Why United Prayer? (Praying for Rain! United Prayer)

“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for
them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the
midst of them.” Matt. 18:19, 20

“We are encouraged to pray for success, with the divine assurance that our prayers will be heard and
answered. . . . The promise is made on the condition that the united prayers of the church are offered, and
in answer to these prayers, there may be expected a power greater than that which comes in answer to
private prayer. The power given will be proportionate to the unity of the members and their love for God and
for one another.”  Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, p. 303 (Letter 32, 1903, p. 5)
“Precious promise! Do we believe it? What marvelous results would appear if the united prayers of this company were to ascend to God in living faith!”Evangelism, p. 414
“When the message of truth was first proclaimed, how much we prayed. How often was the voice of intercession heard in the chamber, in the barn, in the orchard, or the grove. Frequently we spent hours in earnest prayer, two or three together claiming the promise; often the sound of weeping was heard and
then the voice of thanksgiving and the song of praise. Now the day of God is nearer than when we first believed, and we should be more earnest, more zealous,and more fervent than in those early days.” Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 161

“Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Acts 2:1
“Brethren should stand shoulder to shoulder, uniting their prayers at the throne of grace, that they may
move the arm of the Omnipotent. Heaven and earth will then be closely connected in the work, and there
will be joy and gladness in the presence of the angels of God, when the lost sheep is found and restored.”
Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 210
“And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek
prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy. . . . And Aaron and Hur supported his hands.” Exod. 17:11, 12
“Those who meet together for prayer will receive an unction from the Holy One. There is great need of secret prayer, but there is also need that several Christians meet together and unite with earnestness
their petitions to God.” In Heavenly Places, p. 91
“In every church there should be stated seasons for united prayer for the advancement of this work. Let all
be united, having a specific object for their faith and entreaties.” Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, p. 294
“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of
Jesus, and with His brothers.” Acts 1:14The goal of united prayer is to come into one accord so the Holy Spirit can fill us. In addition, we’ve been instructed to pray unitedly so God’s power can be unleashed and the Great Controversy finally ended.

Faith Verses for Prayer (Praying for Rain! United Prayer)

“According to your faith let it be to you.” Matt. 9:29 “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Gen. 18:14
“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” 2 Chron. 16:9“Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” Ps. 81:10
“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” Ps. 20:7
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not
willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Pet. 3:9
“The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. . . . If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Exod. 14:14, Rom. 8:31
“As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.” Ps. 55:16-18“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matt. 18:20“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Rom. 10:17

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
John 15:7
“With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” Mark 10:27
“Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Mark 11:24
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the
whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. . . . praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Eph. 6:12, 13, 18
“By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature.” 2 Pet. 1:4“He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” 1 Thess. 5:24
“But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Matt. 24:13

How to Close United Prayer (Praying for the Rain! United Prayer)

At the close of the prayer session, the leader should encourage participants to continue in prayer in the following ways:
1. Encourage participants to make united prayer a regular part of their lives. Share a copy of this mini handbook with them, if possible, so they can teach others.

2. Promote the 777 Prayer Initiative (prayer for the Holy Spirit at 7 A.M. and 7 P.M., seven days a week in each local time zone, in order to create a global prayer chain).
3. Stress the importance of perseverance in prayer if we want to share the experience of the disciples in the upper room.
4. Ask people to share their testimonies if they were blessed by united prayer. This will help others to try it in the future. The leader may collect testimonies directly after the prayer session or encourage participants to share on the Revival and Reformation website (www.revivalandreformation.org) for the encouragement of others worldwide.
5. Remind participants to follow through on the convictions that God laid on their hearts during prayer, no matter how difficult they may be. We can pray, but if we continue in the same sinful, selfish ways after the prayer is over, what gain is there?

Counterfeit Revival Culture (Praying for rain! United prayer)

We do not promote or support any of the non-biblical prayer disciplines or methods of prayer rooted in the

spiritual formation movement, mysticism, or the occult—such as contemplative prayer, centering prayer, repetitive prayers, prayer labyrinths, etc. Mark Finley writes, in the book Lord, Revive Us Again, “Satan’s concern in the last days is not the unsaved world. He already has them in his grasp. His concern is Christians. By bringing deceptions into the church, he will mislead millions” (p. 75).“Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. . . . The enemy of souls desires to hinder this work; and before the time for such a movement shall come, he [Satan] will endeavor to prevent it by introducing a counterfeit. In those churches which he can bring under his deceptive power he will make it appear that God’s special blessing is poured out; there will be manifest what is thought to be great religious interest. Multitudes will exult that God is working marvelously for them, when the work is that of another spirit. Under a religious

guise, Satan will seek to extend his influence over the Christian world. . . . There is an emotional excitement, a mingling of the true with the false, that is well adapted to mislead. Yet none need be deceived. In the light of God’s word it is not difficult to determine the nature of these movements. Wherever men neglect the testimony of the Bible, turning away from those plain, soul-testing truths which require self-denial and renunciation of the world, there we may be sure that God’s blessing is not bestowed. . . . ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits.’” The Great Controversy, p. 464

Genuine Revival Awareness (Praying for rain! United prayer)

In our zealousness to avoid the counterfeit spirit of revival, we need to be careful not to quench the true! “There is at the present time almost a universal state of unbelief in regard to the operations of the Holy
Spirit, especially in the manifestation of the gifts. Unbelief shuts the Spirit of God away from the mind. It quenches the Spirit, and leaves the masses exposed to the delusions of these last days. Again, those who by unbelief quench the spirit in these last days will be illy prepared to share in the great blessings which God promises by the prophet Joel, quoted by Peter (Acts 2:17, 18). ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit, and they shall prophesy.’ The ‘Former Rain’ was given on the day of Pentecost, and enjoyed by the early Christians, to cause the Gospel seed to germinate and take root. The ‘Latter Rain’ is coming to ripen the golden harvest for the garner of God. Take care, dear

reader, lest unbelief in you quench the Spirit, and shut you away from this great blessing designed for “them that believe.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, p. 19“
The baptism of the Holy Ghost as on the day of Pentecost will lead to a revival of true religion and to the performance of many wonderful works. Heavenly intelligences will come among us, and men will speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Spirit of God. But should the Lord work upon men as He did on and after the day of Pentecost, many who now claim to believe the truth would know so very little of the operation of the Holy Spirit that they would cry, ‘Beware of fanaticism.’ Theywould say of those who were filled with the Spirit, ‘These men are full of new wine’ (Acts 2:13). . . . The great sin of those who profess to be Christians is that they do not open the heart to receive the Holy Spirit. When souls long after Christ, and seek to become one with Him, then those who are content with the form of godliness exclaim, ‘Be careful, do not go to extremes.’. . . But while we should be careful not to go into human excitement, we should not be among those who will raise inquiries and cherish doubts in reference to the work of the Spirit of God.”  Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 322“‘Now, therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of  great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.” Joel 2:12, 13 When we humble ourselves before God’s throne, confess our sins, and intercede for others, our hearts will break, and there will sometimes beweeping! However, the real sign that God is bringing true revival to our midst will be the transformation that takes place in our lives. “Obedience is the test of discipleship. It is the keeping of the commandments that proves the sincerity of our professions of love. When the doctrine we accept kills sin in the heart, purifies the soul from defilement, bears fruit unto holiness, we may know that it is the truth of God.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 146

Hindrances to Prayer (Praying for rain! United prayer)

• ‡ We pray in unbelief. Jas. 1:6, 7; Mark 11:24
• ‡ We pray according to our own will. 1 John 5:14
• ‡ We seek the gift rather than the Giver. Jas. 2:23
• ‡ We pray prayers to feed our own lusts. Jas. 4:3
• ‡ We live in disobedience. Isa. 59:1, 2; Ps. 66:18
• ‡ We give up in prayer too easily. Luke 18:1-8
• ‡ We are judgmental toward others. Luke 6:37
• ‡ We are not able to forgive. Mark 11:26
• ‡ We have unresolved quarrels. Matt. 5:23, 24 
• ‡ We turn a deaf ear to those in need. Prov. 21:13
• ‡ We lack honor in our family. 1 Pet. 3:7
• ‡ We have not learned to abide in Christ. John 15:7

“When we do not receive the very things we asked for, at the time we ask, we are still to believe that the Lord hears and that He will answer our prayers.
We are so erring and shortsighted that we sometimes ask for things that would not be a blessing to us, and our heavenly Father in love answers our prayers by giving us that which will be for our highest good - that
which we ourselves would desire if with vision divinely enlightened we could see all things as they really are.
When our prayers seem not to be answered, we are to cling to the promise; for the time of answering will surely come, and we shall receive the blessing we need most. But to claim that prayer will always be answered in the very way and for the particular thing that we desire, is presumption. God is too wise to err, and too good to withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly. Then do not fear to trust Him, even though you do not see the immediate answer to your prayers.” Prayer, p. 102
“As activity increases and men become successful in doing any work for God, there is danger of trusting to
human plans and methods. There is a tendency to pray less, and to have less faith. Like the disciples, we are in danger of losing sight of our dependence on God, and seeking to make a savior of our activity. We need to look constantly to Jesus, realizing that it is His power which does the work. While we are to labor earnestly for the salvation of the lost, we must also take time for meditation, for prayer, and for the study of the word of God. Only the work accomplished with much prayer, and sanctified by the merit of Christ, will in the end prove to have been efficient for good.”  The Desire of Ages, p. 362