Rousing Her Radiance: Praying and Fasting for the Church
Author: Andrew Comiskey
September 04, 2023
Rousing Her Radiance: Praying
and Fasting for the Church
October 11th-November
19th, 2023
‘I promised you to one
husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him’ (2
Cor. 11:2).
Husband and wife. Bridegroom
and bride. Lover and beloved. Jesus and Church.
Spousal imagery runs
through Scripture like a crystal stream, reminding us of who He is and who we
are. Self-discovery requires Another and others. We know ourselves as male and female
through the reflection of our sexual counterpart. Though broken, the divine
image in humanity still represents our Creator and Redeemer (Gen. 1:26-27). He
is preparing His Church to receive Himself (Eph. 5:26-27). That requires the
sexual clarity and integrity of every Christian.
Our 40-day prayer and
fast together will reflect on the meaning of our sexual humanity, the Church’s
responsibility to guide our understanding, and the perils of misunderstanding.
Most North American denominations have divided over LGBTQ+ rights, and now the
Roman Catholic Church faces a similar challenge as the ‘synod on synodality’ (2021-2024)
meets throughout October in Rome to discuss, among many things, what ‘radical
inclusion’ of LGBTQ+ identified persons means for the RCC. The global gathering
of 370 persons will inform a document Pope Francis will write by fall 2024.
We will pray daily for
churches to be faithful to Jesus. We will especially cry out for global
decision-makers who either encourage chastity or sins against it. Daily
readings will illuminate how truth, grace and Jesus’ transforming power
liberate radical wholeness and shed light on how a broken Bride can be faithful
to Her Bridegroom.
Our impassioned Spouse
loves us into chastity. For 40 days, we will cry out for Her to blaze radiantly
like a torch to the nations (Isa. 62:1-2) in a confusing age.
Please join the DSM
staff as we pray together daily at 3pm CST, starting on October 11th.
Sign up
to receive a daily, digital devotional prayer guide. Together, we will
rouse Her radiance and help prepare a Bride fit for her Bridegroom.
‘I have posted watchmen
on your walls, O Jerusalem, they will never be silent day or night. You who
call upon the Lord, give yourselves no rest and give Him no rest, till He
establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of all the earth’ (Is. 62:6-7).
“Father, we thank You
for Jesus who established the Church on a Rock against which hell will not
prevail (Matt. 16:18). We pray for every Christian leader to build on Her firm
foundation of sexual clarity and integrity. Father, unmask our common enemy who
deceives and divides Christians over LGBTQ+ issues. Unite us in one Spirit. As
weak members of Christ, we ask for truth to guide our pursuit of sexual
wholeness, for grace to sustain it, and for spiritual power to transform us.
May we reflect the chaste radiance of Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18) as we ‘shine like
stars in the universe, holding out the word of life’ (Phil. 2:15-16) to a lost
and hurting world.”
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