Interceding for Annual Conference

 

"Join me in prayer for our time together."
Bishop G. Lindsey Davis

Recognizing that prayer is essential to the vitality and fruitfulness of the Church, members of several Athens-area congregations (Athens First, Gateway, St. James, and Tuckston) are committing themselves to praying specifically for Annual Conference, the yearly decision-making gathering of the UM churches in North Georgia.

HOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE?

The organization of this prayer effort will happen at each participating church. If there's not currently an organizer in your local church, you could be that person.

Please check with your pastor and follow God's leading. At each church, at least one person will have to be involved in presenting this to the pray-ers at that church to enlist their participation.

There are several levels of commitment:

1. Pray at the conference in the mornings from 7-7:30 a.m. Joseph Slife, lay leader at Gateway Church, will lead a prayer gathering each morning (Tues.-Thurs.) in the conference Prayer Room at the Classic Center. As you enter the main building, it will be one flight of stairs above street level on the right side of the building (toward Broad Street).

This is a room set up by the North Ga. United Methodist Men which is dedicated specifically for prayer. Copies of the prayer requests below will be placed in the Prayer Room each day.

2. Sign up at your local church with the local organizer. Pray during a morning and/or evening session, or for an hour block during the morning or evening sessions. You can pray in any of the following locations:

A. The conference Prayer Room (and/or on the floor of the conference);

B. The prayer room or some room in your local church;

C. At your home or job.

The times the conference is in session: Monday -- 2:30-5:30; Tuesday and Wednesday -- 8:30-Noon and 2-5:30; Thursday -- 8:30-Noon. For a copy of the conference agenda, click here.

 

Please place copies of this request in the prayer rooms of your churches, and otherwise share as led.

AFTER the conference, continue to lift up these concerns.

 

An Annual Conference Prayer Guide

• Thank God for His faithfulness to us, even though we haven't always been faithful to Him. (Ps. 100)

• Pray for God to open our hearts and bring us into a unity based on Jesus. Pray for the breaking down of walls of race and culture. Also intercede for a breaking down of the walls of "the traditions of men" that have separated us from believers in other denominations as we unite under the banner of Jesus. (John 17:22-23; Ps. 133)

• Repent of anything in the UMC, in our conference, or in your local church that you believe grieves the heart of God. (Nehemiah 1:5-11)

• Pray for repentance among our bishops, administrators, pastors, local church staff, and congregations. Ask God to give us hearts for revival. (2 Chron. 7:14)

• Ask the Holy Spirit to move in our midst to give the people of the North Ga. Conference a heart for prayer. May our churches be known as houses of prayer. (Mark 11:17)

• Pray that God's movement in our conference will bring many to salvation. Ask the Lord to give us growth by new professions of faith in Christ, rather than just through transfer of membership. (John 4:35; Acts 16:14)

• Pray that the members of the North Georgia Conference and the UMC at large will submit to the truth of Scripture. (John 17:17)

• Pray that we will be empowered speak the truth in love regarding sin and holiness. (Eph. 4:25; 1 John 1:8-2:2)

• Intercede for Bishop Davis, our district superintendents, and other conference leaders. Pray for wisdom and holiness. (1 Thess. 5:19-24)

• Pray for our seminaries, and particularly Candler and Gammon as our "local" seminaries. Ask God to enhance, maintain, or transform these institutions into places where the Bible is believed, where the teachers are God-fearing, and where Jesus is proclaimed as the only name under heaven by which someone can be saved. (John 14: 6; John 17:2-3; Acts 4:12)

• Ask God to eliminate any destructive influence of those within the Church who choose to disobey the clear teachings of Scripture rather than repent. Pray that those who persist in teaching false doctrine will not be allowed to lead the sheep astray. (Luke 17:1-3)

• Ask the Lord to send a mighty revival in our area and throughout North Georgia. Pray for a great working of the Spirit in all churches and denominations that are exalting Christ. (Acts 19:17-18)

• Ask God to manifest Himself to our churches as Jehovah-Jireh, the LORD our provider. (Gen. 22:14)

• Above all things, pray that we would love God and love one another. (Matthew 22:37-40; 1 Cor. 13)

 

For other prayer suggestions, grouped by topic, click here.