Many are aware that the annual meeting in Orlando next week is of utmost importance in the life of our denomination. Much has been said and written regarding the report from the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force and without question, that report will be a focal point at next week’s meeting. With all the discussion and opinion surrounding the report, questions inevitably arise: What will the response to the report be? How will acceptance or decline of the report change our denomination? Will it matter at all? These questions and many more will all seek to be answered, but for me personally, I am seeking to answer one question: Will whatever is decided challenge the pastors that lead the churches in our denomination to take more responsibility and initiative in making disciples of all nations? I am not looking to the SBC to fix our evangelistic decline, but rather for our convention to challenge pastors to feel the weight of leading their church to be lovers and dispensers of the Gospel…to truly make disciples!
With that being said, here is a prayer from my heart for the SBC’s annual meeting next week. Will you join me in making this your prayer too?
Heavenly Father,
You alone are worthy of all praise and glory! May Your people set You at the head of all things and may You be rightfully worshipped as You alone deserve! You are God and there is no other and our deepest desire is to make Your name and glory great in all nations, among all peoples!
Father forgive us for being selfish and thinking only of ourselves! Forgive us for trying to make our name great and our plans accomplished! We desire for Your will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven! We long for Your power and presence to be felt and seen in all we say and do! As the Psalmist says, “You are great and greatly to be praised”…and may You be made much of in our lives and our decisions this coming week.
As we approach this important week in the life of our denomination, I ask for a spirit of humility and wisdom to be present throughout the convention. May our greatest desire be to be yielded to the Spirit and to follow His leadership in all things. May brokenness over sin and lostness be present and may the cry of our heart be for the Gospel to be embraced and proclaimed in the most magnificent and mighty of all ways. Father, let Your people bow before You in surrender and may Your Gospel penetrate our hearts in the deepest way possible. May our heart, mind and will be set on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, and may the fruit of the Spirit be evident in all we say and do!
Heavenly Father, we desperately need You to take control of our lives and this coming convention. May nothing transpire that is not of You! May sacrifice and selflessness be evident as we crucify the flesh and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit…and when we leave next week, may the results of what we do leave a sweet taste of the Spirit’s work in our lives, churches, associations, conventions and denomination as a whole! Father, we give You our plans…we give You our convention…we give You our lives, and we humbly ask for a fresh move of the Holy Spirit to be evident in what takes place in Orlando next week…and may You, above all things, receive the honor and glory that is due Your name.
Heavenly Father, the deepest desire we could have for our convention is that You would be pleased with what we do…therefore, we set You at the center and anticipate great and mighty things to come from how You will lead us in the days ahead. Be glorified oh Lord!
In the precious name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, we ask these things.
Amen.
