Intercession Is April Prayer Emphasis
In the continuing emphasis on “Prayer: The Heartbeat of the Church,” the theme for the month of April has been declared to be intercession. The initiative will begin in earnest at the next Great Day of Prayer, scheduled around the world in the Church of God for this coming Sunday, April 5, 2009.
Prayer Ministries Liaison to the General Overseer, P. Douglas Small, recently underscored the importance of the intercession emphasis.
“It’s the crucifixion season – Christ died for us. More importantly, in the act of his sacrifice, he served as our High Priest and prayed for our forgiveness. His was the perfect sacrifice. He remains ‘in the middle’ – the classic role of the intercessor, praying for us in heaven’s tabernacle.”
Small invites churches across the denomination to consider using intercession as the theme for the Great Day of Prayer. He also pointed out that there are many support materials for conducting a prayer emphasis at the local church. These resources can be found at the Web site www.forwardtogetherinchangingtimes.com, or by clicking on the graphic on the Church of God home page at www.churchofgod.org.
Some of the resources to be found include:
1. A Directed Intercessory Prayer experience with a power point companion. This was used at the Michigan Church of God Prayer Conference and developed by Bishop Mitch Corder and his pastors.
2. Seven Intercessory Prayer Ideas – this “wild ideas” are meant to spark your creative juices. Pick, choose and adapt. Participants are encouraged to send comments on how the adaptation turned out.
3. A Solemn Assembly Model – this was developed by Pastor Chad Albertson in South Carolina. This might be helpful resource materials for those who are contemplating an Easter weekend prayer vigil.
Also on the site is a prayer article that appeared in the new Church of God publication, Engage.
“The reports regarding prayer experiences from the prayer study, prayer walks, spontaneous prayer meetings and more are overwhelming,” Small stated. “Look for fresh reports on Dr. Culpepper’s blog, also located on the forward together Web site. Send any reports of your prayer experiences to dougsmall@projectpray.org.”
