Why We Pray Intensively in August
Pray in advance for what you want to see the rest of this year.
Bob Perry and I wrote Pursue, which gives prayer prompts and meditations for a three-week prayer intensive in August. Pursue is our first book in his voice (though as co-author, I show up plenty!), and it has an adorable football theme that the designer carried all through. (When I was looking at the final proof, I kept thinking, “Oh, this looks so nice!” It’s really quite lovely.)
You can read an excerpt, below, about why Bob treasures August prayer.
He’s always thinking about how to make strategic prayer accessible for normal people!
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Over the years, I would fast in the summer. Ten days here, twenty-one days there, maybe in June, maybe in July, maybe in August.
The Lord always met me, and it was always beautiful, but it had no rhyme or reason.
So it fascinated me when Chris Hodges, of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, started a 21-day time of intensive prayer … in August.
Chris called his staff together and said, “Let's regroup with 21 days of focused prayer for our community. People can fast if they have a desire, but we need to focus and realign. What have we done so far this year? What is our vision for the rest of the year?”
Then they would pray into their goals, their desires.
In the church community, they made their list of who they were praying would come to know Christ, or who was struggling in their faith. They would pray for their dream for the women’s ministry, or the children’s ministry.
Then, from this place of prayerful intentionality, in September, when programs started up again, they were already covered in prayer.
They prayed in advance for the work yet to come. They had an intentional sowing into their fall ministry and outreach.
But this concept isn’t just for the church world.
This is the invitation to you in August: pray in advance of what you want to see the rest of this year. Invite God into the picture.
Instead of just willpower, or gritting our teeth through the practical aspects of leadership training and goal setting, hard work and diligence, here we invite God to help us.
We invite God to speak, to inform, to redirect.
God has a blueprint for our lives. Are we building according to his blueprint?
Listen and hear what God is speaking.
Excerpted from our new book, Pursue.
Available here: https://happybooks.me/pursue
Lord Jesus, we want to seek you first. Thank you that you have a blueprint for us. Thank you that you walk with us, and guide us and direct us. We worship you. Amen.
Put everything in order,
Amy Joy
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