40 Days of Prayer & Repentance

After Jesus announced that the Kingdom of God was already at hand, He challenged the hearers to "repent and believe in the gospel." The strategic plan had two steps: repent and believe.

We believe as a community that when we practice repentance, we see the Kingdom of God more clearly.  And, we join God in what He is doing because we believe in the power of the gospel to change us, our friends, our city, and our world.

It's a mistake to think that the only people who need to repent are the people who are far from God or the people who just can't get it straight.  We're all sinful. We all fall short. We all need to repent.

Before we can be good workers we have to be good repenters.

Last night, we committed to 40 days of prayer and repentance.  We know that we are not where we need to be in order to more clearly see where God is already at work and believe the gospel enough to join Him.  We battle apathy, pride, idolatry, selfishness, and sin just like anyone else.

For the next 40 days, we're joining together to beg God to change us. To change our view of money & possessions. To change our view of power & influence. To change our view of why we exist.

We're also joining together to beg God to change our city. To undo what is wrong and make it right. To use us as His hands and feet to live the good news of the Kingdom in such a way that every man, woman, and child in Metro Columbia has repeated opportunities to see, hear, and understand the gospel of Jesus.

Personally, we're going to set aside time each day to dig into the Word of God, to fully receive the grace of God that covers over sin, to die to ourselves, to intercede for our city, and to act on what we hear and see God doing.

Corporately, we're going to gather the next 5 Sunday nights to intercede as a community for every man, woman, and child in Metro Columbia. We'll share how we are seeing the Kingdom more clearly. And, we'll join together to go where God is at work and serve the least of these in our city.

For those who are joining in this journey, here's what you need to do:

1. Determine when you will set aside time each day to read the Scriptures, journal, & pray. Make sure it's a time that you can be consistent, unrushed, and uninterrupted. We will provide a daily scripture reading here on the blog and a journaling method that you can use to write down what God is saying to you and how you see Him at work.
   
2. Choose one day each week to fast. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to fast from food. You could fast from something that occupies time and attention in your day. Maybe TV, computer, sports...you get the idea.  Take the time that you would ordinarily use for those things and use that time to pray and seek the heart of God in addition to your regular time with Him.
3. Commit to attend the Sunday night prayer gatherings. (July 6, 13, 20, 27, and August 3)
4. Act on what you see and hear God doing. Join Him in the work He is already doing in the places where you live, work, play, and serve. Host a party at your house. Invite a hurting co-worker to lunch. Share a cup of coffee with a homeless person.
5. Share your stories. Spontaneously gather with other people who are in Awaken to pray for and encourage each other and to share how God is at work. Also, you can comment here on the blog. And, you can share your stories when we gather on Sunday nights.

A post about journaling and the first scripture reading will be up later today.

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"Father, change us so that we can see where You are at work and believe in the gospel enough to join You. Awaken the people of this city to see, know, and worship You. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen."