God of Reformation and Revival,
We praise you and thank you for the ways in which you have loved, blessed, and guided your people - especially when they have turned from your Truth and Righteous Way. Thank you that you always provide a way for us to return to you in genuine repentance so the broken relationships between you and your People are restored. Thank you that even though you see through our corruption, foolishness, misguided hearts, moral darkness, and idolatry, you are continually wooing us with your Voice of Love back to a place of purity, holiness, and joy in communion with you. Today we pray for the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers you have set into place to equip your people for works of service. We know your desire is for the Body of Christ to be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, becoming mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. And we know that, in your wisdom, you have set people of very real human frailty into those positions of leadership and influence. So, today we pray for Holy Spirit's renewal, revival, reformation, and refreshing to be poured out upon those who oversee your church. May they be without blame before others. Guard their marriages and their parenting so they can be an example for others. May they be sensible, well-behaved, hospitable, spiritual shepherds, and ones who are living a disciplined life. Break any chains of addiction, anger, argumentativeness, lust for power or wealth, and pride. Where there has been darkness, despair, or dryness in the wilderness of their lives, we pray for streams of holy, living water to flow for their healing and refreshment. God, prepare these overseers to lead their people well through these Last Days. You said that in the Last Days you would pour out your Spirit on all men and women - that we would prophesy, dream dreams, have visions, and see signs and wonders in the heavens and the earth. You said that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, so we pray that these church leaders, first and foremost, would call upon you to be true, total, and irrefutably Lord in their lives. May the men and women you have placed into places of leadership be people who guide those around them into deep and honorable relationships with you. God, prepare these church leaders for the Great Harvest that is coming. Prepare them to lead local churches where the Lost and Prodigals are coming to faith and salvation. You are doing new things in our world; help the leaders you have set into place to have pure hearts before you so they can see your works and your ways. By the power of Holy Spirit and in the strong and mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen!
"Even now,” says the Lord, “Turn and come to Me with all your heart [in genuine repentance], With fasting and weeping and mourning [until every barrier is removed and the broken fellowship is restored]..." (Joel 2:12 AMP)
"Throughout human history the fingerprints of God were upon them, yet they refused to honor him as God or even be thankful for his kindness. Instead, they entertained corrupt and foolish thoughts about what God was like. This left them with nothing but misguided hearts, steeped in moral darkness. Although claiming to be super-intelligent, they were in fact shallow fools. For only a fool would trade the unfading splendor of the immortal God to worship the fading image of other humans, idols made to look like people, animals, birds, and even creeping reptiles!" (Romans 1:21-23 TPT)
"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV)
"If any of you aspires to be an overseer in the church; you have set your heart toward a noble ambition, for the word is true! Yet an elder needs to be one who is without blame before others. He should be one whose heart is for his wife alone and not another woman. He should be recognized as one who is sensible, and well-behaved, and living a disciplined life. He should be a “spiritual shepherd” who has the gift of teaching, and is known for his hospitality. He cannot be a drunkard, or someone who lashes out at others, or argumentative, or someone who simply craves more money, but instead, recognized by his gentleness. His heart should be set on guiding his household with wisdom and dignity; bringing up his children to worship with devotion and purity. For if he’s unable to properly lead his own household well, how could he properly lead God’s household? He should not be a new disciple who would be vulnerable to living in the clouds of conceit and fall into pride, making him easy prey for Satan. He should be respected by those who are unbelievers, having a beautiful testimony among them so that he will not fall into the traps of Satan and be disgraced." (1 Timothy 3:1-7 TPT)
"It shall come about after this
That I shall pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
“Even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
“I will show signs and wonders [displaying My power] in the heavens and on the earth,
Blood and fire and columns of smoke.
“The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
“And it shall come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Will be saved [from the coming judgment]." (Joel 2:28-32 AMP)
"I looked and behold—I saw a white cloud, and sitting upon it was one like the Son of Man, wearing a golden crown and holding a sharp sickle. Another angel came out of the temple, shouting out to the one sitting upon the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, for the time of reaping the harvest has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe!” So the one sitting upon the white cloud gave his sickle a mighty swing over the earth and reaped its harvest." (Revelation 14:14-16 TPT)
"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:19 NIV)
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