THREE PRAYER MEETINGS
I recently read a sermon by gracEmail subscriber and long-time friend Gordon Wilson, titled “Three Prayer Meetings,” which in my opinion was deserving of the label “extraordinary.” I asked Gordon’s permission to tell you about it, and asked that he send a PDF of the sermon to anyone who sent a request to gleewilson@aol.com . He graciously consented and I thank him for doing so.
THIRTY DAYS OF PRAYER FOR . . .
Sometime in 1998 (gracEmail was approximately one year old at the time), I received an email from a young sailor serving in the U.S. Navy aboard ship somewhere near Japan. His name was Sheldon Daniel Smith, and he asked me to pray for him concerning two specific matters: that he be faithful to the Lord under what sometimes were very difficult circumstances, and that God would use him to minister to his fellow-sailers. Daniel subscribed to gracEmail and kept in touch with me through the years. Today he is a career U.S. Navy Sailor, has earned a graduate degree in religious studies, is married with three children, and has written a significant book due for release next month (November 16).
Titled 30 Days of Prayer for the Military: How to Pray Fervently and Effectively for the Military (131 pages), Smith’s book is focused, useful, and practical. Chapters 1-3 introduce the subject, explain intercessory prayer, and briefly summarize the author’s own story. Chapters 6-7 point the way forward, offer specifics on making prayer for military service people and their families a congregational project, and speak to church leaders. Sandwiched between these chapters are 31 very particular prayers, one for each day of the month, with a short introduction that tells why each prayer is important in a military context.
But there is more. As I read these prayers, it occurred to me that with minor editing, they are also applicable to other contexts as well–professional, corporate, educational institution, and so on. Again, this book will be available after November 16 from BN.com and Amazon.com .