As we enter a new year with Ten Days of Prayer, we asked 50 leading Adventists: "What is your prayer for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 2015?" Here is what they said.
Read more about the Ten Days of Prayer here.
"My prayer for the Adventist Church for 2015 is for more prayer about prayer and more prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit. We tend to be strong on doctrine and lifestyle and altogether too weak on prayer. But prayer is the key that unlocks all of God's blessings, especially the gift of the Spirit, which 'brings all other blessings in its train' (Desire of Ages, p. 672). Adventism needs the power of the Spirit more than anything else."
, Adventist historian; professor emeritus of church history, Andrews University
“I pray that we watch God work in 2015. Eph. 3:20 should be our watchword—through the Holy Spirit, God magnifies our efforts in order to make mighty things happen, beyond what we can imagine or think to ask. Ellen White penned it thusly in
Steps to Christ, chapter 11: ‘Our heavenly Father waits to bestow upon us the fullness of His blessing. … God's heart of infinite love yearns toward us, ready to give us more than we can ask or think.’ We can rest assured that God will lead in ways that are beyond our limited imaginations … let’s watch Him work.”
, president, Union College
"My prayer for 2015 is that the Holy Spirit will be poured out on His church as never before. It is my prayer that we will have the fruits of the Spirit to reflect Christ to the world. It is my prayer that we will have the gifts of the Spirit to share Christ to the world. I pray that the Holy Spirit would bring about a powerful revival and reformation in the church."
, pastor of the University Seventh-day Adventist Church in East Lansing, Michigan, whose Jan. 3 sermon at the GYC convention created a buzz
“I don't pray that the Holy Spirit will ripen the harvest, but that God will open our eyes to see that the harvest is already ripe. I pray that the Lord of the Harvest will open our ears to the heart cries rising from the millions who long to know what we know. I pray for thousands of members who are willing to say ‘Yes Lord’ when He sends them—no matter what it costs.”
, president, Middle East and North Africa Union
“We praise You Lord for the wonderful educational system that serves our church worldwide, and especially for the 1.8 million students attending these schools. We pray that while under our care they might acknowledge the Bible as Your Word, Your love letter to them, and that they might accept it as the source for their worldview, the guide to renewal of relationship with You and fellow humans, and, under the Holy Spirit, the source of power for the transformation of their lives in anticipation of Your soon return.”
, theologian; entrepreneur; co-founder and retired president, Ann's House of Nuts; senior adviser, Adventist Review
Are you participating in the Ten Days of Prayer? Share your prayer or story in the comments section below and send your prayer-related photos to
Adventist Review news editor Andrew McChesney at [email protected].
