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.
I would like to invite as many of you that are available to join me in prayer as we bring in the New Year from 11pm ET to 1am ET Dec 31, 2023. I realize it is a Sunday evening and so it may not be possible, but only if you are so inclined.
We are at the end of the year and we just had our final (scheduled) prayer call today. We took some time to learn some important lessons from the life of Samson and the secret of his strength. You can watch it here.
I genuinely apologize for the longer-than-normal length of this recording but I have included some additional comments that are particular to the end-of-year meditation. This should not be taken as the standard length, which is supposed to be 10 minutes!
As I sit here thinking about this passing year of 2023, there is a lot that could be said. This is the year that Artificial Intelligence took center stage. It is the year that we utilized some of these AI tools to launch the Audiobook Initiative, giving voice to Christian classics, as well as to transcribe every sermon uploaded. With your generous support, this is the year that we made some giant advances with The Vault infrastructure, protecting our ability to broadcast sound preaching. This is the year that we formed an exclusive partnership with Samaritan Ministries in providing wonderful benefits to our growing family of broadcasters worldwide. It is also the year that we returned to NYC to host our sixth Foundations Conference and launched our beautiful Foundations Psalter.
This all happened in 2023, and so much more.
But I want to focus some thoughts on just three things that stand out in my mind, especially as it relates to our efforts in united prayer.
DEATH OF CLARENCE SEXTON
This continues to be a great grief to me. In fact, with each passing day, I can hardly believe he is no longer with us. Dr. Sexton passed away quite unexpectedly on Dec 12, 2023 -- the first day of our conference in NYC. Almost exactly 2 years prior, he spoke at our conference and delivered an insightful and somewhat prophetic talk at a dinner with all the speakers. He was one of the few preachers that I knew that preached often about revival and the importance of prayer. In fact, his last published book was titled, "Lord, Teach Us to Pray!" He left a tremendous impression upon me, was a constant encouragement to me, and I hope you will take the time to watch the 30-minute tribute that I produced in his memory.
STATUE OF JEREMIAH LANPHIER
One of the most remarkable things that occurred in 2023 was the unexpected call we received from the owner of a very famous statue of Jeremiah Lanphier that sat for many years in front of the headquarters of the American Bible Society in NYC, and after that, King's College on Wall Street. Seeing that these organizations were no longer were present in NYC, the owner was looking for a new home. Just weeks before our conference, this statue was lovingly moved to the Manor Church and served as a striking visual reminder of the importance of persevering in united prayer, just as Lanphier did in his day.
1,000 DAYS OF UNITED PRAYER
Not quite 1,000 days yet, but close enough. United Prayer was officially launched in December of 2019 when we put forward a proposal to gather together to pray for revival. We were simply following in the footsteps of Jeremiah Lanphier, and Jonathan Edwards before him. It is something of a small miracle that 4 years later, we are still praying together. But the Lord is teaching us so much day by day in this veritable school of prayer and we are asking the Lord to enlarge our borders in the upcoming year of 2024.
2024 is before us. "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest" Joshua 1:9. Happy New Year!
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:
