Why a Night of Prayer?
There is nothing holy in staying awake and praying a whole night or part of a night. However, night might be the only time when people are not busy or in a rush. We believe that your purpose should not be to stay up the whole night but to pray as long as necessary and until you have prayed for all the things you feel God wants you to pray for.
We suggest that several people lead out during the night. Be sure to have some breaks. As a leader, you can sense the atmosphere and know when a break is needed and when you need to move on to the next section of prayer. We suggest that you take a ten-minute break at least every ninety minutes. You can also incorporate the reading of Bible passages into your prayer time. You may want to do all of the suggested items or only some of them, depending on what it is best for your group. Feel free to change the order of the suggested format.
Here is our suggested format for the night of prayer:
- Start with a session of praise. Praise God in your prayers and also through songs.
- Take some time for confession, making sure that nothing is hindering God from hearing you. Give people time for private confession and have a time of corporate confession. Encourage the people to confess private sins privately and to confess publicly the public sins. In Daniel 9:1-19 we read about Daniel, who interceded and publicly confessed the sins of God's people. Encourage people to confess publicly the sins of the church.
- Pray for the needs of those present at the prayer meeting. So many people are hurting or in need of prayer, or know someone else who is in desperate need of prayer. Make a circle, put a chair in the middle, and invite those who have a special prayer request to come one by one and share their requests. Then gather around the person and have two or three people pray for their specific need and claim God's promises for them. You will be surprised at how many people are hurting and in need of prayer.
- Divide the group in two. Have the females pray in one room and the males in another. Have a female leader for the female group and a male leader for the male group. Many times there are personal needs that cannot and should not be shared with everyone. It is easier to share with those of the same gender.
- After you come back together, pray for the list of needs found below.
- Pray for the seven people you have prayed for during these ten days.
- Choose a Bible passage and pray through it.
- Close the prayer time with another session of praise and thanksgiving.
Prayer Needs
Pray for church leaders (your local pastor, conference, union, division, and General Conference leaders) to be filled with the Holy Spirit and abide in Christ.
- Pray for the unity of the church in truth and Spirit. Pray that every church and entity be fully engaged in the mission of the church and in proclaiming the three angels' messages of Revelation 14 and the message of the fourth angel of Revelation 18.
- Pray for continued and growing focus on "Revival and Reformation" for members, conferences, unions, institutions, divisions, and the General Conference. Pay attention to the personal aspect of "Revival and Reformation" for you, your family, your church, and your community. Pray that people will engage in the "United In Prayer" initiative, asking for the latter rain of the Holy Spirit and the fulfillment of Joel 2, Hosea 6, and Acts 2.
- Pray for increased emphasis on personal and church-wide daily reading and following of the Bible through the "Believe His Prophets" initiative, which emphasizes the reading and study of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy.
- Pray that every church leader around the world holds deeply to a faithful spiritual and evangelistic perspective. Plead with the Lord to guard pastors and church members against losing the prophetic identity of who we are as the Seventh-day Adventist Church, God's remnant church at the end of time.
- Pray for an increased sense of urgency and a realization by church leaders and members that we are living at the end of time and that Jesus is coming soon as He indicated three times in Revelation 22.
- Pray that we will devote more of our time to eternal values through Bible study and prayer, allowing God to fully direct His people according to His will and not our will. This will help keep us close to God and allow the power of the Holy Spirit to reverse trends of worldliness that threaten God's church and our daily lives.
- Pray for heartfelt gratitude for and full acceptance of the Spirit of Prophecy writings as being applicable today. Pray that church leaders and members read the materials on a regular basis.
- Pray for clear focus on Christ and His work for us during His life on earth, His death on the cross, His resurrection, His current ministry for us in the Most Holy Place in heaven, and His soon second coming.
- Pray for greater support and interest by all church members and leaders in maintaining Seventh-day Adventist education as truly Seventh-day Adventist in content and emphasis. This is so vital to the church's future workforce and mission perspective.
- Pray for increased interest in studying the books of Daniel and Revelation.
- Pray that people will understand and proclaim the sanctuary service as a beautiful explanation of the salvation process.
- Pray for God's love to be perfected in His church.
- Pray for increased emphasis on the wonderful doctrine of biblical creation—that our earth was created in six literal, consecutive days by the word of the Lord.
- Pray for a tremendous increase in spiritual support for Seventh-day Adventist young people who attend public campuses. Pray that they become vibrant missionaries who serve others at public universities and colleges worldwide.
- Pray for strong cooperation and unity between the church organization and supporting ministries in the evangelistic outreach of our church.
- Plead with the Lord to nurture and provide Godly, teachable, and humble church leaders for the future who will exemplify Christ-centered leadership as His church fulfills its heaven-born mandate to the world in proclaiming the three angels' messages with Christ's righteousness at the core.
- Pray that church members and the public will understand the importance of health reform as part of the loud cry restoring humans to the image of God through Christ's righteousness. Pray that a healthy lifestyle and temperance are accepted by all and that our bodies may be treated as temples of the Holy Spirit, allowing us to more fully receive important impressions from God.
- Pray for the comprehensive evangelistic plans and outreach activities of all thirteen divisions and attached union (Middle East and North Africa Union). Pray for success in "Mission to the Cities" and in reaching rural areas.
- Pray for every member to feel a burden for soul winning and to realize that heaven asks everyone to follow in Christ's steps and share their faith.
- Pray for the use of every appropriate social media format to share the three angels' messages in a creative and fresh manner with the busy people of today.
- Pray for increased participation in evangelistic outreach by all church members and institutions as they support the ongoing mission of the church.
- Pray for the establishment of thousands of "centers of influence" (churches, health centers, daycare centers, literature centers, community outreach centers, youth centers, vegetarian restaurants, clinics, and many more), especially in large cities around the world, and pray that these centers make a huge difference in people's lives as they experience God's truth through Christian service.
- Pray that God will give a full understanding of Christ's method (comprehensive health ministry), allowing all church members to meet people's needs and follow Christ's pattern of service to others.
- Pray for the united evangelistic and witnessing activities of every Seventh-day Adventist man, woman, and child around the world. Pray that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit as we submit to His leading in our lives.
- Beseech the Lord on behalf of Seventh-day Adventist families, that they may be models of how Christ can bring peace and love into homes, removing any abuse and stress through the sanctifying power of Christ's righteousness and pointing to Christ's soon return and the ultimate joining of God's eternal family in heaven.
- Pray for the broken families in your church and in the worldwide church.
- Pray for worldwide unity in every congregation and church entity, based on respect for God's Word, humble prayer, the Holy Spirit's power, respect for accepted church policy/process, and full engagement in the mission of the church.
- Pray for humility in our lives so we will be united in our submission to God's leading and the process of the church to make commonly agreed-upon decisions and accept whatever is voted at the General Conference Session level.
- Pray for the protection of our young people and all of us from ever-increasing worldly influences. Pray that we will focus on the Word of God and service to others. Pray that the local churches will sponsor young people in mission outreach and service opportunities.
- Pray for the increased use of Christian literature by all church members and for increased emphasis on literature evangelism, both through hard copy and electronic formats.
- Pray for renewed emphasis on the tremendous importance of attending Sabbath School, which emphasizes fellowship, mission, Bible study, and local outreach.
- Pray for an increased emphasis on small-group outreach, so that all members are participating in personal witnessing and proclaiming God's great truth in these last days.
- Pray for a heightened focus on Seventh-day Adventist media outreach, leading to a massive, integrated evangelistic witness around the world.
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Saturday, January 09, 2016
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