence wisely, not to gain power but to have a prophetic role in calling leaders and nations to a high standard of righteousness. We pray for churches to be willing to address social and economic injustices biblically, not relinquishin those decisions to government but realizing that we are the institution You choose to meet the needs of people. For the missions movement from the Americas, we pray for continued engagement and for churches to truly catch the vision of the "whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world" rather than seeing missionaries as the "specialists". We pray Lord for Your guidance and direction and sending - if there are better ways to do it, let us know. We thank You, Lord, for the church in the Americas. Help us honor You in every aspect of our service. In Jesus' name, amen.