The Seventh-day Adventist Church will hold 40 Days of Prayer, a revival and reformation prayer initiative, May 3-June 11, 2022, ahead of the upcoming General Conference (GC) Session in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.

Jonathan Walter, media and communications manager for the GC Ministerial Association and Revival and Reformation Initiative, shared that long-term prayer emphases have prefaced the Adventist Church in business session since 2015, where the church prayed together for 100 days leading up to GC Session in San Antonio, Texas.  

Another prayer initiative was planned prior to the postponed 2020 Session, and instead of rescheduling the event, the church kept it and adjusted the prayer focus to include 100 days of not only praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and personal revival but also for the health crisis. Through the ages, Christians have found that in times of uncertainty and turmoil, peace can be found in the presence of God.

“More than ever before, we, as a global movement, need to refocus our attention on personal and corporate revival for mission,” Walter said. “A wave of challenges threatens to overwhelm us as we face a post-pandemic world — armed conflict, social opposition, and crises in the political and natural world. We must be firm in mission and refocused on the work at hand. It is vital that we seek the converting and reviving presence of the Holy Spirit, asking Him to do in and through us a work which only He can accomplish; pleading for deeper consecration and a heart in tune with His will — both in our personal circle and for our ministries.”

Several church leaders and lay members authored the 40 Days of Prayer materials, including Walter, Mark Finley, Ron Clouzet, Jerry Page, Ted Wilson, Frank Fournier, and others. Materials are written with the intention that participants will catch the joy of service, experience personal revival, and find purpose in times of crisis.

The Revival and Reformation initiative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church seeks to cultivate a deeper prayer experience within Adventism by encouraging regular personal prayer and powerful corporate prayer experiences; through the Believe His Prophets Bible reading plans and writings of Ellen White; by telling stories of transformation and personal encounters with God; and by providing inspirational, biblical resources intended to help each church member to grow.

The original version of this story was posted by Adventist News Network.