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Intention
God will do great things on behalf of his people when they pray.

Scripture

“So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore, he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.” — 2 Samuel 5:20

“So they went up to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there. Then David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore they called the name of that place Baal Perazim. And when they left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.” 1 Chronicles 14:11-12

Reflection
King David, who was the prophetic forbear of Jesus Christ, said, “Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things!” Jesus said in Mathew 19:26, “With God all things are possible.” This is the last day of GO21 and the Canberra Declaration’s 31 Days of Prayer and Outreach during the month of May.

This has been a wonderful time to share the good news of Jesus in cooperation with the global Go Decade initiative. Through this partnership, the Canberra Declaration team has seen tens of thousands of gospel presentations released across Australia. We have given away 1,100 copies of the ‘Power of the Gospel: Ten Ways to Share the Good News’. We have seen many people come to Christ. Soli Deo Gloria!

Over this month, we have encouraged people to pray and reach out to five people with the gospel and have asked them to ask their friends to do the same. Every night for 31 days we have gathered to pray that through this global prayer and evangelism network, we could reach one billion people with the message of God’s love in Jesus during May. We have also been praying for revival and transformation for Australia.

The challenge for every believer to reach five people with the message of God’s love in a month is well within the realm of possibility. However, the last two prayer points — reaching a billion people with the gospel; and revival and transformation for Australia — are in the realm of the impossible. But what did Jesus say? With God all things are possible.

That is why we are praying. David faced the same impossible situation when the Philistines came up against him. Their numbers far exceeded his capability. The good news is that David was a man of prayer and a man of praise.

You see, it all started when the Philistines heard that David was anointed as king over Israel. The Philistines were not happy about this. Neither is the devil happy that Jesus has called you and I to be kings and priests at this time in His story. Therefore, do not be surprised at his attack against you!

But back to the story… The Philistines went up towards Jerusalem to search for David, deploying themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. Rephiam means giants. They were only about four kilometres outside of Jerusalem. (The devil still hates Jerusalem, which is why we need to pray for Jerusalem).

And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. The stronghold here was the Cave of Adullam, where David went to hide from King Saul and his army when they were trying to kill him. From this cave, David wrote Psalm 57, which is a prayer to God his refuge, for safety from his enemies:

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You, And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by. I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me. (Psalms 57:1-2)

So let us finish this month of prayer by praying for the impossible to happen in our nation and in our world. We need our own Baal Perazim (breakthrough) at this time. Be of good cheer my brothers and sisters. I believe we are going to see it!

Prayer
Today we pray the prayer of David: “I will cry out to God Most High, to God who performs all things for me. Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You, and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge.” Oh God, we live in troubled times, but you are God of all times at all times. “Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things!” We cry out to you because you are the Lord of the breakthrough. You are the God who only does wondrous things. We pray for the release of the gospel to a billion people at this time. Hear our prayer for revival and transformation in Australia. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Prayer Points for May 2021
1. Pray for Revival and Transformation for Australia
2. Pray for 1 Billion people worldwide to hear the Gospel
3. Share the Good News of Jesus with 5 people

Warwick Marsh has been married to Alison Marsh since 1975 and they have five children and nine grandchildren; he and his wife live in Wollongong in NSW, Australia. He is a family & faith advocate, social reformer, musician, TV producer, writer and public speaker. Warwick is a leader in the Men’s and Family Movement, and he is well known in Australia for his advocacy for children, marriage, manhood, family, fatherhood and faith. Warwick is passionate to encourage men to be great fathers and to know the greatest Father of all, the Father in whom “there is no shadow of turning.” He also blogs at Just a Man.

We invite you to join the daily 1-hour Zoom video National Prayer Call every night:
DATES: 1st–31st May 2021
TIME: 8pm-9pm AEST
ZOOM URL LINK: https://zoom.us/j/776881184
ZOOM MEETING ID: 776881184
See Zoom tutorial here.

Daily devotions brought to you by the Canberra Declaration.