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On Prayer


WHEREAS, Scripture reveals Jesus engaging in prayer on many occasions (Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16); and

WHEREAS, The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1); and

WHEREAS, Jesus taught His disciples a model prayer to help them know how to pray (Luke 11:2–4); and

WHEREAS, Jesus prayed for Himself, His disciples, and His future disciples (John 17:1–26); and

WHEREAS, Jesus instructed His disciples that some of the most demanding spiritual work of the church requires prayer (Mark 9:14–29); and

WHEREAS, Fasting is often associated with times of concerted prayer in Scripture (Daniel 10:3; Esther 4:16; Acts 14:21–23); and

WHEREAS, Scripture commands God’s people: “Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face always” (Psalm 105:4); and

WHEREAS, Psalms is primarily a book of prayer; and

WHEREAS, Prayer is the principal means of communicating and communing with God; and

WHEREAS, God answers the prayers of His people in accordance to His will (1 John 5:14–15); and

WHEREAS, Scripture records great acts of God in response to the prayers of His people (1 Kings 18:36–39; Acts 4:23–31); and

WHEREAS, Jesus taught His disciples to pray without ceasing (Luke 18:1–5); and

WHEREAS, The apostles considered prayer to be one of their two highest priorities (Acts 6:4); and

WHEREAS, Scripture teaches that God works in response to prayer (Matthew 7:7–11; James 5:16); and

WHEREAS, Every great revival has been preceded by God’s people praying; and

WHEREAS, Regular corporate prayer is essential to the life of the local church and regular personal prayer is essential to the life of the believer (Acts 2:42–47; 1 Thessalonians 5:17–18; Philippians 4:4–7); and

WHEREAS, Scripture teaches that the chief enemy of the praying believer is Satan (Daniel 10:10–14; Ephesians 6:10–18; 1 Peter 5:8); and

WHEREAS, The theme of the 2017 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention encourages us to “Pray! For Such a Time as This,” and President Steve Gaines called us to fast and pray for the twenty-one days leading up to the annual meeting; and

WHEREAS, Prayer guides and additional resources for prayer are available at SBC.net/InAllThingsPray; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, June 13–14, 2017, confess and repent of any lack of prayer in our own lives and our churches; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we ask God to search our hearts and show us if there is any hindrance in us to His work in and through us for His glory; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we commit to pray and urge our fellow Southern Baptists to join us in prayer for the next twenty-one days, leading up to July 4th, for God to be merciful to Southern Baptists, empowering us anew with His Holy Spirit to be His witnesses in our communities, states, nation, and world; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call on all Southern Baptists to make an ongoing commitment to spend at least fifteen minutes of every day in prayer, to the best of our ability, and to fast as a regular discipline, as we are able, in order to resist the desires of the flesh and focus on the things of the Spirit; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we join together in pleading with God for a great outpouring of His Spirit, leading to a revival of the churches to the end that many millions will come to faith in Jesus, be added to our churches, and dedicate themselves to following His will.