Week of Prayer: Praying with Confidence

Is there a secret to effective prayer? Not really. Christ gave the key to the answer to effective prayer in what most know as The Lord’s Prayer. The Bible also offers encouragement and explanation concerning effective prayer throughout the New Testament — those passages are the reason the Assemblies of God has chosen “Praying with Confidence” as the theme for the 2017 Week of Prayer.

The annual Week of Prayer is designed to help ministers and their congregations give God the “first fruits” of the New Year. It also serves to focus attention on the One who is to be at the center of every Christian’s daily life. Officially held the first full week of the year, the Week of Prayer can be held any week that is convenient for a church.

“For months now, there’s been an overwhelming sense across our Fellowship and in multiple denominations that God has something special in store for 2017,” says George O. Wood, general superintendent. “I believe nothing is more vital to seeing God move than dedicating a week of prayer to Him — a week that will hopefully result in a lifetime of prayer for many.”

Each day of the Week of Prayer has a special emphasis, including: I Can Pray with Faith in Jesus, I Can Pray More Effectively, I Can Pray with Authority, I Can Pray in the Spirit, and three more. Free downloadable support materials, including a bulletin insert, email header, social media art, presentation slides, bulletin covers, and posters are available online on the Week of Prayer page.

In addition to free materials, a new book, Praying with Confidence, is now available to complement the Week of Prayer emphasis. Written by well-known church planter and prayer warrior Jeff Leake, the book is referred to by one pastor as a “prayer guide” as it takes readers on a 31-day journey in developing a discipline of confident prayer.

Dan Van Veen

Dan Van Veen is news editor of AG News. Prior to transitioning to AG News in 2001, Van Veen served as managing editor of AG U.S. Missions American Horizon magazine for five years. He attends Central Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri, where he and his wife, Lori, teach preschool Sunday School and 4- and 5-year-old Rainbows boys and girls on Wednesdays.