“24/7 IN 2007!

In May of 2007, the Uninterrupted Prayer Team will celebrate its 5th
anniversary – on the National Day of Prayer. According to experts, it
normally takes about five years for a new program or service in a
community to truly be accepted and to take hold. Well, that makes ’07
the year! Actually, we have been very blessed, because of the incredibly
faithful commitment of UP Team members. I realized recently that
when I add up the hours of prayer each week, I had been counting the
couples who pray together as one hour; but it is actually two hours. So,
as of this date, we have 151 out of 168 time slots filled and about 287
hours of prayer each week. Think about that: 287 hours of intercession
for our area, 287 hours of thanksgiving and praise and repentance –
under the umbrella of the UP Team. Add to that the many hours of
prayer of other faithful Christians in Stone and Taney Counties, and we
have something going on that is truly remarkable and highly pleasing to
God. But the goal of the UP Team is 24/7, to cover each hour of the
week; initially the goal is once, and eventually the goal is many times
deep for each hour. And you are the key! I am asking you to make a
“New Year’s Resolution” for 2007. Here it is:
1) If you are a member with an hour, please recommit to it;
2) If you are a member with an hour, please prayerfully consider
adding an hour;
3) If you are a member, please resolve to invite other intercessors
to join the UP Team. You would be approaching people who believe in
prayer, so no one would be offended. I recommend a goal of asking one
person a week; that would be 52 people a year – and from that will
surely come at least a few new members. Keep in mind, too, that if
people do not feel led right now to take an hour within a sector, they can
also join the “No Sector” group (about 60 people who commit to
regularly pray for the UP Team and its objectives – in particular the
spiritual transformation of our area). Also, when people join, they do
not have to take an open slot. If you would like a quantity of the UP
Team cards which explain the ministry, please let me know.
 4) If you receive this Newsletter as a friend of the UP Team but
are not a member, please pray about joining and taking an hour.
Members will be quick to tell you how richly God blesses folks who try
to commit to extended prayer;
5) Talk to prayer groups that you are aware of and ask them to
consider joining forces – retaining their identity but partnering with the
UP Team;
6) Invite me to churches to explain the UP Team – or if you feel
comfortable, do that yourself. For example, Pastor Chris Williams, an
UP Team member, invited me to First Presbyterian Church in Branson
on December 10, at all three services, to give a brief explanation of the
UP Team and invite people to join.
Let’s all adopt the “24/7 in 2007” as a spiritual objective and
thrust for the new year. To show the importance of focusing on prayer,
please read prayerfully and carefully the following reflection.

REFLECTION

For this Reflection, I would like to share extensively from an amazing

article in “Pray!” magazine. Actually, it is an excerpt from one of the
many books written by a mighty man of God, Brother Andrew. The
book is entitled “And God Changed His Mind.” “Some time ago I
heard two Christian women discussing the plight of hostages being held
by Middle Eastern terrorists. One said, “I feel sorry for them, but
really, this is God’s problem, not ours.” The other replied, “Well, that’s
how it looks, but we know God has His reasons for allowing these
things. We can be sure that nothing happens outside His will.” As I
listened, I felt indignation rising within me. I could barely control the
urge to say, “What’s the matter with you? You’re not helpless! God
has given you the power to change that situation! Why don’t you use it?
Why don’t you pray?” Those two devout women were steeped in a false
doctrine that has infected the thinking of an alarming number of
Christians in our time. I call it Christian fatalism. Without realizing it,
they had succumbed to a spiritual error that had all but neutralized
their effectiveness as believers. The truth is, their beliefs about ‘God’s
will’ would have fit very nicely into the Muslim religion, and into a
number of other fatalistic religions, too, like Hinduism and Buddhism.
In our determination to submit to the sovereign will of God, too many of
us have lost sight of a powerful truth: God never created us to be
puppets. He made us in His own image, endowing us with the ability to
make independent choices. We are empowered to challenge the powers
of evil that have been at war with God since the beginning of time. We
can, through our own faith and our prayers, lift the world off its hinges
– if only we will! ‘Take up my cause,’ Jesus is saying. ‘Look at what I
have done, and do more! I have given you the power, so go for it!’”
Now note here that Brother Andrew is not saying that whatever we
want we can get, if only we ask for it. No, what he is saying very
emphatically is that when we take up the spiritual armor and go into
battle through prayer, when we seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit so
that we pray for and as God wants us to, we become divinely chosen and
powerful instruments for changing hearts and changing the world. God
has a plan, to be sure; and that plan includes His faithful intercessors
through whom He has chosen His grace to flow. It is an awesome
privilege, and Brother Andrew hits the nail on the head; we should
never be fatalistic but always aware that right now, this moment, my
prayer in accord with the Holy Spirit can be a dynamic change agent
for my family, my community, my nation, the world. Let’s go on with
the book: “He is a sovereign God, and we can and should know His will
– and we should do it. But we must also remember that God’s plans for
us are not chiseled in concrete. Only His character and nature are
unchanging; His decisions are not! Moses understood this facet of
God’s character as few men ever have, and the Bible gives us plenty
examples to help us understand how we can relate to God the way he
did. In Exodus we read that the Lord said to Moses, ‘I have seen what a
stubborn, rebellious lot these people are…My anger shall blaze out
against them and destroy them all!’ Sounds pretty final, doesn’t it? A
finalist might have responded, ‘Oh, boy, we’re in for it now! It’s all
over!’ But Moses didn’t accept that. He begged God not to do it. And
the Exodus verses end with ‘So the Lord changed his mind and spared
them.’ Moses knew it was possible to change God’s mind, just as most
of the other heroes of the Bible did. Moses knew God, and as God’s
friend he understood that God’s plans could be changed. He was a
human being just like you and me, and if he could change God’s mind,
so can we! It happens all the time. Back in 1983 our organization,
Open Doors, called for seven years of prayer for the Soviet Union…
Millions had died as a result of genocide in Communist nations, and
hundreds of thousands were in prison for their faith. We decided to
take the offensive against Satan by attacking his strongholds. Many
Christians around the world joined us. We prayed particularly that the
barriers that had kept God’s Word out of Eastern Europe and Russia
would be removed and that Christian prisoners would be set free.
Within a year we began to see results. The winds of change began to
blow, and, finally, just under six years from the time we first began
praying, the walls between East and West began to crumble…Prison
doors began to open…In 1989, after more than 30 years of smuggling
Bibles behind the Iron Curtain, I challenged the Russians openly to
allow our organization to distribute a million Russian-language Bibles
to Soviet churches. Incredibly, they said yes. That is what happens
when we pray. Fatalism – Christian or otherwise – will never challenge
the powers that be…It should worry us that Islam is the fastest growing
religion on earth. The majority of the people on this planet today, in
fact, belong to the fatalistic non-Christian religions, and their numbers
are increasing at an alarming rate. And now the Christian Church is
being infected as well with the paralyzing virus of fatalistic apathy.
How can this be? It isn’t so hard to understand. There is no denying
the appeal of fatalism to people who long to be religious. The fatalist’s
attitude seems to reflect tremendous faith: ‘I refuse to question the will
of God,’ he will say with pious humility. But does he really mean that
whatever happens in the world is all right with him – including war,
famine, oppression, the breakdown of the family and society, the
exploitation of the innocent and weak, the degradation of all this is holy
and pure? ‘If God allows it, there must be a reason,’ he will say, ‘and I
can’t hope to understand God’s reasons with my small mind, so I accept
what he does by faith and ‘praise the Lord’ anyway.’ And ignorant
listeners will respond admiringly, ‘What faith!’ This kind of ‘faith’ has
no power, however, because it is based on a false premise. Call it what
you like – karma, destiny, fate, kismet – it amounts to the same thing. It
says that our duty is merely to ‘go with the flow’ of God’s program…
Fatalists can relax because they are no longer responsible for anything.
They don’t have to obey God or actively resist evil; they can simply ‘let
it be.’…The boundaries of evil are expanding every day and fatalistic
apathy is enabling those boundaries to grow because it offers no
resistance. But Christians must oppose evil; we were born for battle!…
If you learn how to discern when God’s mind is open to change, and if
you believe He is waiting for our prayers in order to defeat the enemy,
you will take up the sword of the Spirit and perform great exploits for
God, fulfilling His eternal purpose in ways nobody else can…Will you
subdue kingdoms through your prayers? Or will you fade into
obscurity without ever living up to your high calling in God? The
choice is yours.” Now, brothers and sisters, let’s apply this to spiritual
transformation in SW Missouri. This is the reason for striving for “24/7
in 2007” and for seeking to steadily increase the number of hours of
prayer. It is not about numbers in and of themselves, it is not about
being able to pat ourselves on the back and say “We did it;” no, it is all
about the amazing power of prayer, it is about God having established
His Kingdom and His Body in such a way that He moves mightily when
people pray mightily. The enemy is screaming in my spiritual ears right
now – as he will in yours as you read this – that this is foolish, that God
is sovereign, that our prayers are puny. And as he is screaming that, he
is also trembling, because he knows that if he is not successful in moving
us to back off, his days of influence in our area are numbered.
Remember the goal; it has two phases: First, the total spiritual
transformation of our area. That means the destroying of strongholds
that prevent such a transformation – such things as greed, lust, drugs,
materialism, abuse, violence, bigotry – and the bold and open
proclamation that Jesus Christ is Lord over the area, and then allowing
Him to be just that. We are not there, but we are much farther along
than most other areas; it would be a terrible thing to stop here, rest on
our laurels and proclaim spiritual transformation a reality when there
is much work to do. The second phase is for people to come from all
over the nation to our area and experience the impact of spiritual
transformation, to experience Branson and SW Missouri as a lighthouse
on a hill, as a beacon shining the in the darkness, and to then take this to
the east and the west, to the north and the south, and bring an
awakening to our entire nation. This sounds high and mighty; and,
folks, it is. It is because God is high and mighty, because God has
touched our area, because many, many people here know that God
wants to do something special. And prayer is always, always, always the
key. As our nation and our world sinks more deeply into sin and
materialsim, now is the time to stand up and be counted – through the
power of prayer as guided by the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER MOBILIZATION

Here are some of the prayer requests that I have gathered or been made
aware of since the last Newsletter: Please pray for Virginia Bingle, UP
Team member, whose husband Bob went to be with the Lord (and who
is now praying for the UP Team in heaven!)…for D. and for D. and for
J., their marriages…for the Presidential Prayer Team…for Ted
Haggard and for the search process for a new pastor there…for Ken,
marriage and direction…for Gary, recovery from meth addiction…for
all of Church Army, here and around the nation, and for Steve and
Diane Baughn and all the area Church Army staff as the Branson
ministry is becoming a role model for Church Army ministries around
the world…for peace in the Middle East and that all accept Jesus as
Messiah…for John, in a meth recovery program…for Carol, direction
and salvation…for Chuck, salvation…for The Spirit of America Hour,
direction and growth, and for Randy and Gail Baar, including praise
for Randy’s health improvement…for Don Gabriel, recipient of a
servant leadership award and who was recently in the hospital, still
terminal with cancer…for J. and J., financial needs and direction…for
Faith Bible College and for all Christian schools…for Phyllis, joining in
praise for answered prayer…for Dave, career direction and for his
son…for Bill Keyes, his building program…for Grant, Ron, Lois –
health…for Chris, undergoing discipling…for Peace Lutheran Church
and Pastor Emil, as they make some changes in worship…for the Angel
Food Ministry…for Sight & Sound, a multimedia Christian theater
coming in the future, with building going on now…for Catherine Evers
and all of the prayer requests that she faithfully passes along, and for
her personal needs also…for the Brooks Brothers, direction…for
Reflection of Christ ministry to homosexuals…for Branson Landing
and the dam (an UP member requested some actual or spiritual prayer
walking at those two locations)…for Mort, surgery and overall health…
happy birthday to Aaron, UP member (and all members with birthdays,
anniversaries, etc.)…for Gregory Thompson, healh and Asleep kNOw
More…for Kimily, health and her two boys…for Torchbearers, its
growing ministry to Africa and for Martin Niboh, the founder, his wife
and the Board and all staff..

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

Here is a resume: “1. My first job was working in an orange juice

factory, but I got canned. I couldn’t concentrate. 2. Then I worked in
the woods as a lumberjack, but I just couldn’t hack it, so they gave me
the axe. 3. Next, I tried working in a muffler factory, but that was too
exhausting. 4. After that, I tried to be a tailor, but I just wasn’t suited
for it – mainly because it was only a sew-sew job. 5. Then I tried to be a
chef; I figured it would add a little spice to my life, but I just didn’t have
the thyme. 6. So, I attempted to be a deli worker, but any way I sliced
it I just couldn’t cut the mustard. 7. My best job was a musician, but
eventually I found out I wasn’t noteworthy. 8. I studied a long time to
be a doctor, but I didn’t have any patience. 9. Next was a job in a shoe
factory; I really tried, but my sole wasn’t in it, I flapped my tongue too
much, and I just didn’t fit in. 10. I became a professional fisherman,
but I discovered that I couldn’t live on my net income. 11. I managed
to get a good job at a pool maintenance company, but the work was just
too draining. 12. I did get a job in a workout center, but they said I
wasn’t fit for the job. 13. I tried working as an historian, but there was
not future in it. 14. I enjoyed working at Starbucks for awhile, but I
quit eventually because every day was the same old grind. 15. I finally
found my inspiration while working at a tire retreading place. I
realized that when I needed to do was…”RETIRE!”

MORE ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

My apologies in advance; I just cannot resist this one: A cabbie picks

up a nun. She gets into the cab and the cab driver won’t stop staring at
her. She asks him why he is staring. He replies, “I have question to ask
you, but I don’t want to offend you.” She answers, “My son, you cannot
offend me. When you have been a nun as long as I have, you get a
chance to see and hear just about everything. I’m sure that there’s
nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive.” “Well, I’ve
had a fantasy for a long time about having a nun kiss me.” She
responds, “Well, let’s see what we can do about that: #1, you have to be
single, and #2, you must be Catholic.” The cab driver is very excited
and says, “Yes! I’m single and Catholic!” “OK,” the nun says, “pull
over.” He does and the nun rewards him with a wonderful kiss. But
when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying. “My dear
child,” asks the nun, “Why are your crying?” “Forgive me, but I’ve
sinned. I lied. I must confess, I’m married and I’m not a Catholic.”
The nun says, “That’s OK. My name is Kevin, and I’m on my way to a
costume party.”

STORY: THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church’s pastor
once again slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit, and gave a very
brief introduction of a childhood friend. With that, an elderly man
stepped up to the pulpit to speak: “A father, his son, and a friend of his
son were sailing off the Pacific coast. Suddenly, a fast approaching
storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so
high that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not
keep the boat upright and the two boys were swept into the ocean.” The
old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers
who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat
interested in his story. He continued. “Grabbing a rescue line, the
father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: To which
boy would he throw the other end of the line? He only had seconds to
make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian, and he
also knew that his son’s friend was not. As the father yelled out, ‘I love
you, son,’ he threw the line to his son’s friend. By the time he had
pulled the friend back to the boat, his son had disappeared beyond the
raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered.”
By this time the two teenagers were sitting straighter in the pew, waiting
for the next words to come out of the old man’s mouth. “The father
knew that his son would step into eternity with Jesus, and he could not
bear the thought of his son’s friend stepping into an eternity without
Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son. How great is the love of God,
that He should do the same for us.” After the service the two teenagers
went up to the old man and asked him why he told the story. They
challenged him by saying that it was a nice story but not realistic,
because what father would give up his son’s life in hopes that the other
boy would become a Christian. The old man replied, with a smile,
“Well, you’ve got a point there. It sure isn’t very realistic, is it? But
I’m standing here today to tell you that THAT story gives me a glimpse
of what it must have been like for God to give up His Son for me. You
see, I am the son’s friend.”

CONCLUSION

And that story really emphasizes the real meaning of Christmas. Jesus
came to die for us, and to rise for us, and to open the gates of heaven for
us. Christmas is the first step to Good Friday and then to Easter
Sunday. Christmas without Christ is meaningless. People who want to
just say “Happy Holidays” should perhaps just say “Merry _____Mas!”
Please go back and read the beginning article, “24/7 in 2007” and ask
the Holy Spirit to give you guidance. We are all in this together. My
cell phone, day and night, is (417) 331-1028. My e-mail at home is
bburt98@aol.com and at work is bburton@silverdollarcity.com.
Thank you for your faithfulness and your support and your
commitment to prayer and spiritual transformation

Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas and a safe and fulfilling 2007.

Bob Burton