Chapter 7: Intimacy and the Practice of Prayer

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Spiritual Intimacy with God
Moving Joyfully Into the Deeper Life

What stage of relationship are you in with Christ? Are you in courtship, marriage or just meeting? Using the image of the church as the Bride of Christ, and Christ as the Bridegroom, Alice Smith delves deep into how intimacy with Christ grows. Just as God has designed you for intimacy in marriage he longs for intimacy in spirit with you.

Chapter 7

Intimacy and the Practice of Prayer

D. L. Moody is remembered for saying that every great move of God can be traced to a kneeling figure. I’m convinced that Moody is correct and that your move toward intimacy is dependent on practicing the discipline of prayer. Therefore, though we touched on the subject in Chapter 6, I want to spend some extra pages sharing some keys I’ve used to unlock this power in my life.

Prayer Has a Head Connection

You know the old adage: “I’m running around like a chicken with its head cut off.” Well, it’s true! When a chicken’s head is chopped off, it will race frantically about for a while, but eventually it will simply collapse. Frankly, nothing could more accurately describe the prayerless Christian. We were born to stay connected to the Lord through prayer, and without his headship, our frantic efforts to look effective will drop lifelessly to the ground.

Prayer is connecting your body to his head. You can’t persevere in great things for God until you connect with your great God in prayer. Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Can you believe it? He will give us his mind if we diligently press into his presence in prayer. Then, it’s no longer me, but Christ in me who is praying.

When you have the mind of Christ, you don’t have to strive to hear his voice—it just flows. Conversely, when you have a blockage, you feel like Job who wrote, “If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling” (Job 23:3).

Nothing prevents us more from finding him and dwelling in his presence than a stronghold of unbelief. Permit me to explain. A stronghold is an impenetrable mindset, or house of thoughts, sometimes even a generational pattern of thinking that refuses change. At the root of this stronghold is a belief system of lies that sets self up as the authority rather than God. And when we are steeped in lies, we knowingly or unknowingly believe and behave in a way other than the way of faith that will accomplish God’s results. The truth is that the spirit of unbelief will either cancel the power of faith, or faith will cancel the power of unbelief—but faith and unbelief cannot coexist. Therefore, when we have a stronghold of unbelief, we cannot have the mind of Christ.

Many of the people Moses led out of Egypt did not enter into the Promised Land because they had a spirit of unbelief. Hebrews 3:19 says, “They were not allowed to enter his rest because of unbelief.” And Hebrews 4:2 says, “The message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not combine it with faith.” When we pick and choose which parts of the Bible we will believe, we give the spirit of unbelief an opportunity to create a stronghold that destroys our ability to have intimacy.

Several years ago, I was teaching at a three-day conference. During the Friday-night ministry session, a beautiful young Scandinavian woman came forward for prayer. Talk about stoic. I felt as though I was praying for a stone. I knew I didn’t have time to deal with the root of her need that first evening so I prayed a short prayer for her and told her to come back on Saturday.

The following day I prayed, “Lord, please show me the root of this woman’s problem.” When I put my hands on her shoulders, I sensed the Lord saying that she had succumbed to a spirit of unbelief. I asked, “Have you or any of your family members struggled with atheism?” The woman confessed that both her father and grandfather had been atheists.

I asked her to renounce the spirit of unbelief and lies that produce doubt and confusion. Suddenly she began shaking violently and fell to the ground. Moments later, like a switch turned on, she was laughing and light hearted. With a broad grin across her face, she exclaimed, “I feel God’s love!”

Often those challenged with a stronghold of unbelief have had a traumatic experience with a father figure and have transferred that fear to God. Their hearts then have been hardened to the Lord so that intimacy can’t be cultivated without prayer and soaking in God’s truth.

People who are struggling with a spirit of unbelief are constantly dealing with negative self-talk and convincing themselves that they are unworthy to be loved or to receive from God. That lie takes up residence in the heart and becomes a stronghold that prevents intimacy. If you are dealing with the stronghold of unbelief, please open you eyes and make the following declaration with me:

“I renounce you, spirit of unbelief and spirit of lies, and I command you to leave my life right now. I break all covenants, vows, and agreements with you. I decree and declare that I am no longer bound by your deception. I decree and declare that God’s Son has set me free and that I am free indeed. In accordance with God’s Word, I announce and proclaim that nothing is impossible with God, therefore, I am free to hear his voice and experience his love now.”

If you have made this declaration, I encourage you to watch your words. Start confessing positive statements such as, “God loves me.” And, “I am loveable.” And, “God desires to share his heart with me.” The following are some scriptures to memorize:

• Everything is possible for him who believes (Mark 9:23).

• I am complete in Christ who is heard over all principalities and powers (Col. 2:9).

• God can do anything, you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us (Eph. 3:20, The Message)

• Finally, brothers whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Phil. 4:8).

As you choose to replace the lies you have believed with the truth of God’s Word, your feelings will catch up with your words and your intimacy will grow—big time! Believe me!

Prayer Requires a Guide

None of us have the ability to get to God without help. I’m reminded of an occasion in the early 70s when Eddie and I had the privilege of meeting Mrs. James Stewart, the wife of the late author and evangelist Dr. James Stewart. Elderly, but still beautiful, Mrs. Stewart proudly affirmed a story told by the visiting preacher at the meeting we attended. The preacher retold it as if Mr. Stewart were speaking.

“One afternoon I was visiting a famous European art gallery by myself. I was keenly disappointed and totally bored. I thought to myself, Why do people come from all parts of the world to visit this place? Sometime later I was invited by believers in that city to tour the same gallery as their guest. I wasn’t very enthusiastic about it, considering my past experience. However, our host employed a guide, and under his skillful instruction, the paintings and tapestries in the gallery came alive. I was thrilled beyond words! I kept repeating, ‘Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!’ I asked one of the hostesses in the group what the difference was between this visit and my previous visit. She thought for a moment, and then with a beaming face said, ‘I see it now. It was the guide!’”

We can’t develop an intimate prayer life apart from the Holy Spirit. He is the guide. Ask him to create a hunger in you for more of God--then get ready to be satisfied. Ask him to guide your time in prayer. The Lord has promised that he will: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Ask him to get away with you; he will not disappoint you.

Practice Solitude

And speaking of getting away with him, Jesus taught us by example that intimacy is developed in the solitude of prayer. To be close to anyone, we must spend time alone with that person.

Solitude is a hardship when approached from a position of works, but when it is approached from a position of friendship, its absolute joy. Jesus said that he is a “friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24), but we often hurry through life so fast that we forget to take our Friend with us. The distance between where we started out with him and where we end up then creates a void of loneliness. That’s when solitude in prayer is replaced with loneliness of heart. He doesn’t initiate the way back into closeness; we must choose it. The Bible says in James 4:8, “Draw near to him and he will draw near to you.” Many of the Church’s greatest hymns are the outcome of solitude, such as “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Here is the story.

“Joseph Scriven watched in shock as the body of his fiancée was pulled from the lake. Their wedding had been planned for the next day. Reeling from the tragedy, he made up his mind to immigrate to America. Packing up his belongings in Dublin, Ireland, he sailed for Canada, leaving his mother behind. He was about 25 years old.

Years later, in 1855, he received word that his mother was facing a crisis. Joseph wrote this poem and sent it to her. Mrs. Scriven evidently gave a copy to a friend who had it published anonymously, and it quickly became a popular hymn, though no one knew who had written it.

Meanwhile, Joseph fell in love again. But tragedy struck a second time when his bride, Eliza Catherine Roche, contracted tuberculosis and died in 1860 before their wedding could take place.

To escape his sorrow, Joseph poured himself into ministry, doing charity work for the Plymouth Brethren and preaching among the Baptists. He lived a simple, obscure life in Port Hope, Canada, cutting firewood for widows, giving away his clothes and money to those in need. He was described as “a man of short stature, with iron- gray hair, close-cropped beard, and light blue eyes that sparkled when he talked. Ira Sankey later wrote:

Until a short time before his death, it was not known that he had a poetic gift. A neighbor, sitting up with him in his illness, happened upon a manuscript copy of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Reading it with great delight and questioning Mr. Scriven about it, he said that he had composed it for his mother, to comfort her in a time of special sorrow, not intending that anyone else should see it. Some time later, when another Port Hope neighbor asked him if it was true that he had composed the hymn, his reply was, ‘The Lord and I did it between us.’”¹

Solitude with God will eventually bring public honor, and things done in obscurity will always be brought out into the light.

Prime the Time

I’ll never forget the summers growing up when we would visit my Uncle Bill and Aunt Claire Day, who lived on a farm in Nacogdoches, Texas that had no indoor plumbing. Sometimes in order to get the water flowing, we would need to prime the pump by adding water to it. Uncle Bill would pour water into the dry shaft. Then as he would thrust the handle up and down, the suction displaced the air, and water flowed freely from the deep water reservoirs below the surface of the earth. Similarly, when God is not flowing through our prayers, there are things we can do to prime the spiritual pump.

The Bible says, “David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Sam. 30:6, KJV). Just two verses later we read, “And David inquired of the Lord, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, ‘Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.’” By priming his spirit during a difficult time, prayer began and later in verses 18 and 19, we read that everything David had lost was restored.

Perhaps you are having trouble getting started in prayer. Let me encourage you. Worship. Read a book, a devotional, a Scripture. Praise. Reflect on past victories. Any of these can be used to restore the flow of prayer. Allow the Holy Spirit to show you how to encourage yourself in the Lord and prime the time for intimacy.

Realize that Prayer is Communion

My intimate experiences with the Lord have grown and changed throughout the years. So will yours. Jesus can’t reveal everything to any of us at once; we grow closer to him over time. However, “prayer” is the word we use for having communion with Christ.

We tend to think of Communion as relegated only to the Lord’s Supper. The act sounds rather formal and somber; however, Jesus offers the broken bread and poured out wine so that we will “re”-member ourselves as part of his body. In other words, it’s a way of examining our hearts and wherever we have felt disconnected, allowing him to show us how to make the connection again. We must remember to “re”-member for the purpose of staying intimate. I recommend that you experience a personal “Lord’s Supper” as often as possible.

And there is much more about the word “communion” that I want to cover here as a means of developing intimacy through prayer. For example, prayer is not just the quiet time spent in your prayer closet; it also includes making the Lord a part of your daily conversations. Assume his constant presence with you. Ask him to minister to people around you and through you. Ask him for revelation and counsel in every detail of your life. Hey, you can even ask Jesus to help you find a parking spot! Let all of your life become your prayer so that he communes with you and you commune with him about everything.

My friend, pastor and author, Dutch Sheets explains “communion” in this way:

“Second Corinthians 13:14 says, ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.’ The word fellowship here is koinonia and is rich with meaning, as can be seen in the following definitions: The word koinonia implies that the Holy Spirit wants intimacy with us. This very word is used in 1 Corinthians 10:16 to describe the Lord’s Table, the bread and the wine. This is appropriate since it is the Lord’s shed blood and broken body that brings us into covenantal, intimate communion with Him.

The Holy Spirit wants to commune with us. He has much to say if we choose to listen. He is the means to all revelation from God. He is the Teacher. He is a part of the Godhead we’re to be in relationship with. Let him fellowship and commune with you. At times his fellowship with you requires no speaking. Some communion is heart to heart. At times I crawl up to God for a look. Just knowing he is looking back is enough. At other times he shares his heart while I’m gazing.

There is an amazing picture of this sort of intimacy reflected in the following scriptures: The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant (Ps. 25:14, italics mine).

The words “secret” and “intimacy” are translated from the same root Hebrew word cowd, which means “couch, cushion, or pillow.”²

The picture is one of two intimate friends laughing and talking at lunch in a crowded restaurant, oblivious to their surroundings, lost in their conversation. Or, it reminds me of my teen slumber parties. Late at night, we girls would put on our PJ’s, grab our pillows, and sit in a circle to talk, laugh, and tell stories. The Lord desires this same kind of “snuggle close” friendship with you, as if all of your life were an intimate prayer to share together.

Intimates Listen

And speaking of sharing, have you ever known a person who simply wouldn’t tolerate the idea of being quiet? I have. I was acquainted with a woman who talked so incessantly that I wondered how she ever developed intimacy with anyone. Perhaps her constant babbling stemmed from her insecurity, or the fact that she had to be in control at all times. I don’t know. But I do know that good friends listen, especially those who want to live prayerfully close to the Lord.

I often laugh to myself as I watch my friend’s dog, Chester, mindlessly run off while she chases and continues to call his name. He behaves as if he is completely deaf. But when she shouts, “Let’s go bye-bye!” he turns on a dime and dashes for the car. Sadly, the body of Christ is often just as selective with its hearing as that little dog. We get so used to tuning God out that when he has something special to speak into our lives; we’re too distracted to hear him.

At least five times in the New Testament we read, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” It doesn’t say let him talk, but hear. If only we the Church would learn to listen. Listening is always key to developing intimacy in prayer!

Prayer Differs From Intercession

I am often asked, “What is the difference between prayer and intercession?” Let me start by saying that you can pray without intimacy, but you cannot intercede without it. Intercession is praying the burdens of God’s heart. Prayer, however, is talking to the Lord; it is the way in which intimacy is developed. Prayer is also the way we live our daily lives in him--keeping our ears tuned toward him, sharing our thoughts with him, and practicing his presence.

Back in the 1600s there lived a man named Nicholas Herman who was greatly influenced by his parish priest named Lawrence. Young Nicholas served as a soldier and was crippled during the war. Later, he entered the monastic life and took the name Lawrence in want of emulating his mentor. After fifteen years, he worked in the sandal repair shop and eventually went to work in the kitchen washing dishes and practicing the presence of God. He shunned the limelight and sought satisfaction only in the fulfilling of God’s will, whether by suffering or consolation--it did not matter.

Brother Lawrence changed his world by demonstrating for others how to be wholly devoted and how to govern life by love without selfish views. In the book Practicing the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence says,

“There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Only those can comprehend it who practice and experience it. Yet I do not advise you to do it from that motive. It is not pleasure that we are to seek in this exercise. Let us do it from a principle of love, and because it is God’s will for us. Were I a preacher I would, above all other things, preach the practice of the presence of God. Were I a director, I would advise all the world to do it, so necessary do I think it, and so easy too. Ah! Knew we but the want we have of the grace and assistance of God, we would never lose sight of Him, no, not for a moment…I do not advise you to use many words and long discourses in prayer, because they are often the occasions of wandering. Hold yourself in prayer before God, like a dumb or paralytic beggar at a rich man’s gate. Let it be your business to keep your mind in the presence of the Lord.”³

I’m reminded of a dear saint of God that I knew who lived in such harmony with the Father that when we talked she had difficulty at times sorting out the conversations. She would say, “Alice, when you come to…Yes, Lord. I will tell her that in a moment…Alice, as I was saying, when you come to….” She was carrying on simultaneous conversations with the Lord and me. And because of the level of holiness on which she lived, it didn’t even seem odd to her. That, my friend, is the intimacy of prayer!

Transforming Congregational Culture

Transforming Congregational Culture

Anthony B. Robinson

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2003

Chapter

3. From Civic Faith to Human Transformation

7. From Board Culture to Ministry Culture

8. From Community Organization to Faith-Based Ministry

9. From Democracy to Discernment

10. The Budget: From End to Means

11. From Fellowship to Hospitality

12. Membership Growth: From Passive to Active

...technical or programmatic change, or even restructuring, is not a sufficient response to the challenges of the day. What we face is far deeper than that. We need to be talking about changing the very culture... I argue for a radical - to the roots - change and shift in the culture

If part of what we are dealing with is change in the larger North American culture and society - its religious makeup and ethos, I will also use "culture" and "cultural change" in a second sense. Response to these larger cultural shifts on the part of the once mainline churches will involve change in the culture of congregations. Programmatic change is not enough. Restructuring is not enough. Neither will go deep enough. Most clergy and church leaders get half a dozen mailings each week that describe the latest, hottest, and newest program for congregational renewal. Some of them are quite good. But few of them get to the level of change in the culture of the congregation. (Here I am using the term "culture" in an anthropological sense to mean the thick network of symbols, language, and behaviors that characterize and define a human community.) The challenge we face in the historically mainline Protestant churches is the challenge of cultural change in this latter sense.

To be sure, asking questions is not easy and will seldom be well received. In many respects what I have described as giving leadership for facing adaptive challenge - asking questions, letting people feel the pinch of reality, dis-orienting, drawing out conflict, challenging norms - is the work of a prophet. And we all know what happens to prophets.

Too often we preachers have taken it as our task to make the faith fit in with the modern world rather than to challenge it. We have exercised technical leadership, but not leadership for adaptive change.

If you are in the market for an adventure, it is a great time to be a leader in the church. And because the church today is facing such an important and essential challenge, it is a wondrously exciting time for ministries that help congregations enter into cultural change and the new life that comes with it.

It is true that the church is no longer the conscience of the community, the instrument of aid to the least fortunate, or the center of community and family life, and if we recognize that faithfulness requires more of us than being a good social club for our members, what is the church's business today? Again, it is a time of wonderful opportunity for the church. The post-christendom, postmodern era has given the church the opportunity to discover, or rediscover, a purpose more in keeping with its Scriptures and its own origins and formative years.

The purpose of the church today, a purpose much more in keeping with the purpose of the church in its earliest, pre-Christendom era, is that of human transformation. Our purpose is to change lives. As a pastor I find that one of the reasons that this is such a good time to be the church and to be a minister is that many people - and many of those who seek a church today - are seeking change in their lives. Gone is the era when people come to the church as a way of being part of the community or being good citizens.

The church is not the fellowship of those who have been fully and completely changed or saved and who require nothing more. In other words, the church is not the saved who are then to save others. The church is a fellowship, a gathering of those who are in the process of being changed, of those who are being saved and made new, and who invite others to join them in this adventure and in this life.

Today, in a new time, the purpose of the church and its ministries is more adequately described as transforming people in the light of God's grace - revealed in the Exodus, the Incarnation, and the Resurrection.

FROM CHRISTIAN EDUCATION TO CHRISTIAN FORMATION

Copenhaver provides a further helpful summary of contrasts between education and formation, none of which, he emphasizes, ought to be pushed too far, but which help us to see the differences.

First, the purpose of Christian education is to inform; by contrast, the purpose of Christian formation - as the word itself implies - is to form, to shape, to mold.

Second, Christian education engages the intellect; by contrast, Christian formation engages the whole person.

Third, the goal of Christian education is understanding; by contrast, the goal of formation is faithfulness.

Fourth, Christian education can be pursued in settings dedicated to that purpose (such as classrooms); by contrast, Christian formation cannot take place in isolation. Indeed, Christian formation takes place in the complex and dynamic context of the entire life of the community of faith. To put it another way, Christian formation is the whole person molded in the context of the whole community. It is life lived in the round.

Fifth, Christian education can take place in fairly straightforward ways. We know a lot about how to dispense information. It follows predictable patterns. Progress can be measured. By contrast, how Christian formation takes place is harder to trace. Because formation depends heavily on the work of the Holy Spirit, it is not nearly as predictable. In most instances, we are reduced to saying something like this: Christian formation often seems to happen in this kind of setting, when these elements are present. That is, it is harder to trace fully how one is formed than it is to trace how one is educated.

Congregational Spirituality: From Givers to Receivers Who Give

...in congregations where the shift in congregational spirituality from "givers" to "receivers who give" has been experienced and supported, the leaders are those who are also led. They seek and respond to the leading of God, of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They are not solo operators. They recognize that being a leader involves an openness to and a capacity for the Spirit. As leaders they are learning to say, and to mean, "Not my will, but thy will be done." Their leadership is funded by worship experience, by prayer, and by study of the Scriptures.

Leaders are those who are led - led by the Spirit. They are givers who have received.

Today the new post-christendom, postmodern era is upon us, and the church is once again seeing that "mission" is not a department, a budget, the activity of a designated "mission" committee or the transfer of resources overseas. In this new time, everything the church does is, in some sense, mission. In our secular, religiously pluralistic, Western context, every congregation is - at least potentially - a mission outpost, a beachhead of the empire of God in the midst of the empire of America. "Mission" is not one of the many programs of the church, the church exists for mission, for the changing and transforming of human beings and human communities, in light of the gospel.

This is the backdrop for the shift from "board culture to ministry culture." The work that was asked of congregation members in earlier times, participating in running the church, has been changed in this new time to a calling of congregation members to be engaged in ministry themselves, not simply to manage the church's ministry and the clergy's ministry.

The board culture tends to operate from a scarcity approach: "There are all these board slots, positions, offices - how will we ever fill them?" A ministry culture tends to operate from the idea of abundance; God gives all people gifts for ministry. The church's task is to help people discover, identify, claim, and exercise those gifts. In that way we will get as much "ministry" done as God calls forth.

Paul Sherry, immediate past president of the United Church of Christ, was once invited to speak at the dedication of a new youth center in Chicago. At the time, Sherry was the executive director of the Chicago Renewal Society, a social-service agency that had Christian roots. Another one of the speakers was Harold Washington, then mayor of Chicago, who had had many associations with Sherry. After the ceremony, Mayor Washington invited Sherry to have a cup of coffee with him at a local diner. When they sat down, Mayor Washington quickly got to the reason for the invitation.

"You know, Paul, I appreciate all your efforts in getting this center opened, and I also appreciated your remarks today. But you are a Christian minister and I didn't hear you say anything today that couldn't have been said by somebody else. We need to hear something else from you. We need to hear something form the gospel!"

"A 'majority rules' way of thinking," observes Copenhaver, "is what happens when we take God out of the congregational process. It is not that no one can tell us what to do (a frequent claim of American Christians, especially those in churches with a congregational polity). Rather, we seek together to discern what Christ would have us to do. We listen to one another because we are listening for the voice of the Spirit, and you never know whom the Spirit will choose to speak through. We wait upon the Spirit, as did the people of Pentecost, the Spirit that alone is able to fashion understanding and unity out of diversity."

In the average congregation there is considerable experience with democratic decision-making and parliamentary procedures. But members of those same congregations are less likely to understand discernment. Teaching about discernment as a spiritual practice will be important. Discernment involves listening to one another and listening for the Spirit. Moreover, as we listen to one another, the point is not necessarily to identify the will of the majority but to discern the mind of Christ and the will of God. "Attitude," goes the saying, "is everything." In this case, the attitude with which we approach our work and life together makes a great deal of difference. Do we seek the will of the majority or the mind of Christ?

...the budget often became an end rather than a means.

...as congregations became less goal-and mission-driven, the budget and budget processes became, ironically, more complex and arcane. Charts, pies, lists, lines, funds (some visible, some hidden), and associated turf battles came to characterize the annual slicing of the pie. It was a classic case of "work avoidance." rather than asking the important questions, we micromanaged the budget! When this becomes the case, chances are good that congregations have forgotten - or been afraid to ask - the prior questions. What is God calling us to be and to do? What is our purpose as a church? What are we trying to accomplish? What is our business?

A budget is really a planning and administrative tool - and nothing more. In this new time, we are challenged to break the pattern of letting the budget take on a reified status and instead seek to allow God's Spirit to direct what is possible, and then seek the resources to accomplish it.

When we allow the congregation's budget to become an end in itself, we have often succeeded in creating a system that acts as if God did not exist!

"The true and real sacrament of the Protestant church," observed one wag, "is the coffee hour." When church is out, coffee is on and people gather in fellowship halls across the land for what we have come to designate as "fellowship." Of course, "fellowship" in its origins is not as pallid or superficial as the typical church coffee hour may seem to be. The Greek word koinonia bespeaks a kind of bond, an affection, a unity that is deep and enduring, not superficial and episodic.

Not only has fellowship been thinned out to the coffee-hour experience, but congregations have come to judge and rate themselves on their "friendliness": "We are," say many congregations, "a friendly church." To not be "friendly" is to be a bad thing, a failure as a church. But are friendliness and fellowship all that they are held up to be? Too often, I suspect, what we mean by fellowship and a friendly church is that we find people like ourselves in that church. We find the church full of people of our social group, educational background, lifestyle, values, and so on. When we find compatible people, we deem the church to be friendly, comfortable, and "a good fit."

Hospitality is a very different concept than friendliness. According to John McFadden, "When we extend hospitality to the stranger, we make no assumption that this person will have anything at all in common with us, much less that we will like one another. It could be someone unpleasant, even dangerous; we are still obligated to offer our hospitality." In these ways hospitality is at odds with friendliness.

Hospitality does not rest on the assumption that we are all the same, or that in getting to know someone we will find that we will really like that person. Hospitality allows the other to be other, to be different. The biblical origins and stories of hospitality are many. Sarah and Abraham welcomed passing strangers, inviting them to rest and eat with them. It turned out that one of the strangers was God himself, who had come to announce to the old folks that they would have a child, their first, before the year was out.

The New Testament begins, one might say, with a story of hospitality - or failed hospitality. When Joseph and Mary journey to Bethlehem to be counted in the Roman census, they find that there is "no room for them" at the inn. They take shelter in a cattle shed, or cave. The innkeeper has unwittingly turned away the Son of God, an act that foreshadows the way the world will prove inhospitable to a God whose ways are strange to us.

"In some churches," writes John McFadden, "there is emphasis - even an insistence - that all members believe the same way, live the same way, vote the same way.

They seem to think it is their mission to force all members to conform to a single identity."

A different way might be described as a church with a clear center but open boundaries. Rather than drawing a hard line that says who is in and who is out, the centered church articulates and honors its center in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. But the walls have many doors. The boundaries are porous. Whoever is moving toward the center is welcome, no matter how far from the center they may be coming from.

Membership growth is, in many ways, a by-product of effective ministry and mission, and not its goal.

I agree with Kirk Hadaway that our goal in congregations is not necessarily to be large churches or even to be great churches, but rather to be real churches. By "real" Hadaway means communities of faith where the sacred is experienced in life-transforming ways, and where the Christian faith becomes incarnate in the life of a congregation and its members.

Growth happens where lives are being changed, and in all likelihood that growth will involve the vitality of engagement in ministry.

Membership growth is a symptom, an important but secondary effect, of a congregation that participates in some measure in the new life of the kingdom of God.

No single factor is more important to congregational vitality than leadership.

Leadership is a partnership of leaders and followers. Good leaders will call forth and enable the leadership gifts of others. Sometimes key leadership in making shifts in congregational culture will not come from designated or elected leaders, or even from a congregation's defacto leaders. Sometimes, when you're doing adaptive work, leadership will come from the outside or below. It may come from a person new to the church; or it may come from someone new on a board or committee. It may come from a teenager or group of teenagers. It may come from a person or persons at the margins of the congregation's power and decision-making structure. Typically, those inside the structure are content with the way things are; but those who have been excluded - or at least not included - may be one's best allies in the work of adaptive and cultural change in a congregation. Designated leaders, such as clergy, need to practice the strategy of protecting those who would lead from below or outside.

Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry >Table of Contents

^{Section One: The Theological Foundation of Prayer}

Chapter 1: The Bible and Prayer – Gary T. Meadors 10

Chapter 2: Jewish Traditions of Prayer – Jan Verbruggen 17

Chapter 3: Prayer and the Kingdom of God – Ron Walborn 25

Chapter 4: God the Father and Prayer – Patricia A. Outlaw 31

Chapter 5: God the Son and Prayer – James R. Wicker 37

Chapter 6: Praying in the Name of Jesus – Randal Roberts 44

Chapter 7: The Gospel of Prayer – John W. Taylor 50

Chapter 8: God the Spirit and Prayer – James L. Wakefield 56

Chapter 9: Prayer and the Accompaniment of Angels – David A. Shive 63

Chapter 10: The Lord’s Prayer – Thomas L. Constable 70

Chapter 11: Prayer and God’s Responses – Steve Hawthorne 76

Chapter 12: The Aspects, Varieties and Kinds of Prayer – Alice Smith 83

Chapter 13: Prayer and the Sovereignty of God – Leith Anderson 90

Chapter 14: Crisis Praying vs. Consistent Praying – Bert Downs 95

Chapter 15: Problems of Seemingly Unanswered Prayer – Elmer L. Towns 101

Chapter 16: Characteristics of God-Honoring Prayer –

Arturo G. Azurdia, III 108

Chapter 18: Praying with God’s Heart and Mind – Joel Wilson 119

Chapter 19: Responding in Prayer to God’s Character – Aida Besancon Spencer 125

Chapter 20: Does God Really Need Our Prayer? – Dutch Sheets 131

^{Section Two: The Personal Passion for Prayer}

Chapter 21: The Bible and Personal Passion in Prayer – Earl Pickard 135

Chapter 22: A Biblical Role Model of Personal Passion in Prayer –

Gloria J. Wiese 144

Chapter 23: Jesus as a Role Model of Personal Passion in Prayer –

Howard Baker 151

Chapter 24: An Historical Role Model of Personal Passion in Prayer –

Karen Bullock 158

Chapter 25: Disciplines of Personal Prayer – Dan R. Crawford 65

Chapter 26: Habits of Effective Pray-ers – Dennis Conner 172

Chapter 27: The Use of Scripture in Personal Prayer – Larry Ashlock 179

Chapter 28: Personal Prayer Retreats – Cynthia Bezek 187

Chapter 29: Prayer Journals/Diaries – Gary Waller 195

Chapter 30: How to Address God in Prayer – William David Spencer 201

Chapter 31: To Whom Does God Listen? – W. Bingham Hunter 207

Chapter 32: How to Hear from God in Prayer – Calvin A. Blom 215

Chapter 33: Contemplative Prayer – Reg Johnson 221

Chapter 34: Developing a Lifestyle of Prayer – Gerald Schmidt 228

Chapter 35: The Problem of Prayerlessness – Mary Kate Morse 235

Chapter 36: Intimacy with God through Prayer – John Franklin 241

Chapter 37: Hindrances to Effective Prayer – Sammy Tippit 247

Chapter 38: How to Pray without Ceasing – Cornell (Corkie) Haan 253

Chapter 39: The Secret of Single-Minded Prayer – Eddie Smith 259

Chapter 40: Abiding Prayer – Tony Twist 266

^{Section Three: The Corporate Expression of Prayer}

Chapter 41: The Bible and Church Prayer – J. Chris Schofield 274

Chapter 42: The Place of Prayer in the Early Church – Steve Booth 283

Chapter 43: The Meaning of “A House of Prayer” – Dennis Fuqua 289

Chapter 44: How to Build a House of Prayer – Dave Butts 295

Chapter 45: Prayer Meetings and Revival in the Church – Joel R. Beeke 301

Chapter 46: Praying Together vs. Private Prayer – Bruce M. Hartung 308

Chapter 47: Leading/Facilitating Corporate Prayer – Phil Miglioratti 314

Chapter 48: Prayer in the Corporate Worship Service – Jonathan Graf 322

Chapter 49: Prayer Partners, Prayer Triplets, Small Prayer Groups –

Daryl Eldridge 329

Chapter 50: Accountability in Prayer – John D. Floyd 336

Chapter 51: Church Prayer Ministries and Prayer Rooms – Elaine Helms 342

Chapter 52: Prayer as Creative Expression – Gary W. McCoy 347

Chapter 53: Family Prayer – Kim Butts 354

Chapter 54: Mobilizing Youth to Pray – Mike Higgs 360

Chapter 55: Prayer Components for City-wide Movements – Tom White 367

Chapter 56: Pastoral Prayers of Intercession – Stan May 375

Chapter 57: Worship Based Prayer vs. List Based Prayer – Dick Eastman 382

Chapter 58: Praying vs. Being “Devoted to Prayer” – Steve Loopstra 389

Chapter 59: The Relational Affects of Corporate Prayer –

David Livingstone Rowe 395

Chapter 60: How to Evaluate the Prayer Life of a Congregation –

Daniel 401

^{Section Four: The Global Impact of Prayer}

Chapter 61: The Bible and Global Prayer – Henry Blackaby 410

Chapter 62: Prayer and Spiritual Awakenings – Glenn Sheppard 416

Chapter 63: Prayer and Evangelism – Alvin L. Reid 425

Chapter 64: Lighthouses of Prayer – Alvin J. VanderGriend 432

Chapter 65: Prayer and Missionary Movements – Ron Boehme 439

Chapter 66: Strategic Prayer for God’s Mission and Missionaries –

Mike Barnett 447

Chapter 67: Prayerwalking as a Method of Intercessory Prayer – Randy Sprinkle 454

Chapter 68: Prayer Calendars/Networks/Communication Links –

Naomi A. Frizzell 460

Chapter 69: Prayer and Spiritual Warfare – Chuck Lawless 469

Chapter 70: Mobilizing Prayer Advocacy – Eleanor Witcher 476

Chapter 71: Praying for the Unreached People Groups of the World –

Ed Cox 483

Chapter 72: Equipping the Church for Global Praying – John Quam 490

Chapter 73: Kingdom Praying – Minette Drumwright Pratt 496

Chapter 74: Praying for Those in Global Authority – John Lind 502

Chapter 75: Prayer for the Harvest – Paula Hemphill 509

Chapter 76: Prayer Journeys: Praying on Location for the Nations – Pat Allen 516

Chapter 77: Prayer Foundation for Global Ministry – Daniel Sanchez 521

Chapter 78: International House of Prayer – Gary Wiens 528

Chapter 79: Missionary Dynamic and Prayer – George W. Peters 535

Chapter 80: The Lord's Model of Prayer for the Kingdom –

Darrell W. Johnson 544

Conclusion – Dan R. Crawford 551

Bibliography 553

Christian Emergency Network's Ready Church

Christian Emergency Network

Christian Emergency Network (CEN) is a communications and collaboration network mobilizing Christians and their churches to support the nation’s “Readiness” agenda. By networking and educating Christians to be aware-ready-and-there before, during and after disasters, CEN is preparing the Church at large to be a source of hope, comfort and salvation during times of national crisis.

CEN rallies Christians in emergencies of all kinds uniting thousands of Christian organizations, ministries, churches, media and millions of individuals to deliver a unified message of hope during disaster and to keep the faith community informed, equipped and sustained to effectively support disaster response and recovery efforts.

{The CEN website received 20,000,000 hits on one single day during an activation}

Ready Church Model

• CEN Chapter
• Activation Area
• City Leaders
• Ready Church ‘Boot Camp’
• Ready Church Campaign
• Readiness Experts Facilitate EOP Integration
• Interfacing organization
• Set up and support
• Existing networks connected
• NIMS compliant training
• Critical mass recruited
• Database of resources/ready volunteers
• Distribution outlets
• Integration into emergency management structures
• State of activation readiness

CEN/The Ready Church Initiative

In June 2008 CEN launched the CEN/Ready Church Initiative to network and equip local churches in select pilot cities. The pilot program, slated for the Fall 2008 is being fast-tracked to meet the needs of Christian citywide leaders responding to weather- related disasters currently happening throughout the nation.

The Ready Church Initiative is a national collaboration of Christian organizations facilitated by CEN to network churches at the local level to provide the right response to emergencies. Christian city leaders involved in existing compassion ministries are trained to integrate their constituents into a local network that is prepared to care for itself and then others in the same or nearby impacted areas in the event of an emergency. Churches are assessed; gaps in preparedness are filled; training in response is given; and then these churches are registered and mobilized through a national database and communications system.

Building on the principle of collaboration, CEN acts as the communication hub and network facilitator. Training, materials and expertise in various “best practice” areas are provided by network participants. During the “proof of concept,” CEN will establish a fully operational Ready Church model and recruit a critical mass of local churches and local media to join in with organizations like The Salvation Army, and the Mission America Coalition citywide leaders to:

1. Promote a vision of a citywide/nationwide equipped and “ready” church as part of a sponsored awareness campaign.
2. Train city leaders in guidelines and best practices for mobilization.
3. Set up “Activation” areas and network existing organizations with the help of CEN chapters.
4. Assess churches, fill their preparedness & response gaps, and register their commitment and resources to be made available during an Activation.
5. Train, recruit, and maintain a database of volunteers and facilities with the help of participating government and NGOs.
6. Prepare to activate and deploy as needed.

Why now?

Katrina has shown us that the government strategy of response cannot be accomplished without the tactical readiness of the local Church.

A Ready Church can play a pivotal role in completing the response chain at the local level:

1. Communication
2. Logistics
3. Leadership
4. Training

A Ready Church can be a significant and key achievement in protecting the homeland and minimizing the impact of natural and manmade disasters. Several models of success are soon to be validated and can be expanded to have a significant impact by October - if we act now.

All Government, Non-Government (NGO’s), and Faith-Based and Community Groups Included

The Ready Church Initiative will bring together churches, citywide Christian leaders, government agencies, and media to equip a local network for disaster preparedness, response and recovery; and all will benefit from the results. It provides an opportunity for different faith communities to adapt the working model. Christian, Jew, Muslim and any other faith-leader may join the effort to learn and share with their communities.

Groups are invited to:

1. Come and see – bring yourself or send local representatives to sit in or participate in the Ready Church Initiative.
2. Participate – join in the strategic planning at local roundtables and in the work of the local CEN chapter.
3. Invest resources – put in your human and other resources to help engage as many churches and members as possible, so we can share freely in the success and invest ours back into your faith communities.
4. Lead in areas of expertise – invest your expertise, so we can learn from each other.
   

CEN Contacts:

Mary Marr, Founder/Chairman – 520-577-6589, Mary.Marr@ChristianEmergencyNetwork.Org

Judy Hannestad, Director of Communications – 800-260-5637, Judy.Hannestad@ChristianEmergencyNetwork.Org

Mary Marr Bio

Mary Marr, Founder and Chairman of Christian Emergency Network (CEN), was called into ministry in 1978 after a successful career in public education in which she wrote the State of Michigan Guidelines for Career Education. After completing a theology education Mary’s media career began when she was approached to host a one-hour radio program that later became a syndicated daily radio program called Outreach Alert heard on over 1000 radio outlets nationwide. Mary also launched the Detroit Leadership Network and the Tucson Leadership Network, while actively engaged as a conference speaker and author of inspirational books, articles and commentaries.

In 2001, in collaboration with ten leading national ministries, along with public and private sector agencies, Mary founded the Christian Emergency Network (CEN), an unprecedented Christian collaboration and disaster-focused communication organization. Mary leads the charge as CEN rallies the Church to be aware-ready-and-there to give a compassionate Christian response to emergencies.

In addition to being an active member of the Mission America Coalition and the National Religious Broadcasters, Mary has worked cooperatively with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Preparedness Campaign and contributed to the DHS Institute report that evaluated the best practices in the faith-based community related to Katrina.

Pray All The Way to Election Day

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Followers of Christ across the United States (and around the world) are invited to "fix our eyes upon Jesus" together from July 7 through our national Election Day (November 4). Christ is marvelous beyond our imaginations! Let's unite in a daily focus on many of His names, during this crucial hour in history!

Below you will find 121 Scripture passages, highlighting more than 120 of the names of our matchless King which you're free to copy, give to others, put it on your website, etc.

Our heavenly Father is always pleased when His children agree that His beloved Son is awesome, beautiful, worthy, matchless, precious (and much, much more)! So, let's set aside a few minutes each day (using the "Names of Christ" tool), now through Election Day in November, to "live and move and have our being" in Christ together! I pray that multitudes of us will be consumed in Christ (fanatics of Him), who "is ALL and is in ALL!" And, that Christ's kingdom and power and glory will abide in our land!

Whenever an Individual or Group Begins Using the "Names of Christ" (July 7, August 2, September 9, etc.), I Suggest you:

• Read the Scripture passage that is provided for you each day
• Meditate on that passage of the day, especially focusing on the name or names of Christ in that passage
• Surrender yourself in prayer to Christ the Redeemer (on July 7), Christ the Anointed One (on July 8) and so on through November 3
• Thank and praise Christ the Redeemer or Christ the Anointed One, etc.
• Briefly share a couple insights with one or more other believers about Christ the Redeemer, Christ the Anointed One, and so on (this should be very encouraging for you and for whomever the Lord directs you to share with each day)
• Pray that you and your spheres of influence will be enveloped or saturated or consumed in Christ the Redeemer, Anointed One, etc.

I don't know what God will do if hundreds or thousands of us focus on Christ together through November 3rd. I'm sure I'll be much more devoted to Christ by that time. Maybe He will give our national leaders more wisdom; maybe He will draw many unbelievers to His Son; maybe He will increase our faith and hope; maybe He will protect us and our nation; maybe our "government will be on Christ's shoulders." I suggest we wrap up this "Names of Christ" journey by reading, meditating on, worshiping Christ together using the Doxology (Rom. 11:33-36) during Election Day, Nov. 4.

Words from a wonderful hymn come to mind as I close: "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid Rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand." May we wholly lean on Jesus' names!

CHRIST IS ALL,

Steve Hall, International Renewal Ministries

Cell # 206-595-5109

CHRIST IS ALL (Col. 3:11)

NAMES OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

FIRST 40-DAY PRAYER EMPHASIS BEGINS

July 7 REDEEMER

Job 19:25-27 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

July 8 The ANOINTED ONE

Ps. 2:1-9 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One. “Let us break their chains”, they say, “and throw off their fetters.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then He rebukes them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath, saying “I have installed My king on Zion, My holy hill.” I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, “You are My Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of Me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

July 9 My ROCK AND MY REDEEMER

Ps. 19:7-11, 14 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

July 10 SHEPHERD

Ps. 23:1-6 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

July 11 The KING OF GLORY

Ps. 24:7-10 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is He, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—He is the King of glory.

July 12 STRONG AND MIGHTY, MIGHTY IN BATTLE

Ps. 24:7-10 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is He, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—He is the King of glory.

July 13 The LORD MOST HIGH, The GREAT KING

Ps. 47:1-2 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth! He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom He loved. God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets. Since praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.

July 14 The STONE

Ps. 118:22-24 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

July 15 WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE

Is. 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

July 16 The BRANCH

Is. 11:1-9 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord—and He will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, or decide by what He hears with His ears; but with righteousness He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be His belt and faithfulness the sash around His waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together, and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

July 17 BANNER FOR THE PEOPLES

Is. 11:10 In that day (Christ’s return) the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.

July 18 My CHOSEN ONE

Is. 42:1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him and He will bring justice to the nations.”

July 19 The ARM OF THE LORD, TENDER SHOOT, MAN OF SORROWS

Is. 53:1-3, 12 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

July 20 The SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS ON ME

Is. 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.

July 21 SOVEREIGN LORD

Jer. 32:17-19 “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth, by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers’ sins into the laps of their children after them. O great and powerful God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.”

July 22 The ANCIENT OF DAYS

Dan. 7:8-10 “While I (Daniel) was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of His head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before Him. Thousands upon thousands attended Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.”

July 23 The DESIRED OF ALL NATIONS

Hag. 2:7-9 “I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory” says the Lord Almighty. “The silver is mine and the gold is mine,” declares the Lord Almighty. The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the Lord Almighty.

July 24 MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT

Mal. 3:1 “See, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

July 25 The SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Mal. 4:2-3 “But for you who revere My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,” says the Lord Almighty.

July 26 JESUS

Mat. 1:21 “She (Mary) will give birth to a son, and you (Joseph) are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

July 27 IMMANUEL

Mat. 1:22-23 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet (Isaiah): “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel”—which means. “God with us.”

July 28 LORD OF THE SABBATH

Mat. 12: 6-8 (Jesus speaking) “I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

July 29 SERVANT

Mat. 12:17-20 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out, till He leads justice to victory. In His name the nations will put their hope.”

July 30 The CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD

Mat. 16:13-20 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”: “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

July 31 RANSOM

Mat. 20:28-28 Jesus called them (His disciples) together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to give His life as a ransom for many.”

August 1 The SON OF DAVID

Mat. 21:6-11 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

August 2 TEACHER

Mat. 23:8-12 “But you are not to be called Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and He is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

August 3 The KING OF THE JEWS

Mt. 27:27-37 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and they twisted together a crown of thorns on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on Him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him. As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it. When they had crucified Him, they divided up His clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. Above His head they placed the written charge against Him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

August 4 The SON

Mat. 28:16-20 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

August 5 The HOLY ONE OF GOD

Mk. 1: 21-24 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at His teaching, because He taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

August 6 The SON OF MAN

Mk. 10:42-45 Jesus called them (His disciples) together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

August 7 The SON OF THE MOST HIGH

Luke 1:26-35 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end.” “How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

August 8 HORN OF SALVATION

Lk. 1:67-75 His (John the Baptist’s) father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and has redeemed His people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David (as He said through His holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath He swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.”

August 9 The RISING SUN

Lk. 1:78-79 “And you (John the Baptist), my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

August 10 SAVIOR

Lk. 2:8-14 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”

August 11 BABY

Lk. 2:8-14 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”

August 12 SALVATION

Lk. 2:28-35 Simeon took Him (Jesus) in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you can now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about Him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, His mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

August 13 The CHILD

Lk. 2:39-40 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child (Jesus) grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.

August 14 The BOY JESUS

Lk. 2:41- Every year His (Jesus’) parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When He was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while His parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking He was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for Him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for Him. After three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. Everyone who heard Him was amazed at His understanding and His answers. When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. His mother said to Him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” He asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house?”

August 15 PHYSICIAN

Lk. 4:16-23 He (Jesus) went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom. And He stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on Him, and He began by saying to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. All spoke well of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

SECOND 40-DAY PRAYER EMPHASIS BEGINS

August 16 MASTER

Lk. 8:22-25 One day Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, He fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” He asked His disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him.”

August 17 The WORD, the LIGHT, the ONE AND ONLY

Jn. 1:1-4, 14, 18 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the Only and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.

August 18 The LAMB OF GOD

Jn. 1:23-27, 29-30 John (the Baptist) replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”

August 19 RABBI

Jn. 3:1-3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

August 20 ONE AND ONLY SON

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

August 21 LIVING WATER

John 4:9-15 The Samaritan woman said to Him (Jesus), “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.” “Sir”, the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to drink water.”

August 22 MESSIAH (CALLED CHRIST)

John 4:21-26 Jesus declared (to the Samaritan woman) “Believe Me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am He.”

August 23 JUDGE

Jn. 5:25-27 I (Jesus) tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man.

August 24 THE PROPHET

Jn. 6:10-14 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

August 25 The BREAD OF LIFE

Jn. 6:25-27, 48-56 When they (the disciples) found Him (Jesus) on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for Me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval….”I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.”

August 26 The LIGHT OF THE WORLD

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

August 27 I AM

Jn. 8:57-58 Jesus replied (to the Jews), “If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies Me. Though you do not know Him, I know Him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing My day; he saw it and was glad.” “You are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to Him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

August 28 The GATE

Jn. 10:7-10 Therefore, Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

August 29 The GOOD SHEPHERD

Jn 10:11, 14-15 “I (Jesus) am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me—just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—and I lay down My life for the sheep.”

August 30 The RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE

Jn. 11:25-27 Jesus said to her (Martha) “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she told Him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

August 31 The WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

Jn. 14:5-7 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me (Jesus). In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”

September 1 The TRUE VINE

Jn. 15:1-5 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”

September 2 I AM HE

John 18:4-6 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to Him, went out and asked them (the soldiers who had come to arrest Him), “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am He,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

September 3 RABBONI

Jn. 20:10-18 Then the disciples went back to their homes (from Christ’s tomb), but Mary (Magdalene) stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. “Woman, He said, “why are crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward Him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that He had said these things to her.

September 4 PRINCE

Acts 5:29-32 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

September 5 CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD

Rom. 8:31b-39 If God is for us who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is He that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

September 6 The POWER OF GOD and The WISDOM OF GOD

1Cor. 1:22-24 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

September 7 Our RIGHTEOUSNESS, HOLINESS AND REDEMPTION

1 Cor. 1:27-30 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

September 8 FOUNDATION

1 Cor. 3:10-11 By the grace God has given me (Paul), I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

September 9 PASSOVER LAMB

1 Cor. 5:6-7 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

September 10 ROCK

1 Cor. 10:1-4 For I (Paul) do not want you be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

September 11 The FIRSTFRUITS

1 Cor. 15:20-26 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him. Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to
God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

September 12 CHRIST

1 Cor. 1:18-22 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His head of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

September 13 God’s INDESCRIBABLE GIFT

2 Cor. 9:12-15 This service (giving generously) that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift (of Jesus Christ)!

September 14 The ONE HE LOVES

Eph. 1:5-6 In love He (the Father) predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will—to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves (Jesus).

September 15 PEACE

Eph. 2:11-15 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)—remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace….

September 16 The CHIEF CORNERSTONE

Eph. 2:19-22 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.

September 17 The HEAD

Eph. 4:15-16 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

September 18 FRAGRANT OFFERING and SACRIFICE TO GOD

Eph. 5:1-2 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

September 19 The HEAD OF THE CHURCH

Eph. 5:23-27 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Now as the Church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkles or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

September 20 LORD

Phil. 2:5-11 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

September 21 The GOD OF PEACE

Phil. 4:8-9 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

September 22 The IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD

Col. 1:15-20 He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the Church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.

September 23 The FIRSTBORN OVER ALL CREATION

Col. 1:15-20 He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the Church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.

September 24 The HEAD OF THE BODY

Col. 1:15-20 He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the Church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.

THIRD (FINAL) 40-DAY PRAYER EMPHASIS BEGINS

September 25 The HOPE OF GLORY

Col. 1:25-27 I (Paul) have become its (the Church’s) servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

September 26 FULLNESS OF THE DEITY

Col. 2:6-7, 9-10 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is head over every power and authority.

September 27 CHRIST IS ALL AND IS IN ALL

Col. 3:1-3, 11, 16-17 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him glory. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

September 28 MEDIATOR

1 Tim. 2:1-6 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time.

September 29 The MAN CHRIST JESUS

1 Tim. 2:1-6 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time.

September 30 The MASTER

2 Tim. 2:19-22 God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

October 1 The BLESSED HOPE

Tit. 2:11-14 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.

October 2 The HEIR OF ALL THINGS

Heb. 1:1-4 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs.

October 3 The RADIANCE OF GOD’S GLORY

Heb. 1:1-4 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs.

October 4 The EXACT REPRESENTATION OF HIS BEING

Heb. 1:1-4 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs.

October 5 GOD

Heb. 1:8-12 But about the Son He (God, the Father) says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” He also says, “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”

October 6 The APOSTLE AND HIGH PRIEST

Heb. 3:1-2, 6 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

October 7 GREAT HIGH PRIEST

Heb. 4:14-16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

October 8 PRIEST and The GUARANTEE OF A BETTER COVENANT

Heb. 7:21-26 ….But He (Jesus) became a priest with an oath God said to Him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: ‘You (Jesus) are a priest forever.’” Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

October 9 The AUTHOR AND PERFECTOR (FINISHER) OF OUR FAITH

Heb. 12:2 Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

October 10 The FIRSTBORN and The MEDIATOR OF A NEW COVENANT

Heb. 12:22-24 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

October 11 CONSUMING FIRE

Heb. 12:28-29 Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

October 12 HELPER

Heb. 13:5-6 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

October 13 The GREAT SHEPHERD OF THE SHEEP

Heb. 13:20-21 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

October 14 JESUS CHRIST

1 Pet. 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

October 15 The LIVING STONE

1 Pet. 2:4-9 As you come to Him (Jesus), the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trust in Him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,” and, “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praise of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

October 16 The SHEPHERD AND OVERSEER OF YOUR SOULS

1 Pet. 2:24-25 He (Christ) Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

October 17 The WORD OF LIFE

1 Jn. 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

October 18 ADVOCATE

1 Jn. 2:1-3 (NKJV) My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.

October 19 The RIGHTEOUS ONE, The ATONING SACRIFICE

1 Jn. 2:1-6 My dear children, I (John) write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

October 20 The SON OF GOD

Mat. 27:41-43, 45-46, 50-54 (While Jesus was on the cross) Those who passed by hurled insults at Him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who were going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked Him. “He saved others,” they said, “but He can’t save Himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let Him come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue Him now if He wants Him, for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely He was the Son of God!”

October 21 FAITHFUL WITNESS, FIRST BORN FROM THE DEAD, RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH

Rev. 1:4b-6 “Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first born from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”

October 22 The LIVING ONE

Rev. 1:17-18 When I saw Him (Jesus Christ), I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

October 23 The AMEN

Rev. 3:14 “To the angel of the Church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of My mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.”

October 24 The LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH

Rev. 5:4-5 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

October 25 The ROOT OF DAVID

Rev. 5:4-5 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

October 26 The LAMB

Rev. 5: 6-12 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise.”

October 27 LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, KING OF THE AGES

Rev. 15:3b-4 “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

October 28 FAITHFUL AND TRUE, The WORD OF GOD, KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS

Rev. 19:11-16 I (John) saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

October 29 The WORD OF GOD

Rev. 19:11-16 I (John) saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

October 30 The ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, The BEGINNING AND THE END

Rev. 21:1-7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink with out cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”

October 31 TEMPLE

Rev. 21:22-27 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

November 1 LAMP

Rev. 21:22-27 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

November 2 The FIRST and The LAST

Rev. 22:13 (Jesus said), “Behold I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book (Revelation).” (John said) I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!” Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy.” (Jesus said again) “Behold, I am coming soon. My reward is with Me; and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

November 3 The ROOT, The OFFSPRING OF DAVID, The BRIGHT MORNING STAR and The WATER OF LIFE

Rev. 22:16-17 I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”

ELECTION DAY CONCLUDING FOCUS ON CHRIST!

November 4 FROM HIM AND THROUGH HIM AND TO HIM ARE ALL THINGS

Rom. 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?” “Who has ever given to God that God should repay Him?” For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever! Amen.

References used for some of the names of Christ and Scripture passages:

“100 Portraits of Christ”, Henry Gariepy, Victor Books, 2006

“CHRIST Is All! A Joyful Manifesto on The Supremacy of God’s Son” David Bryant, New Providence Publishers, 2004

“Names of Jesus”, William Brent Ashby, Rose Publishing

“Praying the Names of Jesus”, Ann Spangler, Zondervan, 2006

“The Holy Bible, New International Version”, Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1984

THE NAMES OF CHRIST BELONG TO ALL OF HIS PEOPLE, SO FEEL FREE TO USE THEM AS HE DIRECTS, FOR HIS GREAT GLORY!