Day 27 of "27-Day Prayer & Fasting Journey" with Rev. Steven Taylor

Greetings and good morning in the name of Christ.

Y buenos dias y bon dia a nuestros amigos y amigas en España.

My name is Stephen Taylor, and I am the conference superintendent of the Northeast Conference for the Global Methodist Church. Welcome to Day 27 of 27 Days of Prayer as we prepare for our annual conference gathering on May 8th through the 10th in Cortland, New York.

We have arrived! There are over 180 churches in our annual conference, ranging from the southern tip of Maryland and Delaware all the way up to the northern part of Maine. From Lake Erie on the west to the Atlantic Ocean on the east. And our conference includes 12 states plus Washington, D.C. And covers 150,000 square miles and contains over 50 million people.

And so I want to thank you for your faithfulness over the past 27 days in praying for the Global Methodist churches that serve such an incredibly large region. And as we prepare to come together in just a few days, that the Holy Spirit would just be poured out on us. What I love about our Northeast Annual Conference is the rich Wesleyan history in the history of revivals that have occurred across our region. It seems like everywhere we go as we visit different areas of our conference, there's evidence that Francis Asbury was here. He preached in so many places across our region and sparked revival in some of those places.

The other thing that I love about our conference is how we are coming together from so many former connections to become unified and one throughout our region. It is a testament to our presiding elders and the work that the Spirit is doing in our churches and through our pastors. And so let me just encourage you to continue to be unified together as we come together in just a couple days in Cortland, New York.

And so, I would ask you to pray...

For churches and the people of our conference today. That we would faithfully live into our shared mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ and to spread scriptural holiness across the globe. I want to specifically thank the presiding elders and Bishop Gregory and others who have been providing these daily reminders and daily invitations, to enter into prayer and fasting for this annual conference gathering.

And I'm eager to see many of you at our annual conference in May. And I encourage you to use these days of preparation to continue to hear God's word and pray together as we prepare to fan the flames that the Holy Spirit has kindled in us all.

And so here's today's focus scripture passage from 2 Timothy 1, 6-8.

"For this reason, I remind you to fan into flames the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me, his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God." 

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Today’s Prayer Focus

Although Paul is in prison, he is not defeated. Even though he feels the time of his departure is near (2 Timothy 4:6), he is confident his missionary work will continue through faithful co-laborers like Timothy. Before this, Paul had made Timothy part of the covenant community of faith by the laying on of hands. Now Paul encourages this young protégé to “fan into flame the gift of God” that he had received, to take his place, without timidity, in the covenant community. Paul encourages us to do the same in our age. Center your prayers this day on our part in God’s plan for the Northeast Annual Conference. Pray that we would be a people of the covenant, faithful to the covenant in good times and bad, whether our role be large or small. Pray that we would be a people willing to freely and heartily yield ourselves to the Lord’s pleasure and disposal.

Today’s Suggested Prayer (Wesley Covenant Prayer, from Our Great Redeemer’s Praise, Copyright © 2022 by Seedbed. #710.)

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

You can find this prayer, and all the other prayers of these 27 Days, on the Conference website, northeastgmc.org.

May the Lord richly bless your faithful prayers. Amen.