When Brian Alarid’s daughter, Chloe, faced complex and unexplainable medical issues, his search for solutions and answers led Brian to turn to the Lord in desperation.
“Many told us they were praying for my daughter,” he said, “but when someone specifically said they were praying for Chloe—and they mentioned her by name—I was incredibly moved. And that experience of Chole’s illness not only caused me to start America Prays, but also to wonder what would happen if every person on the planet was prayed for by name.”
That was the story behind the story of an event hosted in Austin, Texas on September 15, where more than 300 leaders gathered for Bless Austin—an event hosted by Brian’s organization. After more than 18 months of pandemic social distancing and zoom calls, this in-person event brought leaders and pastors together, some of whom had only been meeting virtually.
The objective of the one-day conference was to help inspire and equip church leaders in Austin to take this vision of praying, sharing Jesus and providing care to the 2.2 million people in the Austin area—and, specifically, to help generate prayer, by name, for Austin residents, using the Bless Every Home app along with a suite of prayer and gospel sharing resources.
Keynote addresses from Brian Alarid, Mart Green, Dave Ferguson, John Burke, Craig Groeschel, Greg Stier and many others inspired attendees with a vision for prayer and evangelism. Attendees left with practical tools and resources to reach their city through praying, caring and sharing the love of Jesus.
I was able to attend as Director of Prayer Mobilization for American Bible Society, and it was wonderful to be reunited with long-standing friends and to meet many new individuals who are bolding leading prayer across their diverse networks.
Personally, I came away with many points of inspiration including:
- Prayer is a catalyst for unity. There are a lot of things that divide us today, and the Church can feel very fragmented. Yet, prayer is one of the few things that pulls people together. As shared throughout the conference, “Everybody can pray for somebody and, together, we can pray for everybody.” And Jesus tells us how powerful this prayer together can be, “if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven” (see Matthew 18:19).
- Prayer is a way to get personal with God and to get personal with people. One of the inspiring quotes from the conference was this: “Behind every name is a story and behind every story is a destiny.” This reminds me of the promise of Isaiah 43:1: “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.I have called you by name; you are mine.”
- Prayer is a powerful way people can be mobilized. People find fulfillment in contribution, not consumption. However, most churches and Christian programs are built just to have people consume them. Prayer is so much more. And a shared vision for prayer helps to move people from the sidelines to contribute and to “fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you” (see 2 Timothy 1:6).
- Prayer can be a proactive strategy. At the conference, Brian said, “We should take prayer from the last line of defense to the front line of offense.” It’s true! Too often, people only turn to prayer when things have gotten really bad. But prayer can be part of a proactive effort to reach our neighbors and cities. The proactivity strategy of prayer alongside ministry built the early church, as we see in Acts 6:4, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
- Finally, prayer is a means of experiencing God. Another theme that was developed at the conference is that “prayer is more than a conversation with God; it is an impartation from God.” The God of the universe, creator of the cosmos, wants to interact with us! This drives me in my role at American Bible Society: to help people experience the voice and goodness of God through prayer. Through corporate prayer, we collectively could taste and see the Lord is good (see Psalm 34:8).
Prayer and evangelism are not new ideas, of course.
But perhaps during this time of disunity, political polarization and social strain, prayer can be a unifying force in powerful new ways.
What would happen if everyone in the world was prayed for by name? What could God do if everyone in your neighborhood was prayed for by name? And we boldly turned our prayers into action by caring for and sharing the love of Jesus with those around us?
Here are 4 Ways to Get Involved:
BLESS Austin is a pilot city strategy, a model for pray-care-share ministry that you can bring to your city. You can get involved in the following ways:
- Partner with Pray Beyond: a global partnership initiative of believers, churches, ministries, networks, and businesses who are collaborating to pray for each person by name and share the love of Jesus with them.
- Download the Bless Every Home app to be a light in your neighborhood. Through this app, you will be guided in how praying for, caring for, sharing the love of Jesus with people by name!
- Download the Life in 6 Word app to receive an interactive and engaging way to naturally initiate spiritual conversations. Use this to share a clear message of the hope we have in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
- Join PrayerU, an online school of prayer from Harvest Prayer Ministries. This platform encourages churches to become houses of prayer and helps individuals grow in becoming people of prayer through robust courses for small groups, individuals and church communities.
BLESS Austin reminded us that collectively, we can unify in reaching a city through prayer and mission. It connected praying individuals and leaders with practical tools. And in praying for the global church, it offered a prototype model asking the question: could great collaboration inspire us in fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission? I believe the answer is exponentially, yes.
