Global Day of Prayer and Fasting

Global Day of Prayer and Fasting

Thank you so much for engaging with the October 24/7 prayer event. Our movement has most certainly been saturated with prayer by many people from many nations, both individually and corporately. In the prayer rooms I facilitated, there were rich times of fellowship with people from all over the world.

Some feedback I have already received has been very encouraging: setting aside intentional time to pray has enriched and deepened our prayer lives, and those who were prayed for were deeply encouraged. I look forward to hearing more of what God is doing and has done.

This month I want to encourage us to persevere in prayer. Just because we have finished an intentional time of prayer doesn’t mean that we stop! Jesus told a story to His disciples so that they would “always pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1-8). A certain, unnamed widow goes to an unjust judge day after day to ask for justice in a dispute with an enemy. The judge doesn’t care at all about the situation and tries to ignore her but because she is so persistent in her request, he gives in and grants her justice. Jesus then says, “So don’t you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly.” We know we have a God who cares, hears and responds to His people’s cries.

I know, when we have just finished a month of prayer like this, we could be jubilant in our hearts in regards to answered prayer, or we could be feeling despondent because we haven’t seen the answers we were hoping for. That’s why this story is so encouraging. Particularly in hardship, we must continue to persist. Do you notice that in this story Jesus doesn’t tell his disciples what to pray for, just that they should pray? In particularly difficult situations, we might have no idea how to pray! Yet, we can draw comfort from Romans 8:26-28:

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.

How beautiful to know that in our weakness the Holy Spirit is helping us to pray. Later on in the chapter, in verse 34, it says that the risen Christ is also interceding for us.

So if you are feeling discouraged, if you are feeling weak and struggling with hardship, I encourage you – this is the time that you need to persevere in prayer the most! Even if it’s simply crying out for God’s help. We know that He cares, He hears and the Holy Spirit is also interceding for you according to the will of God.

On this day of prayer and fasting, why not take the time to thank the Lord for all the prayers He has answered during this month and continue to cry out to Him for those requests that you are still waiting on. And continue to lift up the young people in your Area and nation, that they would know the Lord as their Savior and friend and that more and more harvest workers will be raised up to proclaim the good news.

Let’s pray

Thank you, Lord, for our Youth for Christ family all over the world. Thank you for what you have done during this month of prayer and fasting. We are so grateful for your listening ear and your work to answer our prayers. Father, thank you that in our weakness, the Holy Spirit prays with us and for us. Thank you that you know and understand our struggles and we can bring our requests to you. May you lead and guide us in how to pray. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

With love and prayers,

Lyndal Walker

International Prayer Director

P.S. Let’s celebrate together how God has worked in your life and how God has answered prayers over this past month. Two ways you can get involved: