A small church in a farming town had been without a pastor for more than six months. It had been decreasing in size for years, so God led the head elder to unite with church members several times a week in prayer. They prayed, and prayed, and kept praying for people to come to their church. People did start coming, and members continued to pray until their attendance had more than doubled! Their dying school became their next united prayer object. God soon had doubled its enrollment plus the members were now seeing personal answers to prayer and were filled with rejoicing!
Imagine, millions of Seventh-day Adventists around
the world, all praying together in one accord for the same
thing! What would happen? If millions unitedly persevered
in prayer, much like the disciples did in the upper room just
before Pentecost and through the book of Acts, what could
God do!
God has promised to pour out His Spirit upon us, if we
just ask, and press together as a people in one accord in
prayer. You can be part of a similar dynamic, worldwide
prayer movement with that same purpose! United in Prayer,
as this Revival and Reformation initiative is called, is a global church community of Seventh-day Adventists members
praying together. “We want to encourage members to join
together in prayer,” says Jerry Page, General Conference
Ministerial Association Secretary, “whether through your
own personal time with God, personal prayer groups, or in a
broader sense as a church through prayer partners, prayer
chains, united prayer phone lines, 777 on the hour, texting
groups, or any other way that God leads.” Participants of
United in Prayer will also share and receive testimonies,
prayer requests, practical helps, and inspirational messages.
In Matthew 18:19 and 20, God invites us to come
together and ask great things of Him: “. . . If two of you shall
agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it
shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For
where two or three are gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them” (AKJV).
WHY PRAY UNITEDLY?
Ellen White tells us that “The promise [in Matthew] is
made on condition that the united prayers of the church
are offered, and in answer to these prayers there may be
expected a power greater than that which comes in answer deeper into God’s Word. The companion to the United in
Prayer global prayer initiative is the global study program
called Believe His Prophets. Believe His Prophets, the
sequel to Revived by His Word, is a five-year program of
reading through the entire Bible, a chapter a day, with an
accompanying blog, and interactive comments. It also
includes weekly readings from seven Ellen G. White books,
including Steps to Christ, Christ’s Object Lessons, Patriarchs
and Prophets, Prophets and Kings, The Desire of Ages, The
Acts of the Apostles, and The Great Controversy.
“God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our
path,” says Derek Morris, editor of Ministry magazine and
coordinator of the program. “So our goal is to encourage
church members to spend time with God in prayer and
reading the Bible every day.”
“I used to be violent and always aggressive,” writes one
participant, “but now, because of God’s Word and His love,
I’m now peaceful, loving and kind.”
“My work mates are seeing changes in my habits,”
writes another, “I use to swear a lot at work, but now these
habits are dying out. Thanks, Revived by His Word!”
Shah writes, “I am no longer complaining about leaders
in my local church, but I pray for them!”
The name Believe His Prophets was taken from the
counsel in 2 Chronicles 20:20, which says, “Believe in
the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his
prophets, and you will succeed” (ESV). “Thousands have
been blessed by God as a result of Revived by His Word,”
Morris concludes, “and we believe thousands more will gain
an even deeper understanding of God’s will for their lives
through Believe His Prophets.”
To be part of these two worldwide movements and
receive the daily chapter and regular prayer mailings, go to
www.RevivalandReformation.org.
Jackie Ordelheide Smith is Ministerial communication manager at
the General Conference world headquarters.
