A Call to Prayer: Lord, Turn This Age! (Dec. 2012)

In the light of the Lord’s recent speaking and as a genuine response from within our being as we see the imminence of the Lord’s return, we want to take the lead to PRAY.

Not to do a lot of things, but to rather join ourselves to the interceding Christ that we may utter on earth the prayers He is uttering in the heavens.

What a privilege to pray for the building up of the Body, the establishing of the churches, the producing of the overcomers, the spread of the kingdom of the heavens, and the hastening of the Lord’s return!

Recently in the Lord’s recovery there was a word given concerning this, and I will quote it below,

From December 1 through 21, 2012, a special three-week prayer time of the local churches in the Lord’s recovery will take place. We urge as many saints as possible to deliberately separate themselves unto the ministry of prayer during that period of time.

The Lord’s recovery has come to a point where strong and effectual prayers before God’s throne are required. The unprecedented hunger of sinners and Christians who are responding to the high gospel of God’s salvation and the word of His truth, the rapidly declining situation of the world and of religion, the condition of lawlessness and apostasy on the earth, the fierce attack of the evil forces of Satan against the believers and the work of God, the desperate need of the local churches to be built up to have the reality of the Body of Christ, and the undeniable signs of the consummation of the age and of the Lord’s imminent return to bring in the kingdom age all require particular prayer that is Satan-defeating, divine-will-fulfilling, and age-turning in power and impact.

Exactly fifty years ago, in December 1962, Brother Lee and a few brothers prayed steadfastly several hours each day for twenty-one days in Los Angeles at the start of the work of the Lord’s recovery in the Western world. The results of that prayer can be witnessed over the entire earth in the Lord’s recovery today. Such prayer must be continued with greater intensity and scale by us in these days. What would happen if thousands of saints in hundreds of churches around the globe align their will with God’s and respond to this present call to pray as one corporate warrior for the Lord’s present move on earth? Will not the Father’s name be sanctified, His kingdom come, and His will be done sooner as a result of such prayer?

We are issuing a call to all the churches and the saints in the Lord’s recovery, both individually and corporately, to awake and arise, to watch and pray, and to fulfill the greatest ministry of the church of God during the first twenty-one days of December, making them days of prevailing petition and intercession. May the Spirit of grace and supplication be poured out upon us (Zech. 12:10). May the Lord fill us with an unquenchable burden for prayer. May we linger at the incense altar to minister to Him (Acts 13:1-2a). May His victorious blood protect us and His cross operate to subdue our flesh. And may the prevailing prayers of the saints ascend to the heavens with the resurrected and ascended Christ as incense (Rev. 8:3).

Dear brothers and sisters and lovers of Christ, for the sake of God’s interests let us meet at the throne of God to pray in oneness and in harmony, and with faith, earnestness, and perseverance. Let us join one another in prayer to turn the age. Amen.

The Lord Himself encourages us in Isa. 45:11b, Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands, command Me.

8 Suggested Directions for Prayer

What should we pray for? There are at least eight suggested directions for prayer in this time. The following points are offered as suggested directions for the prayer of the saints and the churches. These are not meant to be received as a formality or a legality that would limit our prayer in any way.

No list of prayer burdens can replace our living contact with the resurrected and ascended Christ, who intercedes on the throne and in our spirit and who alone can supply us with the genuine burden and utterance for our prayer (Rom. 8:26, 34; Heb. 7:25).

1. The increase and spread of the testimony of the Lord’s recovery to all the nations and by all the nations to fulfill the Lord’s prophecy in Matthew 24:14 concerning the announcing of the gospel of the kingdom for the consummation of this age.
2. The worldwide propagation of the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee through various media to gain the seeking people in all the languages, to perfect the believers for their growth in life unto maturity, to produce the one new man, and to prepare the bride of Christ for His coming.
3. The binding of the powers of darkness that are behind all kinds of oppositions from all religions, all human organizations, and all worldly powers for the casting down of Satan and the ushering in of the kingdom of God.
4. The raising up of the next generation of saints to overcome sin, the world, the flesh, and the self and and who are constituted with the divine life and the divine truth, so that the move of God may continue on the earth for the accomplishment of His divine economy.
5. The aspiration for, the realization of, and the continuation of the new revival among all the saints in the Lord’s recovery through the pursuit of the high peak truths, the practice of the God-man living, and the universal shepherding by all the believers.
6. The vitalization of all the saints and all the churches in the Lord’s recovery through the exercise and practice of all the aspects of the God-ordained way to become the living testimony of Jesus in all the localities for an anti-testimony to the degradation around us.
7. The continuation of the ministry of prayer in all the churches for the intercession concerning the world situation and the Lord’s move in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Australasia, and Israel, for the consummation of this age.
8. The building up of the local churches for the building up of the organic Body of Christ through the growth in life of all the saints unto maturity to consummate the New Jerusalem as the eternal, corporate expression of the processed and consummated Triune God.

Pictures via, Unlimited Inspiration (Facebook Page), 21 Days of Prayer photo album.

How Should We Pray?

So, how should we pray? How long should we pray? Just individually or with others? Along with our individual prayer, we can also all pray in the following ways:

• Companion prayer
• Church prayer
• Half-day prayer
• Morning watch prayer
• Prayer via the telephone, internet, and Skype prayer
• Prayer with fasting
• 24 hour watch-hour prayer

Saints, may the Lord gain the prayer which meets His need during this time. May all the prayer be towards the accomplishment of his will and for the furthering of His economy in Christ, the church, and His kingdom!

This announcement was originally posted at beseeching.org (via, Encouragement for Prayer, and the 8 points) and then also quoted as above via livingtohim.com (via, A Call to Prayer – A Letter From the Co-Workers in North America, Dec. 2012).

Related blog posts online:

• 12 Directions of Prayer for North America (via, livingtohim.com)
• Learning to Pray Inquiring Prayers for God’s Work (via, holdingtotruth.com);
  
• 24 Points on Prayer (via, andrea’s nest);