CONCERT OF PRAYER - OUTLINE

Greetings,

"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground:  for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you.   Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity, ye have eaten the fruit of lies:  because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men."    Hosea 10:12 - 13

The time for our Concert of Prayer is upon us.  Found within this blog posts/email is a summary of the past 2 years of gathering to help in understanding the Concert of Prayer; suggestions for it and desired end.   This is not a full complete gathering as there are too numerous Scriptures and applications to write out.  But it is an overall basic information to have and help.

History

WHERE DID THIS CONCEPT OF CONCERT OF PRAYER COME FROM?

In the 1740's the church of Scotland was sinking, carnal and anything but what would please the Lord.  A Scottish pastor, John Erskine made an appeal for the church to respond by seeking the Lord and getting right with God before it was too late.   This appeal is termed as Concert of Prayer.   In correspondence with Jonathan Edward, he shared this premise and implementation of fasting, corporate and private prayers by the church.   Jonathan Edwrds was so moved by this that in 1747 he wrote his request to the church which became entitled, '“A Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of All God’s People in Extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ’s Kingdom on earth pursuant to Scripture Promises and Prophecies concerning the Last Time".

Now the Concert of Prayer is simply a suggested gathering of God's people to do what they shoudl be doing.   A set time of private prayer, a set time of corporate prayer and set time of fasting before the Lord.  What was agreed upon was the first Tuesdays to be given to prayer and fasting; weekly time to coming together for corporate prayer and specific time in private prayer for the church, His kingdom, and future of the people and nations.

Purpose

Much of the North American church has lost the spiritaul disciplines that are needed in this warfare of self and the spiritual warfare against Satan and hell.   Evil is flourishing and souls are perishing; the church is largely powerless and Christianity has seemingly abandoned the pursuit of holiness.   In Isiaih 59, 'when evil comes in like a flood, the Lord raises up a standard against it'.   The power of prayer is our weapon and the pormise of God, that if we called He would answer is suffecient.   But in a recent study last year, a truth about Southern Baptist was discovered, that only 12 - 15 % of churches and entities among Southern Baptist have any corporate, hour long prayer times during a month.   This means that 85 - 88% do not pray for an hour during a months time.   There can be no prevailing in prayer, through prayer, if God's people are not praying and the churches are not houses of prayer. 

With large epidemics of drugs, cancer, lostness, perversions, broken homes, broken lives and broken hearts it is much needed that the church gets back to where it needs to be as God's people.  There is no remedy apart from God.   No matter how much humanism men and the church employ, apart from God there is no hope.   Therefore it is very much needed that the church does exactly as God has required to beseeching Him 'in wrath to remember mercy'.  And the purpose of the Concert of Prayer is an attempt to restore that which has eroded, been left undone and restore us back to a faithful, holy, praying people that God may be entreated with and hear and answer our cries for help.

Biblical examples of God's people coming before Him and finding help

1.  Jonah & Nineveh

God sent His prophet to the city of Nineveh for their wickedness was great.  there is not great description of what evils was going on there.  They were not the chosen of Israel, but a heathen city; yet God was prepared to destroy them.  the message was simply, 'You have 40 days to repent, or God will overthrow this city."  Jonah 3:5 - 10"So the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them.. .And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way and God repented of the evil that He had said that He would do unto them, and He did it not."  

2.  King Jehoshaphat against the great army of Moab & Ammonites

In II Chronicles 20 we have the account of a great army coming against Judah.  v. 3 'and Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.  v. 4 And Judah gathered themseves together to ask help of the Lord , they came to seek the Lord.  and what did God do?  in v. 15 'thus saith the Lord, be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude for the battle is not your's, but God's. v. 21 the Lord set amubshments against them. . .v. 29 they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of ISrael." 

3.  I Chronicles 21

God was angry with Israel, for a sin that is not specified.  David is led to sin and number the people.  God responds with 3 choices for David in punishment.  Three days of pestilence is unleashed, an angel with a sword is drawn and slays 70,000.  But God in mercy for David and His people speaks, 'Stay thy hand' and gave David time to build an altar and stop the death.  God heard, received and repented. 

4.  Hezekiah and the Assyrians Isaiah 37

5.  Asa and Judah - II Chronicles 15:1 - 16; 

Examples when God's people didn't respond and God judged them in wrath

1.  I Chronicles 21

This same moment is mentioned in the above section of David finding mercy and restraint by God.  However, it is also a clear picture of God moving agains them in their sin.  'and God was angry with Israel'.  God is angry when His people disobey and go away from Him.  And God met them in judgement by allowing for David to number the people and judgement to fall on them and 70,000 people died.  but as we showed above God repented in the midst of that devasting time to allow David to respond with altar and atonement.

2.  II Chronicles 36

"Til there was no rememdy"  God worked for 400 years to call His people into a right relationship and be the witness to the world of His Divine grace and mercy.  They failed.  They forsook Him, forgot Him, worshipped idols and would not listen to Him.  and He for 400 years, sent His prophets rising up early and sending them, but you would not listen nor repent".  and God judged them with famine, sword and pestilence and sent them away into captivity for 70 years. 

3.  Struck down in a moment

Cain slew Abel and was cursed and all his family line died in the flood.  Removed from the earth;

Jeroboam caused ISrael to sin and all his family line was removed from the earth.

Aaron's two sons, Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire and was struck dead in the moment.

Uzza put forth his hand and touched the ark and was struck dead.

Children of Israel look into the ark when the Philistines sent it back and God judged them.

Ananias and Sapphira lied and God struck them both dead for their sin.

4.  Jeremiah & Zedekiah Jeremiah 38:14 - 39:10;

5.   Jeremiah & Jehoiakim - Jeremiah 36:1 - 7; 20 - 31; 

Practice of Concert of Prayer:

The Concert of Prayer should have 3 sections of employment for corporate prayer:

1. Worship;

2.  Confession;

3.  Pleading;

It is a reality that most churches and individuals do not and cannot pray for an hour before the Lord.   To find such is a rare thing.   Therefore it is needed to give examples, Scriptures and prayer focuses to aid in praying for over an hour before the Lord. 

The following are Scriptural and prayer targets to be used in the Concert of Prayer:

1.  WORSHIP

Worship is all about God.  Worship is what God has said about Himself in Scripture; His Names' and His attributes that we are able to testify what we have seen and do know of Him. 

Names of God:

There are numerous lists that you can go down through that give you the Names of God.  Robert Murray McCheyne states that there are 105 Names of Christ in the Scripture.  How many of those do you know?  and understand that it is not about just 'reading off' a lists the Names, but praying the Names is about knowing the relationship between that Name and us in our relationship to Him.

For example:

'You are Holy' - God declares in Isaiah 57:15, '. . .Whose Name is Holy. . .'  So you pray, 'Lord, You are Holy.  Not only in Name but in description as well.  And as You are Holy, void of all sin, You desire for us to be holy in You and by You.  Praise You for Your holiness.'

'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. . .' - Ecclesiastes 12:1  Here 'Creator' is in capital letter, meaning it is a proper name.  We know through Genesis 1:1,2 that 'in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. . .' but this is an attribute, a description of His work and activity.  And in worship these Names and attributes may interchange.  For all worship of the Lord is all about Him and Who He is and what He has done.  so you pray, "Lord, You are the Creator of all, including me.  You have created all things for Your glory and honor.  thank you for creating me and sustaining me in all Your perfect ways."

Jesus said in John 14:6 & 7, 'I am the way, the truth and the life'  so we pray, "Blessed One, You are the way, truth and life; Your ways are perfect and right; and my ways are not mine, but Yours.  I love Your truth, and there is no error, or lies found within it.  You are absolute truth.   And You gave Your life so that I might have life.  My life I forfeit to live full life, eternal life in You, Who is the way, truth and life for ever and ever.   Praise Your Name!"

God's Names and/or Attributes with first letter of the Alphabet:

A - Alpha; Almighty; Atonement; 

B - Beautiful; 

C - Christ; Comforter; Caring; compassion; 

D - Deity; Destroyer; Deliverer; Divine;

E - Elohim; El-Shaddai; Eternal; Everlasting; 

F - Father; Faithful; 

G - God; Great; Giver; \

H - Holy; Heavenly; Hope;

. . . 

Z

Also there are numerous verses in the Bible to be recited and prayed that give the Names of God and the Attributes of God;  all of which honors, glorifes and gives praise to Him Who is worthy.

2.  CONFESSION

The greatest part of our problem is the increase of evil and sin in our nation, in the church, in our homes and in our own personal hearts.  Confession and repentance is needed during these Concerts of Prayer.   This takes time, as much time as worship of the Lord.   to prayer generally over sin before God will not do; we must be specifice.   We pray, 'God forgive me of all our sins and my sins."  And God replies, 'Which sins?"  Therefore it is needed for us to examine and be specific to see wherein our great offense is to be found against Him. 

National Sins - immoral; pride; riches increased by deceit; poor and needy forsaken; abortion; perverseness increases;  lasciviousness;  haters of God;  laws legalizing abominations and sin;  drugs; alcohol; profanity; divorce; Planned Parenthood; homicides on streets of cities; land is filled with blood; forsake God; forget God; humanism; cults; sexual abuse; racism; gambling; enteratinment; gluttony; Lord's Day not revered; God's house forsaken on His day; Bible removed from public venue;

Church Sins - forsake God; forget God; His Word forsaken;  reading & studying God's Word not done;  prayerless; evangelism not done; carnal; unbelief; unholy; unfaithful; lovers of self and ease more than lovers of God;   refusal to pay tithes; abortions;  raising ungodly children, failure of parents; lack of church discipline; allowance and compromising of sin within the body of Christ; deeds of the world done in the church;   humanism;  no fasting;  tearless; brokenenss and contrition unheard of and not practiced;

Home Sins -   rebellious children; broken marriages;  generations of forsaking God and His ways;  possessions of this world and no money given to missions or church;   broken relationships;  disobedient children; couples not loving one another; lovers of self and pleasrues more than lovers of God;  too much TV, internet, enteratinment than the things of God;   

Personal sins - 

3.   PLEADINGS

Pleadings, supplications, petitions, intercessions for the things of God.

--We just need God;   Ravenhill - "If we have God, we don't need anything else; if we don't have God, then we need everything else."

--Revival;  God's Manifest Presence to come down upon His church;

--mercy;  "in wrath remember mercy";

--lost souls - an entire generation raised with out fear of the Lord and steam rolling to hell for all eternity;

--kingdom work to be done;   only 2000 peopel groups remain in need to hear the Gospel;  "And when the whole world has heard, then the end shall be."

--spiritaul warfare of evil among men; in their heats, minds to do great evil acts; 

--deliverance from bondage and tearing down of strongholds of hell;

--God's will to be done rather than men's will to be done.

These againn can be greatly increased with more and more prayer phrases and targets.  This is simply suggested helps to guide, teach and demonstrate how to lead and direct the Concert of Prayer. 

The first Tuesday of each month is the set day of prayer and fasting for our nation and the church.   Somewhere within that first week of the month before or after that first Tuesday to have a gathering so that coproate prayer may take place.   Usually the first Saturday or Sunday to set aside time for corporate prayer by the church to pray these 3 points.    May God burden us for our day and the realization that without Him we cannot do anything. 

The hour is late, the need is great; pray so as to prevail.    

Until,

Dan

Started:   June 29, 2019

Continued:

Finished: