808

It’s Valentine’s Day, and I have fallen in love. Actually, I fell in love last night at church – with a plan.

For some reason the youth team took over the grownup service. Just after 8 p.m. one of the youth pastors stopped his message and said that at 8:08 we would “pray for souls.” It was something they were teaching the youth to do, to stop whatever they were doing every night at 8:08 and pray for lost souls.

He pulled out his iPhone and said his alarm was set to go off at 8:07 every night as a reminder. He said he gets text messages from some of the youth saying things like, “Dude, it’s 8:13 and I’m still praying!”

He went on to compare the Christian prayer life to the Muslim prayer life. He pointed out that Muslims actually have a “prayer culture.” Lou Engle said the same thing when he spoke in Tallahassee last month. So our youth team began the 808 prayer plan as a way to encourage a prayer culture among the young people in our church.

For me, it was love at first sight. I quickly set the alarm on my cell phone as a reminder. When that alarm goes off each night I plan to stop whatever I’m doing, gather anyone around who wants to, and pray for lost souls at 8:08 p.m.

I love how this puts the Lord first. Whatever you are doing, at 8:08 comes the reminder – God is first. Off goes the TV. Down goes the radio. Turn your back on the computer. Put down the magazine. Stop all conversation and take time to pray.

And we live in an age where it’s never been so easy to remember. Almost everyone carries a little personal alarm clock – their cell phone. Just set the alarm and you will never forget to pray at 8:08.

Just think of us all praying at the same time! There we are, all going about our business, then 8:08 hits. Suddenly we are unified as the body of Christ, calling out to the Lord in one voice, interceding for the lost souls of the world. As 8:08 hits each time zone, it becomes a wave of prayer sweeping across the nation!

Can you imagine a city commissioner excusing himself from a meeting. “Where’s he going?” “Oh, it must be 8:08. He always prays at 8:08.”

{sidebar id=1}Picture yourself at a friend’s house. Your cell phone starts beeping. “What’s that,” they ask. “It’s 8:08. Everyone at my church stops to pray at 8:08. You wanna join me?”

Can you see this in action at a large community festival? At 8:08, all of a sudden some people form a circle and pray. Someone asks about it. “Yeh, we do that every night at 8:08, take a moment to pray.”

Maybe you are paying bills and feeling stressed out. A dark cloud settles over you, but then you hear the alarm. It’s 8:08. Time to forget about all that and focus on the lost souls of the world. What a great way to clear your head and see things from a different perspective, an eternal perspective.

First Timothy 2:1 indicates that we should pray for everyone. Verse 3 says this pleases God. Verse 4 says He “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

If God wants everyone to be saved, and He wants us to pray for everyone, when are we doing it?

Think of the lost souls you know. Think of the impact one day when you tell them, “I pray for you every single night at 8:08. I even have my alarm set so I never forget to pray for you.” What an awesome thing to do for someone!

It’s so simple, yet the world will change as we do it. James 5:16 says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

I love the idea of creating a prayer culture – in our homes, in our churches, and even out in our communities. That means instead of treating prayer haphazardly, we elevate it to a place of importance, a place of preeminence in our lives.

Do you have a plan for this? If not, then consider the 8:08 plan. You will be joining me and many others who are latching onto this great idea.

It’s so simple. Go ahead and set your cell phone alarm to remind you.

We will change the world as we pray for lost souls every night at 8:08.

Comments?

E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.

This article originally published on February 14, 2008.

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