We Are The People

John 20:1-7

Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. ² Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”³ Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. ⁴ So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. ⁵ And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷ and the ^[a]handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.

Good evening and welcome to the Sunday Night Edition of “We are the People” Prayer for America.  Every Sunday we bring together the hearts of intercessors that choose to invest a minimum of 15 minutes in prayers of agreement between the hours of 6:00p.m. and 9:00p.m. using the focus point listed below as a guide. May God bless you for your concern for America’s future expressed in prayer tonight.  We encourage you to join us in prayer daily and invite others to join us.

Easter arrived as prophesied: “Three days and Jesus will destroy death and come out of the grave.” The Son of God followed the script perfectly.

Many things have been found in ancient burial sites. Silver, gold, jewels, robes, personal weapons like swords, etc. But it wasn’t what was in the tomb that is most important concerning the Easter story – the physical body of Jesus was missing. Oh yes, there were rumors: Jesus didn’t die, he simply passed out and the coolness of the tomb revived him. Only thing is, He  had to push away a  2 ton stone, then overpower two Roman soldiers guarding the tomb. Some contend the women went to the wrong tomb. Other said enemies stole the body. Listen, if they had stolen it, they would have produced it to provide evidence that Jesus was not alive.

Yes, the body was missing from the borrowed tomb that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea but there were some things in the tomb: There were linen cloths, a handkerchief and I suppose there were the few spices that Nicodemus had brought to keep the odor down.  

What was left in the tomb was evidence that some things beside death had been defeated through the power of the cross and resurrection. The linen cloths and handkerchief declared that…

Prayer Focus #1: Human government lies broken in the tomb. Rome and all its splendor could not hold back the power of the risen Son of God. Government is powerless and broken in the face of Jesus Christ. Pray that the church in America will understand that the power of government and attempts to stifle the voices of righteousness will not prevail. Truth always wins.

Prayer Focus #2: Humanism was defeated by the power of the resurrection. Pray that people in our great country will see that Jesus is more than a great teacher of humanistic ideals, morals or a warrior statesman. Jesus is the Savior, Lord, and Great Overcomer in this life and the one to come.

Prayer Focus #3: Pleasure and materialism was broken and crushed. Pray that the church in America will understand our greatest goal is to fulfill the Great Commission bringing people to Christ, not to make them rich and comfortable.

HAPPY EASTER!