01/02/2024
DAY ONE: Pray for our congregations and our leaders.
What can God do through almost 1,000 congregations in the United States and overseas? How many people can He impact with His love and His power through the tens of thousands of members in the churches of LCMC? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our testimony in the years to come, is that God was at work in and through our association, drawing millions of people to faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord? Discipling millions of people to live as followers of Jesus? Filling millions of people with the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit? Healing millions of people physically, emotionally, and relationally as well as setting others free from whatever held them What can God do through almost 1,000 congregations in the United States and overseas? How many people can He impact with His love and His power through the tens of thousands of members in the churches of LCMC? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our testimony in the years to come, is that God was at work in and through our association, drawing millions of people to faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord? Discipling millions of people to live as followers of Jesus? Filling millions of people with the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit? Healing millions of people physically, emotionally, and relationally as well as setting others free from whatever held them captive.
I do not believe this is hyperbole. This is in fact what God can do in and through our association in the coming years. It is what can happen as the Holy Spirit empowers us to live lives of witness (Acts 1:8), serve as ambassadors for the kingdom of God who have a message of life to proclaim (2 Corinthians 5:20) and God-stories to share (1 Peter 3:15). With that in mind, let us pray for God’s provision and empowerment upon the members, leaders, and churches of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ.
Let us pray for new congregations in LCMC to be welcomed and connected in relationships with other congregations and leaders in the association and in their regions of the country. Let us pray for provision: Provision of people. Provision of just the right relationships in our communities at just the right time. Provision of finances for ministry and mission. Provision of favor with community leaders and with those who do not yet know Jesus as Savior and Lord. Provision of training resources to equip God’s people for what the Lord wants to do in us and through us. Provision of spiritual gifts that can help us impact others with God’s love and God’s power. Provision of the joy and boldness to share our God stories that come through the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit being stirred within us.
