Uniting in Prayer for Transformational Revival and Mission Breakthrough: the International Prayer and Mission Leaders Consultation
May 8-12, 2017, Herrnhut, Germany
WELCOME!
We want to warmly welcome you to the “The International Prayer Leaders Consultation: Uniting in Prayer for Transformational Revival and Mission Breakthrough” in this historic village of Herrnhut, Germany, site of the Moravian prayer revival that sent out the first Protestant missionaries to reach the unreached with the Gospel almost three centuries ago! Approximately 120 international prayer and mission leaders are convening in this tiny Germany village joined by members of the local community to cry out to the Lord as the Moravians did before us:“May the Lamb who was slain receive due reward of his sufferings!” Along with many cutting-edge mission leaders who are with us for these special days, we will pray and strategize that the unreached peoples of our day be reached as the prayer movement focuses more intentionally on the fulfillment of Christ’s Great Commission, still so much on His and our hearts!
Prayer, revival and mission have always gone together since the book of Acts. It’s our desire to see a massive, prayer-based revival erupt throughout the nations of the earth! Could it begin at Herrnhut again as so many are praying around the world as we meet together? During this week, let’s ask the Lord for another historic move of the Holy Spirit to sweep across the nations and awaken a whole new generation to wholehearted love and surrender to Jesus in His mission to those who have never heard of His love and truth!
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Hab. 2:14).
During this gathering, we want to more closely and effectively connect the prayer and mission movements for the final push to the accomplishment of Matthew 24:14, that everyone may hear and respond to the glorious gospel of the kingdom in these last days!
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations (ethne = people groups), and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).
In addition, during the Consultation and beyond, please be praying for these specific outcomes:
· That participating prayer and mission leaders would deeply connectwith the Lord and one another, experiencing the reviving work of the Holy Spirit in this historic place of prayer, revival and mission.
· For a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the glory of Jesus Christ! Acts 1:8, 2:17-2:21 that if it pleases Him, it even might start at Herrnhut again and flow out to the nations!
· That we participants will prayerfully discern together how the international prayer and mission movements can be better integrated for their mutual benefit and for the sake of those still unreached with His Gospel (Matt. 24:14).
· Be challenged and stirred by what God is doing around our world so that we and our organizations can respond appropriately, developing workable strategies and action plans.
· For God’s empowering of the Next Generation youth and children’s prayer movements, both during and following this gathering, and that every nation will have a thriving Next Gen prayer movement in the coming 10 years.
· For canopies of united, strategic and sustainable prayer to be raised up in every nation and city across the earth.
· For a Great Awakening and New Reformation to erupt in Germany and across Europe.
· For a ‘Spirit of Unity’ during the gathering, that we would come together ‘in one accord’ loving and supporting one another in the diverse missions He has called us to as members of His Body (John 17 and Psalm 133).
· For a mighty anointing of the Holy Spirit to rest upon each one presenting and leading us in prayer and for His prophetic insight to flow among us!
· That we will develop valuable, ongoing relationships and friendships that advance His Kingdom.
· For key moments and inspiring stories to be captured via video and distributed effectively to the prayer, revival and mission movements around the world. (You may be asked to be interviewed by our videographer.)
· For protection from the evil one and all the forces of darkness (Psalm 91).
· For the Lord of the Harvest to thrust forth missionaries to the ends of the earth and that every unreached people group will have a viable movement of Christ followers within the coming decade (Matt. 9:37-38).
Thanks so much for being here and for partnering with us in prayer and mission through this historic gathering. In His hands, your prayers and actions here and afterwards will make all the difference!
A couple ground rules:
1. Please observe the time carefully and be on time and in your seats for each session so we can start propmtly and conserve all our time for the good things the Lord wants to do among us.
2. Try to get some rest after lunch and a brisk walk during the day to keep alert and engaged mentally and physically.
3. During the prayer times, pray conversationally and briefly, listening to the Holy Spirit and agreeing with others in your small groups.
4. Try to get to know others you have not met before and be attentive for ways you might continue to pray and work together for the future.
Have an anointed and unforgettable time!
John Robb and Jason Hubbard
on behalf of the International Prayer Council
Can’t the same great wonders be done today that were done many years ago? Where is the God of Elijah? He is waiting for today’s Elijah call on him.
The greatest Old or New Testament saints who ever lived were on a level that is quite within our reach. The same spiritual force that was available to them, and the energy that enabled them to become our spiritual heroes, are also available to us. If we exhibit the same faith, hope, and love they exhibited, we will achieve miracles as great as theirs. A simple prayer from our mouths will be powerful enough to call down from heaven God’s gracious dew or the melting fire of his Spirit, just as the words from Elijah’s mouth called down literal rain and fire. All that is required is to speak the words with the same complete assurance of faith with which he spoke.--Dr. Goulburn, Dean of Norwich
The Historic Significance of Herrnhut
Here are two excerpts from Rev. John Greenfield, an American Moravian evangelist who published his book “Power On High” in 1927 on the 200th anniversary of the Moravian revival. Theinformation in this article is from that book, now out of print. You can read the whole article on the consultation website at: prayerandmission.com.
When the Spirit came.
Prayer precedes Pentecost. The disgruntled community at Herrnhut early in 1727 wasdeeply divided and critical of one another. Heated controversies threatened to disruptthe community. The majority was from the ancient Moravian Church of the Brethren.Other believers attracted to Herrnhut included Lutherans, Reformed, and Baptists.They argued about predestination, holiness, and baptism.
The young German nobleman, Count Zinzendorf, pleaded for unity, love andrepentance.
Converted in early childhood, at four years of age he composed and signed acovenant: ‘Dear Saviour, do Thou be mine, and I will be Thine.’ His life motto was, ‘Ihave one passion: it is Jesus, Jesus only.’ Count Zinzendorf learned the secret of prevailing prayer. He actively establishedprayer groups as a teenager, and on leaving college at Halle at sixteen he gave thefamous Professor Francke a list of seven praying societies he had established. After hefinished university his education was furthered by travel to foreign countries. Everywhere he went, his passion for Jesus controlled him. In the Dusseldorf Galleryof paintings he was deeply moved by a painting of the crucifixion over which werethe words:
Hoc feci pro te;
Quid facis pro me?
This have I done for thee;
What hast thou done for me?
At Herrnhut, Zinzendorf visited all the adult members of the deeply dividedcommunity. He drew up a covenant calling upon them‘to seek out and emphasize thepoints in which they agreed’ rather than stressing their differences. On 12 May 1727,they all signed an agreement to dedicate their lives, as he dedicated his, to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Moravian revival of 1727 was thus preceded and then sustained by extraordinarypraying. A spirit of grace, unity and supplications grew among them.
On 16 July, many of the community covenanted together on their own accord to meetoften to pour out their hearts in prayer and hymns.
On 5 August, the Count spent the whole night in prayer with about twelve or fourteenothers following a large meeting for prayer at midnight where great emotionprevailed.
On Sunday, 10 August, Pastor Rothe, while leading the service at Herrnhut, wasoverwhelmed by the power of the Lord about noon. He sank down into the dust beforeGod. So did the whole congregation. They continued till midnight in prayer andsinging, weeping and praying.
On Wednesday, 13 August, the Holy Spirit was poured out on them all. Their prayerswere answered in ways far beyond anyone’s expectations. Many of them decided toset aside certain times for continued earnest prayer.
On 26 August, twenty-four men and twenty-four women covenanted together tocontinue praying in intervals of one hour each, day and night, each hour allocated bylots to different people.
On 27 August, this new regulation began. Others joined the intercessors and thenumber involved increased to seventy-seven. They all carefully observed the hourwhich had been appointed for them. The intercessors had a weekly meeting whereprayer needs were given to them.
The children, also touched powerfully by God, began a similar plan amongthemselves. Those who heard their infant supplications were deeply moved. Thechildren’s prayers and supplications had a powerful effect on the whole community.
That astonishing prayer meeting beginning in 1727 went on for one hundred years. Itwas unique. Known as the Hourly Intercession, it involved relays of men and womenin prayer without ceasing made to God. That prayer also led to action, speciallyevangelism. More than one hundred missionaries left that village community in thenext twenty-five years, all constantly supported in prayer.
Renew Our Days
The renewal of the Moravian Church can stir our hearts to pray, “Renew our days asof old.”
In 1927, 200 years after the revival in of the Moravian Church, the editor of TheBiblical Review, New York, wrote:
No matter whether one is sympathetic toward the idea of revivals or not, if he wants tostudy the question thoroughly, he cannot afford to overlook the history and teachingsof the Moravians. Theirs has been from the beginning a great Revival Church, and itsservice to the general cause of Christianity, and to foreign missions in particular, isdeserving of wide recognition. The story of their spiritual development and its influence is one of the most inspiring in the annals of Christianity.
Their first great experience which gave the Moravians such spiritual power waspersonal experience of salvation. The second great experience which gave them suchspiritual power and leadership was the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Dr. J. Kenneth Pfohl, a Moravian pastor, wrote in The Moravian in 1927: The greatMoravian Pentecost was not a shower of blessing out of a cloudless sky. It did comesuddenly, as suddenly as the blessing of its great predecessor in Jerusalem, when theChristian Church was born. Yet, for long there had been signs of abundance of rain,though many recognized them not. In short, the blessing of the 13th of August 1727,was diligently and earnestly prepared for. We know of no annals of Church historywhich evidence greater desire for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and more patientand persistent effort in that direction than those of our own Church between the years1725 and 1727. Two distinct lines of preparation and spiritual effort for the blessingare evident. One was prayer; the other was individual work with individuals. We aretold that “men and women met for prayer and praise at one another’s homes and theChurch of Berthelsdorf was crowded out.” Then the Spirit came in great power. Thenthe entire company experienced the blessing at once and the same time.
In another article in The Moravian, Dr. E. S. Hagen declared: The great revival in1727 in Herrnhut was the normal and logical result of prayer and the preaching of theWord of the Cross. “Christ and Him Crucified” was our brethren’s confession of faith,and “the inward witness of remission of sins through faith in His blood” their blessedand quickening experience. Lecky in his History of Morals says of John Wesley’sconversion May 24, 1738, in the prayer meeting of Moravian Brethren in AldersgateStreet: “What happened in that little room was of more importance to England than allthe victories of Pitt by land or sea.” A renewal of our days as of old involves a returnto fervent prayer and to the earnest and effectual preaching of the remission of sinsthrough the vicarious sacrifice and the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ the Sonof God. Revival time is coming. We cherish a high expectancy of it. Sooner than wedream of, to God’s people, who give themselves to earnest, persevering prayer, andthe Scriptural testimony concerning the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the windowsof Heaven will be opened.
The day of revivals is not past. The Holy Spirit still waits to fill believers with powerfrom on high.