The December PFA Call Began the Christmas Season With Praise
The preparation for the Christmas season means different things for different people: some people enjoy decorating their house while other bake goodies for loved ones. For our NDP family of intercessors, we began December the same way we respond to all seasons and events: with prayer. December’s theme for the monthly Pray for America call was “O Come Let Us Adore Him” to bring in the Christmas season with worship.
Christians stand on the firm foundation of scripture to guide our lives and prayers, and NDP president Kathy Branzell followed this principle to set prayers in motion by reading a passage of praise from Psalm 95.
“We want to come and first adore our Lord Jesus Christ in this season, adoring Him, filling our heart with strength and joy,” Kathy Branzell said in her welcoming remarks.
Each person scheduled to pray on the call had been instructed to begin with adoration to the Lord before diving into prayers for their topic. For the next two hours on the call, 22 brothers and sisters lifted up praise and moved directly into petitioning heaven for blessing over specific spheres of influence and sectors of our society.
“We have been conditioned in this year to expect the worst, it is time for the church to start expecting joy,” Jeff Noel encouraged as he prayed for churches. Noel is senior pastor at Grace Heartland Church and a member of the board of directors for the National Day of Prayer Task Force. “It has nothing to do with circumstance, it had everything to do with constant, never leaving, never abandoning, presence of Jesus in our lives that is the source of our joy.”
A unique aspect of Pray for America calls is the gathering of all kinds of people to lift up very specific prayers. This month, prayer leaders included pastors, children’s minsters, believers who have a heart for their professional industries, and believers who God has placed in certain areas of kingdom work. They are then able to use their particular knowledge to break down the broad spheres of influence into smaller, more specific topics.
Instead of just praying for just media, the PFA call hosted Hollywood Prayer Network president Karen Covell to lift up the entertainment industry as well. In the same way, Marilyn Whalberg, a former flight attendant and member of the board of directors at United Prayer ministry prayed over the travel/tourism industries.
Dianne Ogle, a business leader and president of Aretè Executive Women of Influence, prayed specifically for healing and Godly leadership to come forth in the business sector.
“May we all cast out greed and selfish ambition and lay it all on the alter at your feet,” Ogle said. “May leaders not lose sight of the least of these and raise up a workforce dedicated to excellence in You, Lord.”
At times participants were moved to tears, hearing such powerful petitions for blessing spoken over these sectors. Many took notes on prayer points for each topic to use as the Lord leads them to pray for these same subjects in the future.
Vice President Dion Elmore closed the evening by leading everyone in the first verse of the classic hymn, “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”, highlighting the song’s message in a prayer for believers to come before the Lord with joy and triumph, praising Him as the joy of our salvation and the one who has been all authority over heaven and Earth.
If you’re interested in joining the monthly PFA call, we welcome your attendance at 8-10 p.m. ET on the first Thursday of each month! Click here for the number and information about our other daily and weekly prayer call opportunities.
Psalm 95 1-7a. Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care…
