WITH ONE CRY
PRAYING FOR AMERICALesson 2: Praying Beyond Nationalism
One of the most difficult tasks for an American Christian is to pray for our nation without exalting the nation to an unhealthy place in our thinking or emotions. This lesson will help you to discover biblical ways to pray for our nation that will keep your focus and dependence upon the Father.
In this lesson you will:
• learn to pray scripture over our nation so that God is honored.
• learn how to seek the kingdom of God before the kingdom of our own nation.
• briefly examine the Great Awakenings as a picture of God’s glory coming to the land.
• discover how to pray for freedom.
• learn why praying earnestly for spiritual awakening in our nation is so important.
Reading:
• Read With One Cry – Chapter 2: Going Beyond Nationalism
• Read With One Cry – Chapter 9: The Hope of Revival
Video 2: Praying Beyond Nationalism
Discussion Questions:
1. How can we pray for our nation without obscuring our focus on God?
2. What are ways you see our freedoms being eroded in our land?
3. Why do you suppose it is so difficult to avoid praying with a nationalistic focus?
4. What difference would it make in our nation if many Christians began to pray Ps.85:9, “That His glory may dwell in our land.”?
5. What could “spiritual freedom” look like in our nation if God was fully recognized as the Lord of our nation?
6. What did you learn about the three Great Awakenings that encourage you to pray for God to “do it again” in our day?
7. Talk about your experiences with Revival meetings, and how these experiences are different from actual Revival.
Download Lesson 2 Discussion Questions
Watch Dave’s Summary Video (2-3 minutes)
Spend Time in Prayer
The Church of Jesus Christ is under attack from many different directions. Here are some timely prayer points to help us focus on God, and dependence upon Him, in this hour:
• Thank the Lord that He desires for His glory to dwell in us and in our land.
• Pray that God’s people will be able to stand in the name of Jesus against any attempt to erode our personal freedom to seek the face of God and for the Church to cry out for such freedom.
• Pray for a restoration of freedom in our nation.
• Pray for the courage to stand up for God in the face of great opposition.
• Using Isaiah 63-64 to inform your prayers, ask God to pour out revival in your lives personally and in the corporate life of your church…and the Church in America.
Next Steps:
Spend this week asking God to show you how He wants you to become free from whatever may be holding you hostage or in bondage. Perhaps it is freedom from sinful behavior, perhaps an addiction – from worry and anxiety…or bitterness and anger. Whatever it is, ask Him to reveal it to you and earnestly ask Him to set you free.
Supplemental Material for Lesson 2:
• One Cry for Revival (powerful short video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct6kFkqfTwA
• OneCry: A Nationwide Call for Spiritual Awakening:
OneCry is a nationwide call for spiritual awakening, a movement of believers urgently crying out to God to revive the church and transform the culture.
https://onecry.com/
• Revival History Montage (short video): https://youtu.be/rOsatPRQue8
• The Intercessors of the Hebrides Revival (an article edited and compiled by David Smithers)
Off the west coast of Scotland is a small group of islands called the Hebrides. Between 1949 and 1952 a wide spread revival swept through these islands in answer to the prayers of God’s people. You will be fascinated by this truly outstanding example from history! God can do it again! https://ctntp.uk/other-insights/the-intercessors-of-the-hebrides-revival/
• The National Prayer Accord – With One Cry appendix pgs. 93-97; The National Prayer Accord is patterned after a rhythm of prayer established by Jonathan Edwards and churches in the colonies prior to the First Great Awakening in the United States. In more recent days, may prayer and revival ministries are encouraging believers and churches to adopt this ongoing rhythm of prayer in their own circles.
Optional Consultation/Question-Answer Session
With every PrayerU course, there is an option to have a one-hour Zoom session with your instructor(s). This is your opportunity to engage your instructor(s) on a personal level with either a question-answer session, a deeper level conversation about the course content, or both.
There is an additional cost for the consultation session and scheduling is subject to availability.