May
10

My Prayer for Olivet

May 10, 2010 | By: Ron Pracht

For years I have been burdened for the lostness of our nation and the world around us.  Recently I came across some statistics that astounded me…it is estimated that more than two-thirds of the people in the United States are lost.  The nation that most significantly supports missions around the world has become, itself, a mission field.  As I prayed that my heart would be moved and deeply impacted over the condition of our nation - as well as for the world around us - I began to have a burden for the Body of Christ in the U.S.

Many believers are satisfied and content with the spiritual “temperature” of America - at least that is what our actions say.  Far too many have become complacent and almost smug over the fact that they are part of God’s family and they have little concern for those who are not.  Churches across the U.S. have become little more than support groups for those who are already part of the Body of Christ and express little actual concern for those who remain separated from God because of their sin.

As I was searching the internet for some information a couple of weeks ago, I came across a letter that John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota had written to the church family there before he left on an extended sabbatical.  In the letter (www.desiringgod.com) he spoke of the man who had been called to preach in his absence and asked the church to faithfully pray for him.

At the conclusion of the letter he wrote about how he was going to pray for the church during the sabbatical. It was this portion of the letter that grabbed my heart because it expressed how I have prayed for Olivet for years, but especially over the past several months.  Here is Piper’s prayer:

“O Lord, as You are often accustomed to do, show Your great power…send a remarkable awakening that results in…

  • Hundreds of people coming to Christ
  • Old animosities being removed
  • Marriages being reconciled and renewed
  • Wayward children coming home
  • Long-standing slavery to sin being conquered
  • Spiritual dullness being replaced by vibrant joy
  • Weak faith being replaced by bold witness
  • Disinterest in prayer being replaced by fervent intercession
  • Boring Bible reading being replaced by passion for the Word
  • Disinterest in global missions being replaced by energy for Christ’s Name among the nations
  • Lukewarm worship being replaced by a zeal for the greatness of God’s glory

Lord, take the mighty men and women of Olivet and bless this church beyond anything we have ever dreamed.”

This is my prayer for Olivet.  As I pray for Olivet I ask the Father to glorify His Name among us so that we might pursue Him with a white-hot passion that drives us to Him in absolute surrender and trust.  Will you join me in this prayer? Will you commit to joining me in fasting one day a week because we are broken and desperately desire God to do something significant among us - something that can only be explained by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit?

May God’s Name and renown be made know in, and through, the lives of the people of Olivet.  This is my prayer. I challenge you to join me and make this your prayer as well.

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