Send the Rain 21 Days of Prayer
January 7 – 27, 2019
Day 8 Be Filled with the Spirit
God’s Word for Today Read Luke 24:45-49, Acts 1:4-8, and Ephesians 5:18
Thoughts for Today It was never man who was to continue the work Christ started – it was ‘the Ghost.’ The Holy Spirit, already at work in the earth, clearly evident on the Old Testament, was to now do something additional. He was to work out of the office and in the name of Jesus, to reveal that he was alive. And this was to be done in and through the believers, the Church. Jesus insisted that they go nowhere, do nothing until the Spirit came. And he would teach and lead, guide and direct, work with and through them. This was not simply an indwelling, but an empowering. It required a fullness of the Spirit. Throughout Acts, we see the Spirit, working with the Church, speaking to them, directing them, confirming. Peter said, “While I was speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on them …” He is declaring, “It wasn’t me. I didn’t do it.” The ‘Ghost’ was at work. Neither the work nor words were those of men.
They spoke by the Spirit. You will never be effective by your own effort alone. Are you full of the Spirit? The disciples were filled, and then filled again. This is not a matter of salvation, but of anointing! We are called to a task we cannot do alone. It is impossible – even to live the Christian life, without the power of the Holy Spirit.
It’s Time to Pray
1. Ask God to fill you to overflowing with the Holy Spirit! No, move beyond ‘asking’ to ‘seeking.’ Make spirit-fullness a preoccupation. Go after God with all your heart. Let go of things that hinder your holy pursuit.
2. Think about the Holy Spirit in his role as ‘the ghost’ of Jesus, coming to live and walk with you to provide proof that Jesus is not dead, but alive. Practice the presence the Spirit. Be conscious that you are traveling with a ‘ghost.’ Jesus is not dead, he is alive.
3. Pray again today for someone you hope will trust Christ.
Day 9 Restitution
God’s Word for Today Read Matthew 5:23-24 and Mark 11:25
Thoughts for Today Years ago, the town in which I live, Kannapolis, had one of the largest cotton mills in the world – tens of thousands were employed by Mr. Cannon. When pay-day came, unregenerate men would gather at ‘gambler’s rock’ high in the middle of the mill-village. There they would wager their wages away and drink themselves silly. Their families would suffer. Into that drunken party came an uninvited preacher – Harry Whittington. He talked to them, sometimes preached to them. And at gambler’s rock, one night, an old-fashioned revival broke out. As a result, men went home changed. They stopped drinking. Their wives noticed the difference. Across the mill-village, indeed, the whole city, the change spread. Suddenly, in the ‘Mill Store’ workers began to appear with lists of items they had stolen, asking for permission to pay for the goods ‘on-time.’ Language changed. Sensitivity to others exploded. Consciences were pricked. Mr. Cannon, the veritable owner of the city, summoned Preacher Harry Whittington. Gambler’s Rock was given to the preacher and a church was built on the site. It became, in the early 1900’s, one of the largest Pentecostal congregations in the nation – the Elm Street Church of God. What moved Mr. Cannon was the sincerity of acts of restitution. To say one had changed was different than exacting a penalty by making a matter right! This was proof of change, the fruits of repentance. Cannon would often worship at the church and eventually help them build an orphanage – and more. Is there someone, somewhere who needs to know about the change in your life? Who needs more evidence than words? Should repentance be more measurable? What happened to the teaching of restitution and the fruits of repentance?
It’s Time to Pray
1. Ask God to reveal any relationships you may have that need reconciliation or forgiveness. Pray for those people today.
2. Ask God what He wants you to do today to apply what He has revealed. What actions will you take?
Day 10 Return to Your First Love
God’s Word for Today Read Revelation 2:1-5
Thoughts for Today Our intimate relationship with Christ and our concern for those He loves are dependent on our love for Him. If we depart from our first love, we need to return. Our renewed love for Him could change our world. In 1727 Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf resigned from all his governmental responsibilities to provide spiritual leadership for a group of about three hundred people who had moved to his estate to escape religious persecution. Internal conflict was about to destroy the community. Zinzendorf and the elders drew up a covenant of brotherly union, and on May 12, 1727, the entire community repented of their divisions, reconciled with their brethren, and entered a covenant to live together in harmony. On August 13, 1727, they had a significant encounter with their Savior at a Lord’s Supper observance. During the service, they were deeply touched by their awareness of the sacrificial love of their wounded Savior. They determined that the best way they could express their love for Christ was to win for Him the souls for whom He died. Their battle cry was “to win for the Lamb that was slain the reward of His suffering.” Following that encounter with Christ, the Moravian Brethren were possessed by a zeal for missions. They began a 24-hour prayer watch for the causes of the Kingdom, which continued for more than 100 years. During the following 25 years, they sent out more than one hundred missionaries around the world. Moravian missionaries were instrumental in leading John Wesley to genuine faith in Christ, and God used him as a key instrument in the First Great Awakening in America and the Evangelical Awakening in England.2
It’s Time to Pray
1. Thank God for His love shown through Christ’s sacrifice. Ask Him to reveal the quality of your love for Him and how to increase your love.
2. Ask God what He wants you to do today to apply what He has revealed. What actions will you take?
3. Pray today by name for a person who has yet to believe in Christ as Savior.
Day 11 Surrendered Lives
God’s Word for Today Read Romans 12:1-2 and 1 John 3:16
Thoughts for Today Paul explained that God’s mercy for us deserves the surrender of our lives and bodies to Christ as living sacrifices. Then John wrote that because of Christ’s love for us, we ought to lay down our lives for others. As the Moravians began to pray for missions needs, they were told about the significant need for the gospel among the Negro slaves in the West Indies Islands. As they prayed for laborers, Leonard Dober and Tobias Leupold sensed God calling them to go. But they were told that the slave owners would not permit them to preach to the slaves. Leonard and Tobias came up with a plan. They would sell themselves as slaves so they could live and work among the slaves and lead them to faith in Christ. Count Zinzendorf said that was too high a price to pay and would not allow them to go. They insisted that God called them, so the community held a prayer meeting to draw lots and seek the Lord’s will. The lot revealed that Leonard should go and Tobias should wait. They continued praying and sensed God wanted David Nitschmann to accompany Leonard. The love for Christ caused these men to be willing to lay down their lives for others.
When they reached St. Thomas Island, they found that the slave owners would allow them to preach to the slaves without having to sell themselves. And thus began the missionary work that impacted the world. Though God may not require you to lay down your physical life for His cause, His call to salvation is a call to lordship. Jesus is Lord. We are His servants. We need to be prepared to obey His every command because we love Him. And we love Him because He first love us and gave His life for our salvation.
It’s Time to Pray
1. Thank God for all the mercy and grace He has shown to you. Now, I beg you to present yourself to the Lord as a servant who will obey His Lord’s commands.
2. Ask God what He wants you to do today to apply what He has revealed. What actions will you take?
3. Pray today by name for a person or group who has yet to believe in Christ as Savior.
Day 12 The Blessings of Obedience
God’s Word for Today Read John 14:15-23 and Matthew 7:21-27
Thoughts for Today Hasn’t Jesus made some wonderful promises to us? He has promised the Holy Spirit as our Counselor who will never leave us alone. He has promised us life in Him and in the Father. When we love Him and obey His commands, the Father will love us and Christ will reveal Himself to us. When we love and obey God, He takes up residence in our lives to live in us and with us! Did you notice the importance of obedience in all those promises? Those who do not obey, do not love Him. And their experience with God will be very different. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told the parable about the two builders. One built his house on a rock, and the other built his on sand. When the storms came, the house on the rock stood firm and the other was destroyed. He said our lives are like those two builders. Those who obey are wise like the man who built his house on the rock. When the storms of life come, we can remain strong through the tough times. Those who do not obey are foolish like the man who built his house on the sand. People like that cannot remain strong when the storms of life rage around them. If God were to grade your obedience to His commands, what kind of grade would you receive from Him? Based on your obedience and what He has said in His Word, what can you expect from Him? Can you expect a strong life even during the storms? Can you expect Him to reveal Himself to you and take up residence in your life? Or can you expect to collapse when the storms of life come. Could you possibly hear Him say, “I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers” (Matt. 7:23)?
Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, that person is My brother and sister and mother” (Matt. 12:50). Though we are not saved by obedience and our good works, they are evidence that we share the family resemblance. They show others that we belong to His family.
It’s Time to Pray
1. Ask God to evaluate your obedience. What does that reveal about your love for Him? Your relationship to Him?
2. Ask God what He wants you to do today to apply what He has revealed. What actions will you take to obey Him and experience His best?
3. Pray today by name for a person who has yet to believe in Christ as Savior.
Day 13 The Power of Love
God’s Word for Today Read John 13:34-35 and John 15:9-17
Thoughts for Today The world will know we are followers of Jesus Christ by the love we demonstrate toward one another. This past summer I saw this reality during a trip to Sierra Leone (West Africa). I heard story after story of former Muslims who had come to faith in Christ. Their lives were so radically changed by Christ, they began to act like Him and love like Him. They could not contain the good news of the gospel’s power to change lives. I met one former sheik who had helped start 100 churches in the past four years. I visited one of those churches that was less than a year old. They already had plans to take this good news to five other villages around them. I was told how over 35 (they quit counting) villages sent their Muslim leaders to ask the storytellers (church planters) to come to their villages. They saw the way people in other villages loved one another. They saw the way men treated their wives and children differently and they wanted that for their village. The love of Christ demonstrated through the lives of Christ-followers is a powerful testimony and makes the gospel attractive. In Concentric Circles of Concern, Oscar Thompson said, “Love is meeting needs” (p. 157). Another demonstration of love I saw in Sierra Leone came through ministry to the needs of people. Following the civil war, a seed bank provided seed and farm tools to a community on the verge of starvation. Today, there is a church planting movement among the Susu people because the love of Christ opened the door. Storytellers offer to help dig wells (by hand), start schools, provide medical and dental care, provide job training, and a host of other access ministries to communities in need of the gospel. In six years, they have started over 3,000 churches and they are sending missionaries to other nations throughout Africa. What does your love for others reveal? Would people know you are a disciple of Jesus Christ because of the sacrificial way you love?
It’s Time to Pray
1. Pray that God will so fill you with His love that it will overflow to those in your circles of relationships. Pray that God will draw people to Jesus because of the love they see in your life.
2. Ask God what He wants you to do today to apply what He has revealed What actions will you take?
Day 14 Survey Your World
God’s Word for Today Read John 1:35-51
Thoughts for Today The disciple-band that followed Jesus was not comprised of all friends or acquaintances. Andrew heard about Jesus from John, the Baptist. And he brought his brother Simon Peter. Jesus found Philip, and then he found Nathaniel. It has been hypothesized that every person on the planet is ‘six degrees’ away from any one of us. Meaning, that between you and any other human, are only six others. This friend knows him, who knows her, who met them – and so on. It is a small world. We make evangelism so complex; it is really a matter of relationships. Your life must have integrity. Right with God, you long for others to know him.
You can’t change them, perhaps in the beginning you cannot even talk to them about God. But you pray; and He works, and orchestrates opportunities to build bridges, and demonstrate love. And love creates an open door for the truth of the gospel. And then, it is matter of sharing with them, what you know and believe.
It’s Time to Pray
1. Think about the person who introduced you to Christ. Reflect on how different you are now.
2. Identify people in your circles of concern – family and friends, neighbors and associates, acquaintances and beyond them – the world.
3 Keep building your prayer list.