There’s something about climbing a mountain and getting to the top that just almost draws you to heaven, right? When I was a teenager, on my feet still, I attended a Young Life camp nestled in the front range of the Colorado Rockies. One afternoon several of us climbed Cheyenne Mountain very near our camp – it took nearly all day to get to the top. But when we arrived up there at the crest, at the highest place, I tell you… we were breathless.
I was only 15 years old, and I had never climbed so high a mountain, but I thought for sure I was about as close to heaven as I could possibly get. My friends and I were so gripped by the awesome view and the breathtaking cloudscape, it seemed natural – or, I should say, supernatural – to just pause there for a few long moments to praise God and sing some Young Life songs and a couple of hymns. It was as though God Himself had brought us to the top of that mountain to show us His majesty and invite us to pray.
My hike up that mountain long ago reminds me of Isaiah 40:9: “You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’”
Well, I’m thinking of that verse because thousands of young people around the world will be doing just that this Sunday on the Global Day of Prayer. Christians from 220 nations will be joining together in prayer this weekend… and we are taking Isaiah 40 seriously – believe it or not, literally there are going to be groups of young people climbing up on the high places and praying on mountain tops in every region of the world. And for those who can’t climb mountains, can you imagine the effect when on this Sunday people around the globe fill stadiums, community centers, city squares, churches, and all kinds of buildings?
The primary purpose of the Global Day of Prayer is to have a day of repentance and prayer where we will ask the Lord to forgive our sins, for the restoration of the church and for the healing of the nations. So I want all of you within the sound of my voice, I invite you, friends, to join your brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe this weekend by asking God to reclaim the nations of the world for His kingdom. Isaiah 40:9 is just as relevant today as it was in the days of the prophet: “You who do bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice; say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’”
For more information, just go online at globaldayofprayer.com and join us in doing damage to the kingdom of darkness with the light of Jesus Christ as we pray this weekend for the kingdoms of this world to become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. That’s the prayer that is going up to heaven from many, many mountain tops around the earth.
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JONI AND FRIENDS
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