What is a gospel movement?
A church planting movement (CPM) or disciple making movement (DMM) can be defined as “the multiplication of disciples making disciples and leaders developing leaders, resulting in indigenous churches planting churches which begin to spread rapidly through a people group or population segment.” Click here to read more about gospel movements.
Declare a Promise
Jer 33:25 “This is what the Lord says: I would no more reject my people than I would change my laws that govern night and day, earth and sky…I will have mercy on them.”
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Lord, all your promises–in Christ–are ‘yes’ and ‘amen.’ May it be, Lord, that your faithful covenant love to the city of David and to the children of Abraham would cover Beirut, envelop Tripoli, liberate Tyre, and free Saida. God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: we call on you to have mercy on Lebanon, according to your word. And we declare: no more would you abandon this nation than you would change the laws governing night and day, earth and sky.
Today’s Movement Theme: TARGETED PRAYER
Today, we will continue to intercede for Lebanon during this historic inflection point. Yesterday, we prayed that God would liberate people’s time, energy, and attention. Today, we will pray against toxic communities and petition the Lord to plant and nurture alternative communities.
If you’ve not prayed the past days, a brief context might serve you: Lebanon has faced a series of compound traumas that has left it reeling: civil war from 1975-1990; ongoing sectarian violence culminating in clashes and assassinations; the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel; and more recently, the absolute collapse of Lebanon’s economy, hyperinflation, a socio-political revolution against the ruling elite, a massive port explosion that left 300,000 homeless, and the social stresses of dealing with the Covid pandemic.
To say that Lebanon is ‘on the brink’ is something of an understatement; it has already fallen off the proverbial cliff.
Therefore, we will pray.
Toxic Community
As a generalization, Lebanese live in tight-knit, intertwined communities. It’s rare to find someone who is ‘isolated.’ A small nation, Lebanon very much functions as a collection of tribes that have been dropped, as it were, into the modern world. With this has come something of a pattern: although families are unbelievably close and entangled, they often relate to one another in terribly unhealthy, even toxic, ways.
Today, we will pray for Kingdom community to transform toxic communities and offer new ways of being.
Scriptures to Pray
John 13:4-5, 12-15 “Jesus got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, ‘Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.'”
- Pray that new discovery groups and emerging churches would follow the example of Christ, washing one another’s feet
- Ask that God would show the church what it means to be servant leaders in the community
- Pray the Lord would break the need for ‘competition’ and ‘one-upmanship’ and would release, instead, a spirit of humility
- Ask God to break toxic ways of relating to one another
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1 Cor 13:4-7 “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
- Intercede that a spirit of love would transform communities
- Pray for the grace of transformation as communities begin to relate in Kingdom ways
- Ask for one of the descriptions of love (above) to be released over Lebanon and especially into new groups among emerging church streams
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Rom 12:9-10 “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.”
- Pray for hatred of wrong in communities throughout Lebanon…not hatred of people, but hatred of evil
- Pray that communities would cling to and love what is good
- Ask that God’s spirit would help people honor one another and delight in one another
No Place Left
Each day, we pray for various regions of Lebanon, believing in faith that a disciple making movement will touch each and every community throughout the nation.
Today, pray by name for the following election zones: Mount Lebanon I, II, III, and IV
Mount Lebanon I (Christian majority): Kesarwan and Jbeil
Mount Lebanon II (Christian majority): Metn
Mount Lebanon III (Christian/Shiite/Druze): Babda, the Southern Suburbs, Upper Metn
Mount Lebanon IV (Christian/Druze/Sunnis): Chouf and Aley
Prayer
Lord of community, we pray you would unmake the toxic ways of relating here in Lebanon. So many patterns have been established! So many sins have been entrenched! The enemy has had his way for far too long. And so do something, Lord.
We pray specifically for emerging churches and discovery groups and new disciples. We ask you would teach them the Way of Christ, the alternative way, that enables communities to flourish. Rescue them from toxic relating, and release a spirit of humility and reconciliation over all brothers and sisters in the Messiah.
Amen