“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 Begin your prayer time by praising God that He is kindness, goodness, and gentleness. Praise God that He chose to use you to reach out to souls that thirst for the water of life. Confession and Claiming Victory Over Sin (approximately 5 minutes).
Ask God to show you which sins to confess openly and which to confess privately. Claim His victory over those sins. Pray for forgiveness for times when you were ashamed to share your faith with others. Ask God to give you courage and love through Christ abiding in you. Thank God that He forgives you according to 1 John 1:9 Supplication and Intercession (approximately 35 minutes).
Ask God to give you a burden for souls and a love for His lost children. Ask God to put in your neighbors’ hearts a hunger and thirst for Him. Ask the Lord to fill you with His Holy Spirit and to teach you how to reach your neighbors through acts of love, by ministering to their needs, by winning their confidence, and by inviting them to follow Jesus. Pray that you experience the joy of sharing Christ. Pray for an attractive, Christ-like character that will draw people to Jesus. Pray that God will teach you how to point people to Jesus, not to yourself. Pray for the increased use of Christian literature by all church members and for increased emphasis on literature evangelism, both through hard copy and electronic formats. Pray for renewed emphasis on the tremendous importance of attending Sabbath School, which focuses on fellowship, mission, Bible study, and local outreach.
Pray for an increased emphasis on small-group outreach, so that all members are participating in personal witnessing and proclaiming God’s great truth in these last days. Pray that church leaders (your local pastor, conference, union, division, and General Conference leaders) can be a good witness to their neighbors.
Mission to the Cities—Pray for the Inter-European Division and the cities they have chosen to work in: Geneva, Prague, Vienna. Lift up also the Middle East and North Africa Union and the 43 cities they are planning to enter in the next four to five years. Pray for the church members working in these cities. Ask God for boldness to witness for Him in every circumstance. Pray for a heightened focus on Seventh-day Adventist media outreach, leading to a massive, integrated evangelistic witness around the world. Pray that the seven (or more) people on your list will see their need and open their hearts to the Holy Spirit.
Pray for any personal needs you have.
Thanksgiving (approximately 10 minutes)
Thank God that He is working in the lives of your family, friends, and neighbors. Thank God that He has people in every city who are wistfully looking to heaven! Thank God that He is working in the hearts of all the people you have been praying for.
Suggested Songs to Sing
“Live Out Thy Life Within Me” (SDA Hymnal #316); “Give of Your Best to the Master” (SDA Hymnal #572); “Let Your Heart Be Broken” (SDA Hymnal #575); “Seek Ye First”; “This Little Light of Mine” (SDA Hymnal #580); “Rescue the Perishing” (SDA Hymnal #367); “Seeking the Lost” (SDA Hymnal #373).
Christ Reflected in the Neighborhood
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
The children of God are called to be representatives of Christ, showing forth the goodness and mercy of the Lord. As Jesus has revealed to us the true character of the Father, so we are to reveal Christ to a world that does not know His tender, pitying love. “As Thou hast sent Me into the world,” said Jesus, “even so have I also sent them into the world.” “I in them, and Thou in Me; . . . that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me.” John 17:18, 23. The apostle Paul says to the disciples of Jesus, “Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ,” “known and read of all men.” 2 Corinthians 3:3, 2. In every one of His children, Jesus sends a letter to the world. If you are Christ’s follower, He sends in you a letter to the family, the village, the street, where you live. Jesus, dwelling in you, desires to speak to the hearts of those who are not acquainted with Him. Perhaps they do not read the Bible, or do not hear the voice that speaks to them in its pages; they do not see the love of God through His works. But if you are a true representative of Jesus, it may be that through you they will be led to understand something of His goodness and be won to love and serve Him. (Steps to Christ, p. 115)
Visit your neighbors and show an interest in the salvation of their souls. Arouse every spiritual energy to action. Tell those whom you visit that the end of all things is at hand. The Lord Jesus Christ will open the door of their hearts and will make upon their minds lasting impressions. Even while engaged in their daily employment, God’s people can lead others to Christ. And while doing this they will have the precious assurance that the Saviour is close beside them. They need not think that they are left to depend on their own feeble efforts. Christ will give them words to speak that will refresh and encourage and strengthen poor, struggling souls who are in darkness. Their own faith will be strengthened as they realize that the Redeemer’s promise is being fulfilled. Not only are they a blessing to others, but the work they do for Christ brings blessing to themselves. (Counsels for the Church, p. 62)
Your influence reaches the soul; you touch not a wire but that vibrates back to God. . . . It is your duty to be Christians in the highest sense of the word—“Christlike.” It is through the unseen lines that attract you to other minds with which you are brought in contact that may, if you are in constant connection with God, leave impressions that will make you a savor of life unto life. Otherwise, if you are selfish, if you are self-exalted, if you are worldly-minded, no matter what your position, no matter what your experience has been, or how much you know, if you are not having the law of kindness on your lips, sweet fragrance of love springing from your heart, you can do nothing as it ought to be done. (My Live Today, p. 178)
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. (1 John 4:20, 21, KJV)
The true, honest expression of a sister, or brother, or friend, given in genuine simplicity, has power to open the door of hearts which need the fragrance of Christlike words and the simple, delicate touch of the spirit of Christ’s love. (My Life Today, p. 178)
All around us are heard the wails of a world’s sorrow. On every hand are the needy and distressed. It is ours to aid in relieving and softening life’s hardships and misery. The wants of the soul, only the love of Christ can satisfy. If Christ is abiding in us, our hearts will be full of divine sympathy. The sealed fountains of earnest, Christlike love will be unsealed. (Sons and Daughters of God, p. 151)
What sweetness flowed from [Christ’s] very presence! The same spirit will be revealed in His children. Those with whom Christ dwells will be surrounded with a divine atmosphere. Their white robes of purity will be fragrant with perfume from the garden of the Lord. Their faces will reflect light from His, brightening the path for stumbling and weary feet. (The Adventist Home, p. 424)
Questions for Personal Reflection
1. Do you desire to be filled with the love of Christ and filled with His compassion for a dying world? 2. What are some practical ways in which you can witness in your neighborhood?
