CONCERTS OF PRAYER - 2017

Concert of Prayer for the Church

April, 2017

Prayer is the great opportunity of the people of God to prevail with God.  It is one of the greatest resources of the church today, yet is one of the least things of many a church and Christians life.  My desire is to promote the opportunity for the church to once again become a 'house of prayer'; and for us as individuals to become a men/women of prayer.   

For the most part, the church recognizes and understands the great need to be a people of prayer and to practice prayer.  Yet, one of the greatest confessions from pastors and church members is that they don't pray enough, or at all.  Therefore, let us answer the question, if we 'prayed enough', would we see a different world, nation, church, future?  I believe we would agree, 'yes'.  This is an attempt to stir those fires and direct us of how to go about becoming a people of prayer, and a house of prayer.

The following has two parts for your use and for me to convey to you my heart:
1.  an introduction letter inviting you to join and become a part of the 'Concerts of Prayer';
2.  suggested prayer topics, targets and agendas for use during these 'Concerts of Prayer';

It is my most pressing need to convey to you in these short words, that the hour for our future is very late.  And the urgent spirit that should be among us, is largely not there.  I plead with you to give heed to these words and give place in your heart and your ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to our churches for our day.

Until,
Dan Biser

An Introduction Letter:
  
Greetings,

One of our greatest needs of today, in the midst of the church, is to prevail with God for the sake of our nation, churches, families and future.  All of these things hang in the balance of a society, nation and even in the church that has departed from His ways and Word.  You are being asked to consider, in this most needful hour to 'give yourself to prayer' (Psalm 109:4).  Our communities, families and headlines are filled with horrible headlines of evil and sin.  'When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.' (Isaiah 59:19)   These are days of evil coming in like a flood and you are being asked to be a part of the standard against that evil through the means of prevailing prayer.

During the mid 1700's, in Scotland and here, in the United States, the flood of evil was everywhere.  and the church had no power nor direction to counter it.  Profanity, drunkenness, empty churches, limited salvation's were the norm.  A man of God in Scotland, Rev. John Erskine, did not want to see his Lord's church falter, nor his nation destroyed by God, so he set forth a call for 'Concerts of Prayer', in which the church would gather and seek the Lord together in seasons of prayer.  Rev. Erskine coresepondent with Rev. Jonathan Edwards and shared the appeal of 'Concerts of Prayer'.  Upon receiving this mail and appeal, Edwards set forth his treatise and for the churches to also initiated such 'concerts of prayer'.  And for us we know that it led to the First Great Awakening.

Brethren, we are in such days again of evil and great need of God's outpouring Presence.  None of this will happen without a spirit of prayer among us.  Let us see the need and answer the call; and gather for seasons of prayer and may we find God's mercy in such times of wrath.  Our window, I fear is closing and very limited.  Thus, the urgency of the hour is upon us and we must recognize the need of this emergency for the soul of our nation and future and respond.  Let us give time and place to churches, our secret closets, communities, counties and regional areas to gather for set times, places and moments to cry out to the Lord and find Him waiting for us.

What I am asking of you to consider is for our state, associations and local churches to set aside specific times of prayer.  The summer is nearing upon us and I would ask of to set monthly prayer times for May, June, July and August.  To set them for your own church and regional/associational churches to gather together.  For example, Fox's Hollow Baptist church cleared one Sunday suggested by Family Research Council for the July 4th Sunday years ago.  We loved this initiative so much, that the first Sunday of every month, we cancel the Sunday School hour and make it an hour of corporate prayer.  They also set aside the 2nd and 4th Saturday evenings of each month for prayer.  Which we opened to the county churches to come and pray.  Sadly, no other church gathers with us; although there were other pastors and churches represented that did so at the beginning.


"Let us pray. ."

Until
Dan Biser





Part II.
A Guide and Suggested Themes, Targets and Points to Pray for the Corporate Prayer Meeting

It is not just enough for us to gather and have a prayer meeting.  Although this is the initial plea for us to start to gather.  And the one thing that I have learned that boosts the corporate prayer time is the secret closet prayer time of those particiapting.  Out of the closet comes the power for the corporate prayer meeting.  Realizing that many want to pray, but simply simply saying prayers, it may ease our conscience, but it will not prevail with God.  And our desire for these concerts of prayer are that they may be filled with :
--fervency; -- urgency; -- emergency;

'the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much' (James 5:20)  this is the prevailing with God.

In these concerts of prayer it will be needful for them to be led to keep them for the issues at hand.  Most of our prayer meetings that are held in the church today come out of the following practice:  "Are there any prayer requests?"  And then there is a litany of physical needs of doctor appointments, illness and medical tests and/or operations.  Physical needs take up almost 98% of all the prayer time for physical sickness.  Rarely is there prayer requests for spiritual needs or spiritual desires.  This has costs us greatly in prevailing prayer.  "Set your affections on things above, not on things of this earth" (Colossians 3:2).  The concerts of prayer must be prayer for the spiritual.  We are not fighting flesh and blood, but spiritual wickedness and powers.  We need the power and the Presence of the Holy Spirit to come upon us.  And we must deal with the things that has driven Him, the Holy Spirit away from us - sin.  Another aspect that these concerts of prayer must deal with is the prayer of true worship, praise, thanksgiving and adoration of the Lord God.  Too often in the church today, when you say 'worship and/or praise' immediately we think the band and musicians are going to start.  The worship and praise of the Lord in prayers is almost a lost art and one in which we must find again.  

Concert of Prayer Subjects:
1. Worship
--true worship of God is always about God;  there is never a spoken requests, or petition offered during pure praise and worship of Him.  And although when recognizing how great is our God and how pure and Holy He is, it may lead us to start confession; it is needful to stay focused on Him and not on our sins until time of confession.   Found in the worship of God are the Names of God, the attributes of God, and the wondrous works of God.  It is all about God.  If it becomes confession of sin (my sin/our sin) then we have stopped worshiping Him.  If it become our desires, needs, wants, cares, then we have become selfish and have ceased worshiping Him.  "keep the main thing, the main thing' - keep worship about God!
Names of God:
--Jehovah -  Jehovah-Nissi; Jehovah-Jireh; Jehovah-Shalom; etc.
--God the Father - Abba; Father God; Creator of Heaven & Earth; Lord God; Judge of all the earth; etc.
--God the Son - Robert Murray McCheyne says that there are 105 names for Christ in the Scripture: Son of Man, Son of God, Alpha & Omega; Master; Good Master: King of King; Lord of Lords; Savior; Redeemer; Prince of Peace, etc.
--God the Holy Ghost - Spirit; Comforter; Holy One; Holy Spirit; Spirit of God; etc.
Attributes/Characteristics of God:
--listing from A to Z can be a means to identify these; for example: A - Adonijah; Absolute, Atoner, Almighty; B - Beautiful, Bright and Morning Star, Blessed, Bountiful; C - Christ, Caring, Conqueror, Compassion;  etc.
--those that describe a very personal descriptive for one's own soul; 'this is what Christ means to me. . ."

All of these point us to God.  There at the throne of God we gaze, we look, we adore Him for Who he is and what He has done; for that which He has revealed and spoken about Himself; we return these things as worship and praise unto His Great Name.  This is worship.

2.  Confession
--that which has offended the Spirit of God from us is our sin;  And we must recognize that sin must be confessed, repented of and forsaken so that we may please Him.  Recognition of specific sins is needful as the Holy Spirit convicts, reveals and presses us.
--specific sins are identified in Scripture in many passages of what is offensive to the Lord;  This is done for our nation, our churches, our families and our own heart.
Again one can use the A, B, C's to identify sins out of the Scripture.  For example:  A - adultery, abomination, abortion; B - blasphemy, burglary, belittle/bemean; C - curse, covet, crime(s); etc.
--wherein does our great sin lie?  this is the answering of the question for each individual to see our guilt and make to make it right.  Personal, individual time to search our hearts and allow the Spirit to reveal and convict us in most needful.
--identifying of sins against the Lord; sins against another; and sins we are guilty of corporately, as a nation, and the church;  

3.  The Request
With worship we recognize Who God is, with confession we eradicate any offense and blocking of His favor and mercy.  This leaves us with our pleading for the outpouring of His mighty power and Presence upon His people, so that we might do the work of His kingdom and glorify His great Name.  Without the power and Presence we can do nothing.  But with Him, all things are possible. After worship and confession, time is then spent in supplication for this great need.  Pleas and petitions are spoken out loud among a corporate setting of prayer.  All the while, those not praying are hearing and listening and praying in agreement.  "If two of you shall agree as touching anything here on earth, it shall be done for you in heaven." 

Now many think, that simply because they speak a sentence asking for this, they have done their bit.  But there is a level of pleading that is intense, fervent and urgent that puts before God that we will not be denied, nor slack in approaching unto Him for this great need.  Too long we have been without such pleading and urgency of our spirit, and it has costs us much.  But the 'Spirit is blowing in the mulberry trees' and it is time to seek the Lord and find His favor again.  Let passionate prayer and supplication be made for our need which is great and the hour is late.  If we do not prevail then Satan and hell win the day and take the ground.  Half-hearted praying and mild mannered words will not suffice, there must be fervency and urgency in the corporate prayers of God's people.  Not worked up emotions, but just raw desperate pleading.

These are the suggested focus, place and times and the appeal of my heart for establishing Concerts of Prayer.  And I am appealing to you to consider hosting, participating and laboring to see this become our heat cry for revival.   There is much to consider and organize, and I am sure many other suggestions and questions.  This is only an initiating letter to 'start the ball rolling'.  Please feel free to contact me on and about any of this.

Thank you!!

Until,
dan biser
rdbiser@live.com



Started:  April 10, 2017

Continued:  4/12; 4/13; 4/14; 4/17;

Finished: