We could do nothing more appropriate for the new year, or any new venture for that matter, than to call our congregations together in prayer.
In our last pastorate, we launched each new year with a Call to Prayer service. Typically we began our hour-long vigil sufficiently early on new year's eve that those who had later plans with family or friends could start the evening's festivities in God's sanctuary.
What are the benefits of a coordinated prayer effort? Your members come together with the specific intent of seeking God's will and hearing God's voice.
Our congregation discovered that a core of our own members formed the basic group of attendees, but that when the event was well publicized we welcomed a surprising number of individuals even guests who other wise did not attend our church. Those who needed prayer or who sought a spiritual entry to the new year came along with those who were seeking spiritual refuge at the conclusion of hectic, overcrowded schedules.
We organized our Call to Prayer service around various local church elders, each assigned a specific topic for which they came prepared to pray. During the fellowship gathering which preceding our prayer service, attendees were given a printed listing of the various topics and an opportunity to add their personal petitions and needs.
Our service was solemn and informal. Attendees gathered in our nearly darkened sanctuary, with light focused only on an open Bible, a painting of Jesus, or a banner which might show the theme for our new year. Prayers were interspersed with hymns carefully selected to reflect the various categories of prayer. Each elder was responsible for keeping his or her portion of the service within the allotted time.
Our list of prayer topics changed from year to year, depending upon felt needs or world circumstances. During the Gulf War, for example, we prayed earnestly for peace. Among our international membership we had those who prayed for the safety of military troops and relatives on both sides of the conflict. Another year, the war for which we prayed was Satan's continuing barrage against our church and school.
You might consider several of the following categories to initiate such a prayer service with your localized challenges added to these topics.
Pray in praise. Give quality time to express adoration of God, gratefulness for His mercy, thankfulness for His saving grace through Jesus, and expectation of the Holy Spirit's enabling power for obedience to His will.
Pray for the lost. Affirm God's good news that even the most unlovable individuals are candidates for His kingdom. When we pray for the lost, it is not to change God's attitude toward the lost; He still loves the world. When we pray for the lost God will change our mind toward the lost so that we see their potential through heaven's eyes.
Pray for leaders. It is appropriate to include world and local government leaders, but even more essential to pray for denominational and local church leaders. As pastors, we might be amazed at the earnestness with which our congregates lift up our names and pray for our challenges.
Pray for our families so desperately in need of divine grace. Pray that Jesus might become the center of every marriage and that bitterness and strife might be replaced by freshly experienced renewal and restoration.
Pray for our younger members—both those who are youth and those who are new to faith. Pray that our families will become places of refuge for their children and sources of light for their neighbors. That our schools and teachers will reflect Jesus' love and that our congregations will extend Jesus' acceptance and forgiveness.
Pray for those who feel left out or who are disenfranchised from the church. Include those who long for connection but are unable to participate because of distance, illness, or age, and for those who should long for restoration but are disconnected by backsliding, grudges, or unresolved pain.
Pray for forgiveness and then act upon God's answer. Remember the Biblical admonition to forgive in order to receive forgiveness. The beauty of choosing to forgive another individual is that it liberates your soul at the same time it obligates the other individual to deal seriously with their own contribution to conflict.
Pray for the problem solvers and the problem makers. Even while we rejoice in committed members who lift the load and carry the weight, much more good would be accomplished if problem-laden and problem-maker individuals (often the same) would find healing and purpose in God's presence.
Pray for the coming of Jesus. We are Adventists because of the Advent. The Blessed Hope sustains us and Blessed Assurance enables us to joyfully anticipate and share the consummation of all our hopes.
Pray for me. I need your prayers and you need mine. Let's build up each other as pastoral colleagues and as sinners in daily need of fresh grace.
