WITH ONE CRY

PRAYING FOR AMERICA

Lesson 6: The Prophetic Role of the Church

Watching or reading the news can bring a variety of emotions such as fear, anxiety, uncertainty, concern, anger, frustration, etc. However, what if God’s people watched the news prayerfully, looking for God’s hand and listening for God’s voice in the midst of it all? What if we were more focused upon the kingdom of Jesus Christ than the kingdoms of government, greed, and unrighteousness? The Church in the United States must discover its prophetic voice to the nation in this hour. How can we sound the warning trumpet and communicate the will of God to our nation unless we become watchmen on her walls?

In this lesson you will:

• understand what it means to have a prophetic role and voice in our nation.
• examine the role of a watchman.
• discover how the Church can sound the warning trumpet to the nation.
• understand the times in which we live and speak the Word of God into our culture.
• discover the power of watching and praying as the prerequisite to informed and wise action.

Reading:

• With One Cry – Chapter 7: The Prophetic Role of the Church
• Ezekiel 33:1-20

Download Lesson 6 PDF 

Video 6: The Prophetic Role of the Church

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think it means to pray focused on the purposes of God rather than our own wants and needs? How can this kingdom understanding change the way you pray?
2. How has the Church failed in its role as a prophet to our culture? Why do you think this has happened?
3. What would prayer look like in your church if people took seriously the watchman command in Isaiah 62:6-7?
4. Consider how you might begin to use the evening news as a time of prayer for the nation rather than a vehicle for concern or worry. What could this look like?
5. How can you blow the trumpet, giving warning to those around you? Is it difficult for you to consider doing this considering our current culture? Why or why not?
6. How should the people of God live in these days? How should you live differently than you are now? Are we living as children of the light? Do we act like those who are asleep? Why or why not?
7. What do you think about Isaiah’s call to day and night prayer until the Lord’s purposes are accomplished? How could you and your church embrace this kind of prayer? What would it look like? (Check out America Prays in the Supplemental Materials section for Lesson 6).

Download  Lesson 6 Discussion Questions

 

Watch Dave’s Summary Video (2-3 minutes)

Spend Time in Prayer

Here are a few of the prayer points Dave gave in the video. Use these prayer starters as you pray “with one cry” over our nation:

• “Lord, please help us to understand the times in which we live. May we not be dependent upon the opinions of others but always seek after Your accurate perspective about what is happening in our world.”

• Father, make us watchmen on the wall of this nation.
Give us wisdom and insight to know how to pray in this hour.

• Lord Jesus, help us to learn how to be prophetic voices in our culture. Make us bold and unafraid in the face of opposition, for we are in the army of the Lord our God!

Pray together through this Prayer for America. Feel free to change the pronouns if you wish this to be a corporate expression of prayer. However, you can still pray as individuals in a corporate setting, keeping the pronouns in the singular.

A Prayer for America

Father of all that is, I bow before You acknowledging You as creator and king over all. As I come to pray for my country, I realize that the prophet Isaiah told us that “the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales” (Is 40:15). No great empire or humble province lasts forever. Yet Your will brings nations into being and uses them as instruments for Your purposes. The Apostle Paul told us, “From one man he (God) made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact place where they should live.” (Acts 17:26).

I thank you for calling into being the United States of America. I am grateful for the godly foundation laid by men and women of faith who built into the very fabric of our country a commitment to freedom that was seen as being a gift from You. Thank You for the sacrifice of so many through the years who gave time, effort, and sometimes, their very lives to preserve and protect that freedom.

With no lessening of my appreciation for this nation, I also realize that we have fallen short of our promise. We have increasingly depended upon our own strength and wisdom rather than that which comes from above. We have often catered to the wealthy and ignored the needs of the poor and afflicted. We have failed to accept all life as a gift from You and have treated the unborn, the ill, and the elderly with increasing contempt. In spite of our stated values of equality and justice, we continue to harbor racism and injustice within our society. Most of all, we have turned our back on You and sought to live as though You were not.

We face troubling times. Our economy has been damaged and many of our citizens are hurting. Our nation is fractured and badly divided in so many ways. The issues faced by our leaders are enormous. Grant them Your grace and peace. Fill them with Your Holy Spirit and give them wisdom and discernment in this critical hour.

Lord…we repent! Please pour out upon our nation a spirit of repentance. Help us to turn from sin and turn back to You. As we seek Your face, would You revive your people once again? Would you empower Your church in this nation to be the salt and light You have called us to be? Would you help us to love You with all of our mind, heart and soul and strength, and to love one another deeply with kindness and goodness? Make us one, Lord, as You and the Father are one. Holy Spirit, teach us how to honor and respect one another and to journey together with one heart – the heart of Jesus. Transform us into image bearers of Christ who bring glory and honor to our Father whenever we speak or act.

Father, in these days of decision, fulfill Your purposes for our nation. I stand in prayer with my brothers and sisters in Christ and re-commit the United States into your care.

Restore to us the vision of being a city on a hill, a place from which the light of Christ can shine to the nations. May we be a nation whose God is the Lord!

Next Steps:

• Pray the News: Pray through the news this week with the heart of a watchman and see how God gives you greater understanding about how to pray instead of giving in to your emotions or feelings. Include your family in this prayer time if possible. We strongly suggest reading the article Praying the News located in the Supplemental Materials section for Lesson 6 to guide you in this time of prayer.

Ask God to give you discernment about these times. Seek His insight and ask for wisdom to know what to do with the knowledge He gives you. Lord, how do you want me/us to respond to this news?

Consider a phone or Zoom call to check in with this small group, study group or others in your church who are taking this class and discuss the news of one or more days. Ask one another what you are hearing from God and how He may be speaking to you as watchmen. Perhaps this could be an additional week to your study. On the 7th week, gather together again to see how God may be speaking to you individually and collectively about His kingdom purposes within this culture. How can you be the answer to the prayers you have been praying as you watch/hear the news of our day?

• Desperate for Change: 40 Days of Prayer for America (devotional) – we would recommend that participants launch into this 40-Day devotional following this course; however, it can be used at any time with any group or with an entire church. 7 of these devotions and prayers are located on pgs. 99-110 of With One Cry by David Butts if you wish to try out one week.
https://www.prayershop.org/40-Days-of-Prayer-for-America-p/pin-bud-bk-002.htm

 

Supplemental Material for Lesson 6:

What Can the Righteous Do?
https://www.harvestprayer.com/what-can-the-righteous-do/

Time to Persist
https://www.harvestprayer.com/time-to-persist/

Rise Up, O Church of God
https://www.harvestprayer.com/resources/church-prayer/rise-up/

Understanding the Times (article) https://heraldofhiscoming.org/index.php/174-past-issues/2008/mar08/2222-understanding-the-times-3-08

Watchman on the Wall – free two-lesson PrayerU course by David Butts; you or your church must have a membership to access this course at https://prayeru.com/

The Task of the Watchman
https://www.harvestprayer.com/resources/personal-2/task-of-watchman/

Praying the News
https://www.harvestprayer.com/resources/personal-2/praying-the-news/

America Prays – a movement of churches covering America in 24-7 prayer! https://www.americaprays.org/

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.

Go Deeper

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