Mission Moultrie 24/7 Prayer

Strategy & Model…from: americaprays.org

Jesus’ heart for the Church could not have been any clearer—“My house shall

be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17). It has always been

God’s plan for every local church and fellowship in every nation to become

houses of prayer. The question is: how do we help churches develop a

culture and rhythm of prayer?

Our prayer strategy is an expression of the Moravian prayer movement that

began in Herrnhut, Germany in 1727 under the leadership of Count

Zinzendorf. That year, a few believers covenanted to start a 24/7 prayer chain

with at least two people praying every hour. Little did they know that their

prayer watch would last over 100 years . By 1791, the Moravians had prayed

non-stop for 65 years and sent over 300 missionaries around the world. We

ask every church to adopt a monthly day of prayer and cover those 12 or 24 hours in

prayer. The goal is for every church to develop a culture and rhythm of prayer and one

way to do that is to adopt a monthly day of prayer.

OUR STRATEGY IS:

Simple

Unifying

Pastor-led

Local-church-based

Powerful

Sustainable

Our strategy is simple—every church in Colquitt County, America and

around the world can adopt a full day of prayer (24 hours) or a half day of

prayer (12 hours) every month. Churches with 20 members and 1000

members can all participate. The monthly day of prayer is not the end

game—it’s the on-ramp.

Our strategy is unifying—Baptist, Reformed, Protestant, Pentecostal, and

non-denominational churches can all adopt a day of prayer and do it their

way at their church. They lead their own monthly day of prayer, but then they

come together to cover their city in prayer in monthly, quarterly and annual

gatherings, which produces a greater level of unity and trust between

pastors.

Our strategy is pastor-led—it empowers the senior pastor to lead his

church in prayer. It honors the pastor’s authority as God’s appointed leader

for the church.

Our strategy is local-church-based—it engages churches in prayer and

includes the intercessors, who are already praying, but also church members

who may not attend a corporate praying meeting. People can pray from

home, school, a college dorm, a coffee shop, or their home. We believe in the

local church is at the center of God’s plan for the redemption of the world.

Our strategy is powerful—when churches in a city and state pray for the

same things, that targeted and focused prayer is strategic and powerful. This

reflects the power of agreement, as Jesus said in Matthew 18:10, “Truly I tell

you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be

done for them by my Father in heaven.”

Our strategy is sustainable—since every church is only responsible for one

day of prayer a month (or more if they want), it does not burn out any single

church. Local churches have been praying 24/7 for 10 years now in Austin

and Bellingham. This model has staying power. You can’t fake 24/7 prayer for

10 straight years with churches from across the theological spectrum and still

be growing and thriving.

Model…of spiritual awakening is based on the Book of Acts.

1. PRAYER—We believe that all human and spiritual transformation begins

with prayer and is fueled by and sustained by prayer. The first thing the

disciples did after Jesus ascended to heaven was to rush to the Upper Room

and devote themselves to unceasing prayer. Acts 1:14, “They were

continually devoting themselves to prayer.” The Holy Spirit uses prayer

to unite His church and break down denominational, theological, ethnic, and

socio-economic walls that separate us from each other.

2. UNITY—Unceasing prayer brought the disciples to a level of unity they

hadn’t experienced before. There were a lot of rivalries, jealousies, and

competition among the disciples, but when they devoted themselves to

prayer, God began to unite them with one heart for one purpose. Acts

2:1, “They were all in one accord in one place.”

3. EVANGELISM—When the church is united, the Holy Spirit releases a fresh

power in evangelism that results in exponential convert growth. Acts

2:37, “Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about

three thousand were added to the believers that day.” Three thousand

believers were added to the church in a single day when they began to walk in unity.

The purpose and outcome of unity is that people will get saved. The most

credible witness to the world that Jesus is Lord is a unified church. Jesus

prayed in John 17:21, “May all of them may be one, Father, just as you

are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world

may believe that you have sent me.” Only a united church can heal a divided nation.

4. DISCIPLESHIP—Jesus never called us to win converts, but to make

disciples. Once people make a decision for Christ, it is the church’s privilege

and responsibility to nurture them and disciple them into full devotion to

Christ. We believe that discipleship happens best through the local church,

and especially in the context of small groups. Acts 2:42, “They devoted

themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the

breaking of bread and to prayer.”

5. SERVICE—The early followers of Christ were contagious and multiplied

rapidly largely because of their passion for Jesus and their compassion for

people. They were generous with their resources and shared with anyone

who was in need. Acts 2:44-45, “All the believers were together and had

everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they

shared with anyone who was in need.” By the time we get to Acts 6, we

see that the church took on the responsibility of feeding and caring for

widows. We believe that a praying church is a compassionate church.

Serving the poor is not an add-on to the Gospel—it’s at the heart of the

Gospel message. In His very first sermon, Jesus declared in Luke 4:18, “The

Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim

good news to the poor.” Jesus made it clear that the Gospel has a special

application for the poor. James 1:27 confirms the importance of serving the

poor: “Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this:

to care for orphans and widows in their distress.” Compassionate

service confirms our message that God is love.

6. TRANSFORMATION—The disciples didn’t grow big churches that were

isolated but they understood from the beginning that their calling was to be

the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). The early followers of Christ

transformed every culture and society they came into contact with. People

would bring their occult books to the town square and burn them publicly

and embrace Jesus as Lord (Acts 19:19).

In Acts 19:25-27, so many people in the city of Ephesus were getting saved

and forsaking the worship of the goddess Diana and other gods that it was

disrupting their economy that was built on idol worship. Acts 17:6 gives us

insight into the kind of transformation impact they were having on

cities: “These men who have turned the world upside down have

come here also.” Transformation of society is the real biblical evidence that

a spiritual awakening is taking place in a city or nation.

Mission-Moultrie-24/7-Prayer-Focus

Churches can include additional prayer requests, but these are the 8 main areas we are praying for:

1. PRAY FOR PERFECT UNITY OF THE CHURCH. Pray for the perfect unity Jesus

prayed for, and that the unified Body of Christ in Moultrie and Colquitt

County would be a glorious witness of Jesus and of the Father’s love for us.

Pray that denominational, theological, and ethnic walls will come down so

that pastors will love each other, pray together, and serve each other. (John

17:20-23; Psalm 133:1; Ephesians 4:3-6)

2. PRAY FOR A NATIONAL SPIRITUAL AWAKENING. Pray that Jesus will revive

and awaken the Church in Colquitt County and our nation to the greatness

and supremacy of Jesus. Pray that God will pour out His Spirit on America

and forgive our sin and heal our land. Pray that millions of Americans will be

convicted by the Holy Spirit, repent of their sins, and turn to God with all their

hearts. (2 Chron. 7:14; Daniel 9:18-19; Psa. 85:6; Hab. 3:2; Acts 2:37-41)

3. PRAY FOR UNBELIEVERS TO BE SAVED. Pray that people’s hearts will be

opened to repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Savior. Pray that every

person in Colquitt County and in the world will be able to hear the Gospel in

their native language. Pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send out labors into

the harvest field. (Luke 10:2; Matthew 9:37-38; 24:14; Romans 10:1; 2 Peter 3:9;

Acts 26:18; Luke 5:32; Jere. 24:7; Deut. 29:4)

4. Pray for Pastors to preach the truth of the Gospel in love and walk in

the fear and admonition of the Lord, unhindered by the fear of man

(1 Tim. 6:11-16)

5. PRAY FOR FAMILIES. Pray that Jesus will heal, restore, and strengthen every

marriage and family. Pray that husbands will love their wives like Christ loves

the church and that wives will respect and submit to their husbands. Pray

that the hearts of parents will be turned toward their children to love them

and raise them in a God-honoring way. Pray that the hearts of children be

turned toward their parents in love, honor, respect and obedience. (Genesis

2:24; Joshua 24:15; Psalm 127:3-5; Malachi 4:6; Ephesians 5:22-33; Ephesians 6:1-4)

6. PRAY FOR RACIAL RECONCILIATION. Pray that God will heal our nation of

racism and use the church to stand against racial conflict, violence, and

prejudice. The church must lead the way in racial reconciliation by modeling

love and respect for every person regardless of the color of their skin or their

ethnic background. (Romans 10:12-13, Galatians 3:28, Acts 10:28, Acts 10:34-

35, John 7:24, 1 John 2:9, James 2:9, Revelation 7:9)

7. PRAY FOR LIFE TO BE VALUED AND PROTECTED THROUGH ALL STAGES OF

LIFE, BEGINNING AT CONCEPTION. Pray for God to break the culture of death

in America and restore a culture of life. Pray for legalized abortion to come to

an end. (Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5; Proverbs 24:11; Deuteronomy 21:8-9)

8. PRAY FOR LOCAL AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENT LEADERS. Pray that God

will help them make wise decisions and govern with integrity, justice, and

mercy. (1 Tim. 2:1-2; Rom. 13:1; 1 Pet. 2:17; Titus 3:1-2; Micah 6:8)

Creative Ideas to Cover 24hr. Day of Prayer

* Pray for Spiritual Awakening for yourself, your family and everyone you know.

* Pray over list of church members & cry-out for spiritual awakening for each

* Individuals partner together to cover one or more hours of prayer.

* Small Groups (Bible Study, Youth, Sunday School,etc) cover hours of prayer.

* Couples partner together to cover their hours of prayer.

* Families find creative ways to involve children in covering hours of prayer.

* Fast and pray a meal to cover an hour of prayer at work, school or home.

* Find a peaceful, worshipful place outdoors to spend your hour of prayer.

* Play praise and worship music and have song book available during prayer.

* Pray the scriptures out-loud during prayer (Psalms, Paul’s Prayers, etc…)

* Prayer Meetings to concentrate prayer on one or more of 8-Prayer-Focuses

* Pray on Courthouse Square (for local Government, First Responders..etc..)

* Pray at Hope House Crisis Pregnancy Center for protection of the unborn.

* Pray over a list of pastors and churches, a list of schools, a map of county etc..