A Fourfold Call to Prayer for This Season

On Aug. 21, 2017, we believe God is calling America to begin 40 days of prayer for repentance, unity in Christ and healing our land.

There will be a sign in the heavens on Aug. 21, 2017, the great American eclipse, running across America from Oregon to South Carolina, announcing God’s call. Aug. 21 is also the first day of the Jewish season of Teshuvah, a 40-day season of repentance and return to God leading up to the Day of Atonement.

We believe we should respond to God’s call with solemn assemblies on Aug. 21. Some may feel led to pray and read through the Bible, while others may make a pilgrimage to pray along the Eclipse path. Intercessors across America will be praying in a solemn assembly similar to one outlined below:

I understanding the invitation and the warning.

I. Teshuvah:

• To return to the presence of God
• 40 days of prayer beginning with the sign of the great American eclipse on Aug. 21 and ending on the Day of Atonement, Sept. 29.
• Traditional Scriptures: Psalm 27 and Ezekiel 33.

1. The sign of invitation to unity in Christ

• Moon, symbolic of the bride (Ps. 89:37) moves into the sun, symbolic of Christ the groom (Ps. 19).
• Psalm 27: Dwell in the house of the Lord to see His goodness.

1. The sign of warning to sinners

• Eclipse shadow symbolic of darkness of the Day of the Lord (Amos 5:20)
• Ezekiel 33: Watchmen to warn sinners or be held responsible.
• Ezekiel 33: Sinners to turn from sin to live

1. View the eclipse (live or on media) while praying Deut. 30:19-20: Choose life

II. Prayer for Personal Repentance

1. Follow Jesus in His Teshuvah journey ( Matt. 4:1-11)
2. Repent of doubt (Deut. 8:1-5):

• About who you are: a child of God
• About God’s ability to provide for you
• Leading to pride that denies the need for God’s provision
• Undermining your faith
• Repent of presumption (Deuteronomy 6:16-26)

• About testing God
• About disobedience to God’s commands
• Undermining your prosperity and your very life

1. Repent of selling out (Deut. 6:4-15)

• About serving other “gods” in your life
• About loving the world
• About forgetting God’s faithfulness
• About breaking God’s heart by not loving Him.

1. Thank God that He is faithful and just to forgive our sins when we confess them (1 John 1:9)

III. Prayer for the Church to Be United in Christ

1. Agree with Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-23

• All who believe will be untied in Christ
• May they have unity so the world will believe
• May they have the glory given by Christ to be united
• May they be in unity so the world will know that God loves the believers

1. Christians accept one another (Romans 15:7)
2. Repent of the scandal of division
3. Repent of thinking that unity is the same as uniformity
4. Accept the gifts of other Christian traditions
5. Learn to experience unity in diversity
6. Bless the church with the blessings of unity

IV. Prayer to Heal Our Land

1. Acknowledge that the church is to blame for America’s problems because God’s people have not obeyed God’s instructions in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
2. Ask forgiveness for pride and failure to portray the love of God in our generation
3. Pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
4. Seek God’s face and His presence to know Him and become His partners in bringing His plans to pass.
5. Turn from our wicked ways.

• Repent and come into visible unity
• Bless and curse not
• Transcend politics and renounce division
• Repent of complacency

These are dangerous times for America, and it is up to God’s people to pray for healing our land and revival.

We invite you to answer God’s call and pray with us on August 21 and then through the 40 Days of Teshuvah 2017.

For more information go to our website or download our book Teshuvah Eclipse. {eoa}

Ron Allen is a Christian businessman, CPA and author who serves in local, national and international ministries, spreading a message of reconciliation to God, to men and between believers. He is founder of the International Star Bible Society, telling how the heavens declare the glory of God; the Emancipation Network, which helps people escape from financial bondage; and co-founder with his wife, Pat, of Corporate Prayer Resources, dedicated to helping intercessors.