This resolution of Daily United Prayer is based on An Humble Attempt, originally put forward by Jonathan Edwards in 1748. Its design is to encourage God's people in the duty of united extraordinary prayer; setting aside some time every day to pray for the revival of His church and the advancement of Christ's kingdom in our homes, in our churches, in our nation, and in the world.
"And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder." Genesis 24:15.
Abraham's servant was given a daunting task. The responsibility was placed on his shoulders to find a suitable bride for Isaac—the seed of promise. Abraham was old and "well stricken in years" so he knew his time was coming to an end. He therefore handed over this all-important charge to his most trusted servant. Can you imagine how this servant must have felt? You can almost hear the fear in his voice when he asked, "Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land?" (Gen 24:5). He would have understood very well the human impossibility of what he was asked to do. Imagine it. He would start traveling in the general direction of where he was supposed to go, but beyond that, how on earth would he be able to find "the right" woman for Isaac? It's like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. Too many unknowns! Would she leave her home to follow him back to a foreign land? Is she the right one? Would Isaac accept her hand in marriage? The burden of responsibility was too great so what do we find the servant doing? He prays.
Think of the early disciples and how they, too, were faced with an impossible task. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature!" Mark 16:15. A handful of timid disciples that barely ever left the confines of their region were told to go into all the world and do what? Little wonder that you find them in a prayer meeting in Acts 1 and 2. They understood the weight of responsibility and their inadequacy just as deeply as Abraham's servant did. In 1857, when Jeremiah Lanphier walked the streets of NYC, he wondered the same thing. How does one man reach the teeming multitudes? This is why he wrote in his journal, "What wouldst Thou have me to do?" He needed Divine guidance. We are faced with the same daunting task. The Lord Jesus told us that, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matt 24:14. When we hear such words, there's something inside of us that wants to respond with, "I will go!" But the reality is that we struggle even to speak a word to those closest to us. In the words of the Apostle Paul, "Who is sufficient for these things?"
In every case, the answer begins with prayer. It would be the epitome of folly and futility to just start hacking away at the problem without Divine guidance and help. We must feel the burden of our insufficiency and we must begin with prayer. This is why we gather, friends. The beautiful thing about the Genesis 24 passage is that the Lord answered. In fact, the Lord answered before he had even finished praying! "And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out." Would to God that we would receive such abundant and definitive answers to our own prayers.
"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Isaiah 65:24.
DAILY UNITED PRAYER unitedprayer.net
Mon-Fri @ 12pm EDT // Sat @ 10am EDT
We invite you to join our dedicated and earnest group of praying participants of all ages from around the world that meet every day over Zoom to pray. At the start of each prayer call, a different individual will bring a brief Scriptural meditation. Here's the most recent:
