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Prayer vigil for revival to begin Sept. 24
Baptist Press News ^ | Aug 25, 2008 | Dwayne Hastings

Posted on 08/26/2008 8:39:56 AM PDT by Between the Lines

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A call for Southern Baptists and other believers to engage in 40 days of prayer beginning in late September has been issued by the SBC's North American Mission Board and Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

NAMB President Geoff Hammond and ERLC President Richard Land are hopeful that the 40/40 Prayer Vigil for Spiritual Revival and National Renewal will pay spiritual dividends for families, churches and the nation. Hammond described it as "a strategic opportunity for Southern Baptists to join hands in praying for our nation, asking the Lord to grant sweeping repentance, renewal and spiritual awakening."

The cooperative effort of the two Southern Baptist entities was borne out of a burden at the ERLC for the spiritual health of individual Americans as well as the less-than-healthy spiritual state of the union.

While the number of "born-again" evangelicals in the United States has increased, Land said the culture is influencing the people of God on many fronts more than the people of God are influencing the culture. "Too often, instead of being 'salt' and 'light,' we are being salted and lit by the secular culture around us," Land said.

"Our churches are in need of a truly spiritual revival and our nation is in need of a great movement of God's Spirit," Land said.

Hammond noted that while Americans are focused on the political choices before them this fall as well as the state of the economy, there also is "a deep spiritual concern."

"Unless God sends revival and unless He sends renewal, we are not going to see the changes in North America that we long for," Hammond said.

The 40/40 Prayer Vigil is set to begin Wednesday, Sept. 24, and conclude on the Sunday morning, Nov. 2, before Election Day. According to the website for the vigil, iLiveValues.com/prayer, the vigil begins with 37 days of daily prayer and concludes with a recommended 40 hours of around-the-clock intercession during the final three days of the initiative. Those who cannot participate in the concluding 40 hours of continuous prayer can pick an hour during each of the last three days to complete their 40 days of prayer, Land noted.

More information on the prayer vigil, as well as a downloadable daily prayer guide, is available online at the iLiveValues.com/prayer website. Each page in the guide references Scripture relevant to that day's prayer theme, which ranges from prayer for revival to prayer for renewal and wisdom. A Spanish-language version of the prayer guide also will be available on the website.

Before Christians can impact others' lives, they must first be changed by God's touch, Land said. "We must pray for and experience spiritual regeneration, or spiritual renewal on the part of believers, and then recognize and accept our responsibilities as Christians to be salt and light in our families, our churches, our communities and our nation," he explained.

Hammond noted, "We must be united in our prayer and acknowledge that God is the one who has to do the work in and through us. If we work in our own strength, we won't make any progress. When we pray we will be more dependent on God, more aligned with His will, more fruitful in our work." Hammond added that God says in Scripture that He "chooses to demonstrate His power in and through the prayers of His people."

It is not happenstance that the vigil ends just days before Election Day, the two Southern Baptist leaders confirmed.

"As Election Day approaches, we as Christians know we need to be committed to praying for the outcome and for those who will be elected to lead us," Hammond said. "But milestone moments like this in our history should remind us of the importance of asking God for spiritual awakening in our land."

"As Christians, we need God to give us wisdom as we select the next president of the United States," Land said. "People must realize that government at every level is a lagging social indicator," he added. "True and lasting change in our nation will come from spiritual renewal in the hearts of America's citizens, not from government programs."


TOPICS: Current Events; Evangelical Christian; Moral Issues; Prayer
KEYWORDS: revival; sbc; southernbaptist

1 posted on 08/26/2008 8:40:00 AM PDT by Between the Lines
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To: freemike

Ping


2 posted on 08/26/2008 8:40:26 AM PDT by Between the Lines (I am very cognizant of my fallibility, sinfulness, and other limitations.)
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To: Between the Lines; Enosh; streetpreacher; Ottofire; marinamuffy; flynmudd; twonie; ...

Baptist ping


3 posted on 08/26/2008 8:51:59 AM PDT by WKB
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To: Between the Lines
A call for Southern Baptists and other believers to engage in 40 days of prayer beginning in late September has been issued by the SBC's North American Mission Board and Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

Look up !

The L-rd is coming very soon.

The L-rd's Feast of Trumpets is September 29, 2008.

shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai
4 posted on 08/26/2008 9:12:45 AM PDT by Uri’el-2012 (Psalm 78:35 And they remembered that God was their ROCK, And the Most High God their Redeemer.)
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To: Between the Lines

Thanks!


5 posted on 08/26/2008 2:48:59 PM PDT by freemike
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To: WKB

Count me in!
Sounds like just what we need.

Thank you for the ping!


6 posted on 08/26/2008 3:41:34 PM PDT by dixiechick2000 (Proud supporter of GEORGIA)
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To: XeniaSt

My birthday too... not that it compares or anything... maybe I should get a trumpet cake.


7 posted on 08/26/2008 6:01:36 PM PDT by streetpreacher (Arminian by birth, Calvinist by the grace of God)
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To: streetpreacher
It may be the last trump !

shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai

8 posted on 08/26/2008 6:24:31 PM PDT by Uri’el-2012 (Psalm 78:35 And they remembered that God was their ROCK, And the Most High God their Redeemer.)
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To: XeniaSt

Well, it won’t be, now that you’ve suggested it... :-)


9 posted on 08/28/2008 7:27:56 AM PDT by HeadOn (If cars ran on stupidity, Nancy Pelosi would be the ultimate alternative energy.)
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To: HeadOn
Well, it won’t be, now that you’ve suggested it... :-)

You must believe in magic.

If you were to study the Holy Word of Elohim,
one would know that G-d has re-celebrated each
of His commanded Feast Days in sequence.

The next will be the YHvH commanded Feast Day of Trumpets.

shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai
10 posted on 08/28/2008 9:44:23 AM PDT by Uri’el-2012 (Psalm 78:35 And they remembered that God was their ROCK, And the Most High God their Redeemer.)
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To: XeniaSt

“You must believe in magic.”

I do no such thing. I believe in what the Bible says. The Bible says that not even the angels in Heaven know when Jesus will return. Only the Father knows. (Matt 24:36)

Thus, my attempt at humor towards you - If you (or I) say it’s Tuesday, that’s a strike against Tuesday.

You said “may”, and that’s fine. I was just trying to make a little conversation. That’s no call for you to make a condescending post and tell me I don’t know what the Bible says.

It gives us indications, and tells us to look for Jesus, but no matter how much any of us want it to happen on a feast day, how “neat” that would be, God’s word does not say that He will come then.

God Bless.


11 posted on 08/29/2008 11:00:33 AM PDT by HeadOn (Don't like His rules? Your argument is not with me, it's with HIM.)
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