Seek God for the City - Day 6; Persistent and United

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Today we continue to Seek God for the City, a prayer initiative from Waymakers

Our weekly focus continues to be Praying through hope; Revival of the church.  Under that umbrella, today has, like each of the forty days will have, a specific action, a specific people group, and a specific geographic region that we are praying for.  

The specific action for  today is "to stir us to persistent, united prayer"; the people group is "sick people".  As for the region for the entire week; we are seeking Him on behalf of the Americas and the Caribbean.

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OK, today we are asking God to stir us to persistent, united prayer.

Persistent.

United. 

Good words.

But what might persistent and united prayer look like?  Volumes of books could be and have been written on these aspects of prayer.  This will not be an exhaustive study, but it might point us in the right direction.  Let's start with "persistent".  In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 the apostle Paul tells us to pray without ceasing.  I don't see Paul as having been prone to hyperbole; I think he meant just that.  But I don't think he meant for us to spend every minute/hour/day on our knees with our eyes closed.  If we  believe prayer is communication with God, and if we believe God is omnipresent, everywhere all the time, then maybe praying without ceasing, is the awareness that God is always with us, ever present, and not forgetting to include Him.  And maybe that is part of "persistent" prayer. (Plus the whole "persistent widow" aspect...)

United.  Hmmm...that brings a couple of things to mind.  Jesus taught about agreement in prayer, and there is power in that.  It is good, very good, for us to come to come together in prayer over the same things, in agreement, united, as we are with Seek God for the City.  I don't believe that we change God's mind because of numbers.  I don't think God has a big tote board, tallying up the number of people who are praying over some issue, and if we hit some certain number then He will respond.  I do think that praying in this manner changes us.  It opens our sensitivity toward places, issues, and people.  When we are open to what is going on around us, seeking God on behalf of others, it opens us to allow the Spirit to move through us.  If we are praying, many of us in agreement, how much might be accomplished by the Holy Spirit working through dozens, hundreds, and thousands...?

But another way "united" might apply is in relation to Paul's teaching about the church being the Body of Christ, each with different parts.  So "united" also means "persistent" if, as the world spins, that different parts of the Body are prayerfully interceding, east coast, midwest, west coast, hour after hour, in a huge wave as the day moves its way around the globe.  "United" also means that people are praying as they are, where they are, when they are, and who they are.  A five year old's prayer will be different that a 50 year old's, but just as effective and meaningful to God.  An inner city believer may have a perspective and pray from it that is different than the way a farmer might see and pray, but the Holy Spirit hears and responds.  On and on, different parts of the Body, praying differently, but together.  United.