Prayer, Pursuing God’s Imaginably More

NEW YORK - Feb. 9, 2015 - PRLog -- From lowering blood pressure to aiding in recovery from surgery, prayer is recognized as a valuable practice even in the secular world. Dr. Mac Pier was instrumental in the formation of the New York City united prayer movement, Concerts of Prayer Greater New York (http://www.copgny.org/) in 1988, and is the current founder of The New York City Leadership Center (http://www.nycleadership.com/)and their annual Movement Day (http://www.movementday.com/) congress.  He has witnessed first-hand what prayer can do for the individual, as well as for cities. Pier’s mission is to see the great global cities of the world transformed by the Gospel, and he believes that prayer is a fundamental pre-requisite if that mission is to be realized.

In a recent article (http://macpiernyclc.com/2015/01/16/pursuing-gods-imaginably-more/#more-126) on the blog Collaborations (http://www.macpiernyclc.com), Pier reflects on a few key events of the past year that all point to the possibilities that exist when we pray. He issues a challenge to Christian leaders in cities everywhere to pursue God’s “imaginably more” through prayer.

“This past September, I had the opportunity to witness the power of prayer in a Pentecostal Church in Gothenburg, Sweden.  Much of the country is greatly under churched.  Yet, in this one congregation, some 450 Iranians have been baptized in the past two years. This is a great example of God rearranging people in the world to accomplish a greater purpose.  More Muslims have converted to Christianity in the past 15 years than in the past 1500 years combined.  Christians have been praying.

In watching the emerging interest from diverse cities around the world in Movement Day we are witnessing many “immeasurably more” moments unfold. These moments are the results of a twenty-five year old concert of united prayer (Concerts of Prayer) in New York City.

·       In Columbus, Ohio, more than 1000 leaders gathered to pray on a Sunday night this past September.  Being evenly represented by African-Americans and Anglos, it was a great sign of hope for a globally influential city with a world-class university, state capital, and thriving business community.

·       Early in 2015, more than three hundred pastors and leaders gathered for the 24^th annual Pastor’s Prayer Summit of Greater New York.

·       February 1, 2015 will mark the 20^th anniversary of The Lord’s Watch – a daily prayer vigil that has knit churches together for Greater New York.

·       In Dallas, TX, A Prayed 4 City, was launched in January 2013.  One year later over 1400 leaders gathered for the first Movement Day Greater Dallas event, described by many as the most diverse gathering of its type in memory.

God’s greatest passion for our cities is to see His people come together in visible unity.  The most effective way to do this is to pray together. Prayer accelerates trust geometrically and more quickly than any other initiative in a city.  It grounds us in a true sense of proportion to who God is and who we are.

What gives prayer real power, imaginably more power, is the simplicity of agreement on what we believe God wants to do in our cities.  As we love our cities, love the church in all of its expression, and pray together, God will do immeasurably more.”

You can read more about the leadership initiatives of The New York City Leadership Center by visiting www.nycleadership.com and by subscribing to their blog Collaborations (http://macpiernyclc.com/).