God Loves Our Conversation!

Fellowship Prayer 24-7 Initiative

 

People - Stewart, BrianWhat is 24-7 Prayer?
As a group of Fellowship churches, we have set aside 365 days to pray for 24 hours a day from January 1 to December 31, 2011. Our goal is to have at least 100 churches involved.

How does 24-7 Prayer work?
Participating churches commit to take one week and to pray 24 hours a day for that week.

How are we doing?
“Praying for 24 hours a day for seven days! Are you kidding?”

“I can’t get people to come to a prayer meeting, so I think you’re dreaming!”

These were some of the transparent comments I encountered from pastors who responded to the Fellowship’s 24-7 Prayer Initiative challenge for 2011. And yet, 94 Fellowship churches responded to this challenge. Visit the Fellowship web site to see where people are praying. God has definitely sparked something in our movement. I believe it started in the Prayer room at Fellowship 48 in Banff.   Here is what one pastor had to say about 24-7 Prayer in his church: 

"I can’t contain the joy I have experienced because of what God has done through the 24-7 prayer week. I don’t think there has been a more satisfying and impactful ministry experience in all my years of ministry. I saw God work in the hearts of people who apprehensively walked into the Upper Room (the prayer room) for the first time not knowing what to expect. Most of those who participated confessed that, previously, they’d had a hard time praying for ten or fifteen minutes let alone a whole hour. They had no idea how in the world they could pray for that long.

I believe with all my heart that God’s Spirit is moving through our congregation. He is calling us to a deeper relationship with him. He is calling us to put aside those things that distract us from him so that our hearts will be aligned with his heart. As we do this we will see God use us in ways that we could never even dream of….” (Read the full story of this church’s conversations with God in the “Stories Worth Sharing” section in this edition of Thrive.)

What can we say to this but “Praise God!” It’s not about a program, nor even our Fellowship; it’s about children and their Heavenly Father conversing. Can we put a value on this? Will our children one day look back and say, “Remember that time?” Do you believe history can be altered and changed because people seriously sought God? I do.

Maybe your church has not participated. Would you please consider the challenge? Could God be seeking to converse and we’re too busy? It’s certainly not too late to sign up. Go to www.fellowship.ca and find Prayer 24-7 for more details. Contact Brian Stewart brian@parkland.org or Dan Shurr dshurr@fellowship.ca to speak with someone about this great adventure!

Thanks to Dan Shurr and Jeff Germo for their help in writing this article.