This resolution of Daily United Prayer is based on An Humble Attempt, originally put forward by Jonathan Edwards in 1748. Its design is to encourage God's people in the duty of united extraordinary prayer; setting aside some time every day to pray for the revival of His church and the advancement of Christ's kingdom in our homes, in our churches, in our nation, and in the world.
"Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged." Deuteronomy 1:21.
The Promised Land was set before the children of Israel and it was theirs for the taking. It was a land flowing with milk and honey and even the spies had to admit, "It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us." Whatever the Lord promises to His people is a good land—the chief of which is our salvation. But the Lord has filled His Word with promises that are ours for the taking if we would but "go up and possess it." There are two things, however, that the Lord warns His people against that will stop us in our tracks from possessing our possessions—fear and discouragement.
Fear enters into our heart when we take our eyes off the Lord and put them on the giants of the land. It was fear that gripped Peter's heart the moment he took his eyes off Jesus and on to the waves beneath him. Think of it, he was walking on water! He was doing the impossible! But the millisecond he took his eyes off Christ, he began to sink. Fear is a deadly enemy, and we must be on guard against it.
But discouragement is also an equally deadly enemy. The spies admitted that the Promised Land was good and was everything they imagined it to be. But because of their fear, they spread discouragement to the rest of the brethren. Like a virus, it was contagious. Verse 28 says, "our brethren have discouraged our heart." It's a terrible thing to be a spreader of discouragement, is it not? Friend, you are either spreading encouragement or you are spreading discouragement. I am at a stage in my life where I have to avoid negative individuals that peddle in discouragement. It's just plain unbelief and it will be the cause of our being deprived of the enjoyment of God's promises.
Let us be on guard! Don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged. Rather, be like Moses who, regarding Joshua, was commanded to "encourage him" (v38). May we hear the command of Christ to us today to "exhort (strongly encourage) one another daily" Hebrews 3:13. Where can we do this more effectively than through lifting each other up in daily united prayer?
DAILY UNITED PRAYER unitedprayer.net
Mon-Fri @ 12pm EDT // Sat @ 10am EDT
We invite you to join our dedicated and earnest group of praying participants of all ages from around the world that meet every day over Zoom to pray. At the start of each prayer call, a different individual will bring a brief Scriptural meditation. Here's the most recent:
