Devotion: Let’s Courageously Raise Our Banner!
“Raise a banner on a bare hilltop, shout to them; beckon to them to enter the gates of the nobles.” Isaiah 13:2 (NIV)
If you want to get someone’s attention across a crowded room or in a public place, what do you do? Do you stand calmly and wait for them to see you through the mass of bodies and noise? Do you turn your back or find a chair to sit in? No, you don’t! You stand on tiptoes (especially me at five-foot-two), wave your arms around, and raise your voice. You make your presence known to get their attention. If you have something in your hand, you might even wave it about, like a flag, like a banner.
In our world today, we must stand atop the bare hilltops of our communities and wave the banner of the Root of Jesse. We must hold high the banner of victory that is ours in Christ Jesus. Especially now, we cannot take a seat and wait idly for someone to notice our faith. We must flag people down unashamedly with the Good News of Jesus and beckon them to the only solid thing in the universe: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
When crisis and uncertainty land in a person’s life, many concerns and distractions fall away leaving bare her deepest heart hungers. Right now, in our world, women are starting to connect with those heart hungers. They don’t even know what they are craving, but an empty growling has started within them. They are looking for answers. WE have the answer, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Take courage in your certainty about who Jesus is and the eternal life He offers each and every person on this planet! Have courage in the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before and stand with you now! Find your courage in God’s Word that tells you, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b NIV)
Courage is not holding your banner of truth without shaking hands. Courage is raising your banner of truth with heart pounding and upper lip sweating, knowing under Whose banner you stand!
Discussion questions:
- Whose life story in the Bible gives you the most courage?
- In what ways can you wave God’s banner of truth for all to see?
- What things steal your courage to wave your faith?
- Who is someone in your life that gives you courage?
Cara Day
Director of Marketing & Communications
Prepare for Prayer
During this season of social distancing due to the coronavirus, seek out others that you can connect with in prayer from a distance. Consider using a conference call line like www.FreeConferenceCall.com or video conference like Zoom. Need help? Please contact: [email protected]
This season may be hard for us if we are unable to connect in person for celebrations like Mother’s Day, Graduations, etc. Much like we might decorate for one of these festivities, let’s prepare our hearts for prayer by raising a beautiful canopy of praise to our Great God. Worship can change our hearts.
Our focus for this month is: Let’s Raise Our Banner
Read: Isaiah 13:2 NIV
“Raise a banner on a bare hilltop, shout to them; beckon to them to enter the gates of the nobles.”
Pray: Heavenly Father, we raise a banner to You by praising Your Holy name in worship and adoration. May it be a sweet offering to You, O God.
Thank God:
- That our worship flows from the love that He has first poured out on us.
- For His character that is like a tapestry of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit because of Jesus Christ’s work on the cross for our sins.
- For the new opportunities that we can have during COVID-19 to reach out to others from a distance in both word and deed.
- That when we raise a banner in His name, we can already know that He has won the battle for us in Christ Jesus.
Pray for New Outreach Opportunities
Read: Psalm 90:17
“And may the Lord our God show us His approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!”
Pray: O gracious God, we ask for Your favor as we raise a banner of prayer covering over our nation and outreach efforts this month, and beyond. We long for women to come to faith in You during this COVID-19 pandemic. We know that whoever finds You finds new life and favor with You God. We ask that You might bless the work of our hands and hearts so that women may hear the Good News and come to faith in Jesus!
Pray:
- That we would take courageous steps of faith in loving women in new ways.
- That we would raise our banner of faith to the One who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and can heal our land, and flatten the curve of the coronavirus.
- Through Jesus Christ we would give testimony to the One who changes lives for all eternity.
Sharing Your Faith
Read: Hebrews 10: 35-36a
“So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will.”
Pray: O faithful Father, please give us safety and boldness to be your witnesses of God’s love for all that do not know Him yet. Help us to listen to You and continue in the good work You have called us too.
Pray for:
- Obedience to reach out to women where they are, as they are in our communities.
- Confident trust in the Lord that many women are anxious and fearful and open spiritually. Please help us to rise to reach out in new ways.
- Endurance, unity, and connection to pull off new ways of loving women to Christ and to use that bond as a pathway to draw “lost” women to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Pray for our Nation and Leaders
Read: Psalm 119:105- 106
“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. I’ve promised it once, and I will promise it again: I will obey your righteous regulations.”
Pray: Father, please help our nation and its local leaders to make courageous decisions that are on the pathway of God, and for the good well being of the people they represent in these unique and challenging times of COVID-19.
Pray for:
- Our nation and world leaders to be illuminated by truth from God.
- Christian leaders to stay on the path that the Lord shows them according to His Word.
- Leaders that do not know God personally, that they might seek Him and raise a banner in the powerful name of Jesus Christ.
Pray for the Stonecroft Family
Read: John 4:23-24
“But the time is coming—indeed it is here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Pray: Holy God, as we raise a banner in Your name, we want to encounter You as our living God during these hard times of illness and loss in our country.
Pray for:
- All Stonecroft volunteer leaders and planning team members to raise a banner in His matchless Name that is above all names.
- Stonecroft friends & family that may have tested positive for COVID-19. Pray for quick healing in Jesus’ name.
- Women to draw near to Him so that they can serve out of an overflow of God’s gracious love.
- With thanksgiving, we praise God that we can raise a banner because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our behalf.
Prayer for:
Meryl Bishop – Stonecroft’s National Prayer Consultant
- Continued prayer for Meryl’s neighbors. That the Lord will “water” the seeds that have been sown and that He will continue to give openings for Meryl to share about Him from a safe distance.
- That He will guide Meryl as she facilitates Stonecroft’s weekly prayer calls on Wednesdays.
- That Stonecroft women will experience a Spirit of prayer in their lives and growth in prayer throughout our ministry.
Pray for Stonecroft leaders such as Stonecroft Regional Administrators, District Consulting Coordinators, Regional Speaker Trainers, Regional Reps, Area Reps, Chairs, Prayer Consultants, and all outreach leaders that they will be encouraged to worship God by raising His banner, so that we might see women come to know our great God in new ways!
Pray for our international partners that they would also raise a banner in the name of Christ in these challenging times.
Share Personal Requests
Pray for one another’s needs and remember to raise a powerful prayer banner over all these requests.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank You for this Prayer Connection time. As we celebrate spring and new life that we see bursting forth around us, we pray that as we raise You as our banner, that we might see a harvest of souls because of Jesus Christ our Lord, and gracious Savior. Amen.