40 Day Pushing Back the Darkness Personal Prayer Adventure April 17 May 29, 2011

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1 40 Day Pushing Back the Darkness Personal Prayer Adventure April 17 May 29, 2011 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:9 13). During these 40 days, we want to apply the pattern of prayer Jesus gave to us only 52 words. You can say them in less than 10 seconds. Yet the Lord s Prayer is a template that includes every aspect of prayer. It is the only prayer pattern Jesus gave. It is concise and strategic. It is God s Word. Rather than simply reciting it by rote, we want to use it to structure our daily extended prayer time over the next six weeks. Some days you will linger in one area more than another. Don t rush. You don t need to get through the entire pattern each day; in fact, you may choose to apply one pattern each day of the week. Be creative. Be interactive. Be yourself. Keep it real.

2 1. Relationship Our Father in heaven... All true prayer begins with relationship receiving the love of God in Jesus Christ. Receive the Father s love. You need it. Your neighbor going through a divorce needs it. The person who bugs you needs it. Everyone who has ever been born needs it. Regardless of what else God wants to do in your life during these next 40 days, you can be confident that He wants to refresh you in His love. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16). Take time right now to receive the Father s love. Take a few more moments and pray the Father s love on other people God brings to mind. 2. Worship Hallowed be your name... All true prayer responds to the revelation of God s Name. It is appropriate to declare the value of His Name, emphasizing the names of God particular to your situation. God s Name reflects His character, His attributes, and His virtues. God is self- revealing. Every kernel of truth about God is revealed to us by His Holy Spirit. Revel in a particular Name of God. Savor it. Rehearse it. Chew on it. Shout it. Put your whole heart into it. Use gusto. Be loud. Put muscle into it. Here are some examples of His Name upon which to meditate: Almighty, Ancient of Days, Ever- Present Help, Father of Lights, Good Shepherd, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, Redeemer, Refuge, Savior, Tower of Strength. Declare God s Name over your life. Declare His Name over those for whom you have responsibility.

3 3. Lordship Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Once we affirm our relationship with the Father and declare the glory of His Name, we are to advance His Kingdom. It is humbling to recognize that God has given us the authority to advance His Kingdom by prayer. This should bring every one of us to our knees. What is the Kingdom? To put it simply, the Kingdom is the rule of Christ made visible or manifest: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). When we advance the Kingdom by prayer, we are praying down righteousness, joy, and peace; even more importantly, we are praying down the Holy Spirit. Let s remember it is God s Kingdom, not ours. We are praying for God s will to be accomplished, not our own. Take several moments to pray for the reign of Christ over your life, over your sphere of influence, and over the areas of responsibility He has assigned to you. 4. Provision Give us today our daily bread. Jesus meets all of our needs out of His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). Our daily bread, food, represents our physical needs. Just as parents provide food for their children, so God provides for our physical needs. Take several moments to receive God s provision for your physical needs and to pray for those of others.

4 5. Fellowship Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. With the forgiveness we have received from Christ, we are now able to extend that forgiveness to others. While we are praying, God often brings to the surface areas of our lives where there is resentment, bitterness, grudges, offenses, or unforgiveness. The only part of the Lord s Prayer that Jesus repeats when the prayer is complete is forgiveness: For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14 15). We don t want to allow unforgiveness to hinder our prayers. For the next several moments, confess and renounce any bitterness, resentment, grudges, or unforgiveness. Extend forgiveness to those who have offended you, and ask God to bless your enemies. 6.Deliverance Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Our two greatest enemies are sin and Satan. In this portion of the Lord s Prayer, we confront both these enemies. Sin is the enemy within, which lurks in the shadows of our lives ready to deceive and destroy us. Satan is the enemy without who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). If we were able to deal with these two enemies without God s help, Jesus would never have included them in this portion of His prayer pattern. Some of the deepest work God does when we pray takes place in our hearts. What sin has God identified in your life? Is it pride, selfishness, lust, deception, or idolatry? Perhaps it is lack of love, unkindness, or unbelief. Have you dealt with it thoroughly? Today is your day. Confess it and forsake it. Beneath the sin there may be demonic strongholds. This may be the time when Jesus wants to set you free. He is your bondage breaker. Be honest. Humble yourself. Ask for Jesus help.

5 7.Ownership For the Kingdom and the power and the glory are yours, now and forever. [While these words were most likely not part of the Bible as originally written, they were probably used by Jesus and have certainly been used by followers of Christ through the ages.] All true prayer moves toward Christ s ownership over all things. Christ s Kingdom, power, and glory is the goal of all prayer. It is no wonder the pattern of prayer Jesus gives ends with this declaration. Kingdom is the key word repeated in the Lord s Prayer. Your Kingdom come... for yours is the Kingdom. Power refers to the strength and authority that God has to accomplish His purpose. Glory, His manifest presence, is the sum total of all His virtues and attributes. The Lord s pattern of prayer ends without asking for anything but simply giving Christ all the glory He deserves. Take several moments right now and declare the ownership of Christ over every area of life. Adapted from original materials copyrighted by Fred Hartley. All rights reserved.

6 Seven Prayer Targets, International Ministries By Bob Fetherlin 1) Pray that the doors of predominantly Arab Muslim countries will swing more widely open than ever before and that there will be newfound freedom for the gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ in these nations. 2) Pray that believers around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ will be filled with hope and steadfast love despite the hardship they are facing. 3) Pray that growing missionary movements coming out of Alliance families of churches (as well as through other partners) in Latin America, Asia, and Africa will be powerful and effective. 4) With so many of the world s peoples being oral learners, pray for Alliance international workers and partners around the globe who are increasingly embracing and using oral strategies (stories, music, poetry, and drama) to express the truth of God s Word and the good news about Jesus. 5) Pray for the fresh wind and fresh fire of the Spirit to sweep across the Alliance family and Alliance World Fellowship partners around the world, resulting in lives that reflect Christ. 6) Pray for the Pushing Back the Darkness initiatives now moving forward in North and Central Asia and North Africa. For more prayer targets focused on these, e- mail pbd@cmalliance.org and ask to be an intercessor engaged in pushing back the darkness. Due to the creative- access nature of this work, security guidelines must be agreed to and security authentication finalized in order to receive this confidential information. 7) Pray that in every remaining unreached people group, God will raise up a high- profile, local person who has had a Damascus Road experience with the living Christ. Having the focused, Kingdom influence of someone whose life was radically transformed like the Apostle Paul could advance the Kingdom rapidly among that people. What if Osama bin Laden had this kind of experience and became an ambassador for Christ to the Muslim world? The impact could be incredible. Let s pray for God to transform him and many others with high- profile, high- impact potential among unreached and even resistant peoples!

7 Seven Prayer Targets, Church Ministries By John Soper 1) Completion and widespread use of the C&MA DNA Four Fold Gospel and Core Values studies throughout our C&MA communities. 2) Development of the Envision Culture capturing the hearts and lives of our year olds for the Lord. 3) Supply enough international workers to share their ministries of global impact focus throughout our U.S. churches. 4) Local churches would connect with international workers through strategic ministry partnerships. 5) Further training opportunities to assist intercultural district and association leaders in developing biblical peacemaking skills. 6) The outcome of the Hispanic Church Planters Institute training will spark a surge of Hispanic church planting opportunities across the nation. 7) Further empowerment of Next Generation leaders among our intercultural districts and associations for greater national and global impact.