Called to prayer

Prayer meetings are resurfacing in churches throughout New York. Who would have thought it would happen in "Sin City" ? Not so long ago, more than 50,000 believers gathered in Times Square to pray. And Christian lectures around the world become impromptu meetings of prayers.

When the Spirit acts - when sinners come to Christ, when the Spirit testifies that it is now time to pray, when God makes a promise and begins to act - you can not just sit still and say : "God Promised. I will take it by faith. "I will rest and watch Him fulfill all that He said." No ! When the Spirit acts, it is time to run in the presence of God with faith and fervor.

When Daniel read Jeremiah's prophecy, he calculated that the seventy years of slavery had come to an end. He realized that Israel was about to be delivered from Babylon. The people of God were to be freed ! (Daniel 9: 2).

So what did Daniel do ? Did he wait for God to act, "by taking hold of the promise by faith" ? No ! Daniel said : "I turned my face to the Lord God, to resort to prayer and supplication, fasting and taking the sack and the ashes" (Daniel 9: 3). And, of course, he prayed with abundant faith.

Before any important movement on the part of the Lord, the Holy Spirit calls us to a fervent prayer. And all the actions of the Spirit that follow are sustained by prayer.

In the Epistle of Jude we see a generation of late abandoned to fornication and sensuality. It was a time when the people of God murmured and complained. Jude prophesied on all this : "Behold, the Lord has come with his holy myriads, to judge against all" (Jude 14-15).

How could the people of God prepare themselves for this ? According to Jude : "For you, beloved, edifying yourselves on your most holy faith, and praying by the Holy Spirit" (Jude 20). In the darkest hours, the people of God are always called to watch and pray.

David Wilkerson