The MTSBC: Uniting in Praying for Montana
As the New Year hastens forward, Montana Southern Baptists are agreeing with one another and praying together in unprecedented ways. We’ve organized around a very simple strategy that allows everyone to share in the same prayers for Montana, and to do so from the ministry context where God has called each of us. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to join Montana Southern Baptists in praying together for Montana; monthly, weekly, and daily in the following ways:
GO MONTANA Video Prayers – At the beginning of each month a different pastor will lead us in praying for Montana. The video will be made available on Facebook and Vimeo. You can use it to lead others to pray for Montana by showing it in church, sharing it on your Facebook page(s), emailing it, and texting it to those you are leading.
The PRAY52 Initiative – Fifty-two pastors have written prayers for Montana, one for every week of the year. These are available at https://mtsbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GO-MT-Prayers.-Weeks-1-26-1.pdf and on Facebook. The link for each week’s prayer is also being sent to you via email. These are great to use in Small Groups, Sunday Schools, and for handouts to your church members.
GO MONTANA Daily Prayer Times – Let’s synchronize our watches! Let’s synchronize our hearts! Let’s synchronize our prayers so that we are praying together every day!
10:02 am – Luke 10:2, chosen to remind us that God calls us to reach the lost.
4:06 pm – Montana’s Area Code, chosen to remind us of lostness in Montana.
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Restraining Evil and Advancing God’s Kingdom in Montana by Praying Together
EM Bounds wrote, “When the church is in the condition of prayer, God’s cause always flourishes and His Kingdom on earth always triumphs. When the church fails to pray, God’s cause decays and evil of every kind prevails. In other words, God works through the prayers of His people, and when they fail Him at this point, decline and deadness ensue.”
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He taught them to pray like this, “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. YOUR KINGDOM COME, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”
This part of the Lord’s Prayer teaches us about God’s sovereign authority and control. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He rules from heaven above, as the song says, “with wisdom, power, and love. Our God is an awesome God.” He is sovereign over all things. There is none like Him in all of existence. His power and authority are unparalleled. So, we must pray to see God’s awesome power on display in our lives, in our communities, throughout Montana, and around the world. We must pray in order to see evil restrained, and God’s kingdom advance through the local church as we make disciples in Montana.
When we pray in this way, we are praying for God’s authority to be established in the hearts and minds of people in Montana that we know and love, and for others we’ve not yet encountered. We are asking for an invasion of the heart that leads to submission to Jesus, and to spiritual control of every life in Montana.
However, we are not only praying this for others, but also for ourselves so that we will continue yielding to that very same authority. We pray this way to remind ourselves to live and serve at the pleasure of our precious King Jesus. This type of praying will restrain evil and advance God’s kingdom in Montana!
It’s time to pray! It’s time to pray together! It’s GO TIME in Montana!
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