Committing to pray for our neighbors

As we wrap up the month of October, we are anticipating our Annual Meeting in Abilene, November 16-18. I hope you are making plans to come and to bring others with you. If you have not already done so, you can pre-register here.

I hope you are also praying so that everything we do in Abilene honors God, builds up his people and advances the mission. As I read through the Gospels these days, I am reminded how often Jesus went away to pray in spite of how demanding his ministry schedule was. It is no wonder that his disciples wanted to learn prayer from him.

This past week, I convened a group of pastors, ministry leaders and staff members to talk about prayer. We were encouraged by what we heard God is doing and how he is calling his people to pray. We were also challenged by the need to call all Texas Baptists to prayer.

Interestingly, and only by God’s design, I had the opportunity to preach at First Baptist Church, Lorena, Texas, where Heath Kirkwood is pastor. He had asked me to preach on the scheduled message from their current series on the book of Ezra. My assignment was to preach about the need for confession and repentance.

In both the biblical record and the history of awakenings, when God’s people seek restoration, they begin with confession and repentance. When we realize our dire need for forgiveness and  God’s grace, we posture ourselves to receive what God has prepared for us.

At our annual meeting, I plan to share with you an update on our GC2 Strong initiative. You will hear me say that the problem we seek to address is “lostness.” Millions of people in Texas need Jesus. Millions of people in the U.S. need Christ. Thousands of people groups around the world need to worship the one true God.

Having a strategy to cooperate together in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission is important. Yet, nothing we do without the presence and power of God’s Spirit will be effective. All of our efforts must be undergirded with prayer, not just as a means to get something done but as the way to submit to God’s will, to see His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Among the many aspects of individual and corporate prayer we can be a part of, what would it look like to pray by name for every single person in Texas? Even if a fraction of our 5,300 churches or our 2 million+ church members commit to pray for 50 of their neighbors, we could accomplish that in less than a year.

What would it look like for our churches outside of Texas to pray for the people in their communities or even their cities by name? It is doable!

Why would we want to do so? There are two kinds of people in our cities, state and country. There are those who are lost and need to experience the saving power and love of Christ. And there are those who know Jesus and need to experience the presence of Christ to live with him, for him and on mission with him.

We can pray for the salvation of the lost, and we can pray for the spiritual awakening of the saved. We believe God can change hearts and lives. We understand that people will not respond to our message or ministry unless the Spirit prepares their hearts. So we pray.

If God’s heart is for the lost, when we pray for them, we align ourselves with God’s heart. Yes, God uses prayer to change those for whom we pray. But, just as often and just as importantly, God uses prayer to change us. When the hearts of pastors and parishioners are in tune with God’s heart, we will experience God’s presence in a new and fresh way.

Would you consider joining other Texas Baptists in praying for the lost in our cities and state(s) in 2026? Stay tuned for more details and a tool we will share with you at Annual Meeting that can facilitate this.

But don’t wait until then to start praying! Let’s pray from now until Abilene!