24 HOUR PRAYING

Greetings,

Several from Atlanta prayer group are initating a week long, 24 hour prayer time that would have been Broken Before the Throne. The document is a sign up sheet for the 168 hours in a week to pray one hour or take that hour each day as your schedule permits.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AphJTjrV4MsCdGYxUXA4bVUtZ2dacGpfUVdBMjlxQ1E#gid=0

The conversation I had was about the Moravian prayer meeting that lasted for over 100 years. God put His people to prayer and the world was changed and impacted with the Gospel through their prevailing prayer.
HEre is an archived article that I like about that payer meeting:
http://www.ctlibrary.com/ch/1982/issue1/118.html

so I began to think of what that would entail and look like. I noted, God moved Zinnedorf to initate it. WE have multiple prayer movements scheduled from Harvest America by Greg Lauire; 40 day prayer at the end of September; etc. There are numerous prayer times being established because of the need of the hour.

What is the need? Christianity is fading in the US. It is flourishing everywhere else in the world, except in Europe and the US. Why? Because we have sought humanism over God Himself. This idea of prayer is not something new; it was the mandate of Christ in His way of life and for His followers:
'Men ought always to pray and not to faint'
'Go and wait to be endued with power from on high'
'And when ye pray. . .'
'I give myself unto prayer'
'Conintue in prayer'

It is the command, discipline and way of a Christian life.
Now the depth and length of prayer is the next issue. Once a person knows that they have sinned in not praying, they confess it, and then repent of it. Repentance of not praying is by starting to daily pray. WE learn how to pray. How to stay before the Lord.
Note in this article that they had division and lack of power, so they set a prayer time. That is what is happening right now. People see the judgements, they know the lack of power and they are setting prayer times.
Note that they had 24 men and 24 women to begin. They had suffecient numbers to begin and maintain the 24 hour period of prayer.
Note the sacrifice to commit to something like this. It is upon the shoulders of the few to take their hour seriously and maintain it. If they do not pray their hour, then all effort and labor is stopped at that moment. I am sure there was ups and downs and ins and outs of continuing such a time for 100 years. But when it started, only a few were surrendered to it. It literally fell on the shoulders of them. It is something different when you have 100's or 1000's holding it up.
Regardless, there must be a serious heart and mind given to such a thing.
Another point, few know how to occupy an hour of prayer. Yes, we sing, 'Sweet Hour of prayer'; but very few churches, pastors and Christians could honestly pray for one hour. They are not taught, disciplined, or aware of how to do it. I would think it foolish for one to agree to take an hour of prayer and not have ever done an hour before in prayer.
One of the things that I understand about IHOP prayer meetings is that whether any one is praying or not, they play music and worship. I understand why they do that and what they are doing, but I do not agree that worship is the same intercession, supplication and petition. Making request, needs, prayers before the Lord is verbal communication before the Lord.

But no doubt, when God is in the midst of something like this, He desires to do something. And as the old saying goes, 'When God is prepared to do something int he affairs of this world, He sets His people to prayer'.
Let us learn how to pray. Let us grow in prayer. And let us pray. There is much that hinges on our prevailing in prayer. 

2.  consider the things to pray for
As most have not prayed for an hour on their own, it is needful to have a crash course of what would fill up an hour of praying.  Here are suggestions to consider, add, or lead you to your own ways. 
--consider adoration, worship and praise of Who You are talking to; fill time with remembering and rehearsing Who God is; His Names, His attributes, Scriptures that define and declare His greatness;
--consider the specific needs in front of us; we are to be in prayer for the church, specifically;  Now the Spirit might lead you to pray for yourself, for other requests on your mind and heart.  But there is a time for that on your own, this time is to be about the church, the nation and the sin before us.
--consider the specific sins committed before the Lord in lives today; openly, unashamed, no remorse, rebellious and defiant before a holy God. 
Here we are to intercede on their behalf.  His anger is hot against them; His wrath is being poured out; Is there no voice to shield and deliver them?


until,
dan biser