In January we started the series Spiritual Principles from YWAM’s Early Days based on input from YWAM Leader Lynn Green and prayed about Seeking God (Loren Cunningham); Holy Living (Lynn Green), followed in February; and Lordship of Christ (Darlene Cunningham), in March. And then just days after praying about Lordship of Christ, YWAM leaders began sending students home due to the coronavirus pandemic and thus, we interrupted this series to pray for coronavirus related topics through July.

Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God. He is inviting you!

We are happy to invite you this month to pray into the final topic in our Spiritual Principles from YWAM’s Early Days series: Fear of God. Our video features Ramona Musch (YWAM Atlanta) discussing fear of the Lord with Miranda Heathcote (YWAM Spain). Ramona was associated with the first YWAM school in Switzerland over 50 years ago and says that she started to understand fear of the Lord by seeing how YWAM’s founders Loren and Darlene Cunningham were willing to follow God even if it meant being misunderstood by man. Ramona sums up fear of the Lord as being more concerned with what God thinks of you than what others think Please watch the 21:24 minute video here: https://youtu.be/2iP2AZ0hH8o. For a written summary of this video, please see below.

Please join us this month during The Invitation prayer day on Thursday, August 13 as we pray. If you only have a few moments, please pray that the Holy Spirit will touch the hearts of YWAMers as we pray and that we will better understand the Holy One and His will.

<figure class="aligncenter"><figcaption>Fear of God
Photo credit: www.butlerpartyof4.com </figcaption></figure>

Thank you for being part of The Invitation. We would love to receive stories from you regarding how you prayed. You can email us at prayer@ywam.org.

Additionally, we will soon be celebrating YWAM’s 60^th anniversary. Drop us a note to let us know how you plan to celebrate that milestone or to tell us your favorite YWAM story.

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Prepare to Pray:

Begin with a quick read of Daniel 1:1-20.

Read and discuss:

• Daniel 1:1-2
  • What emotions do you think the people of Israel had after these events took place?
• Daniel 1:3-5
  • What were the people of Israel to be taught?
  • How does this relate to the world today?
  • Why do you think they were to stand before the king at the end of three years?
• Daniel 1:6-8
  • Who was included in this group that were to be taught?
  • What did Daniel resolve? What ‘right’ did Daniel give up?
  • What might you resolve today? What ‘right’ might you give up?
• Daniel 1:9-14
  • How did God respond to Daniel taking this stand?
  • What do you think Daniel’s relationship with God was like?
  • What was the concern of the chief of the eunuchs?
  • Who did the chief of the eunuch’s fear?
  • What do you think the chief’s relationship with God was like?
  • What was Daniel’s response to that concern?
  • In whom and/or what do you think Daniel had confidence in making this statement?
  • How did the chief of the eunuchs respond?
• Daniel 1:15-16
  • What was the result?
  • Do you have any similar personal stories?
• Daniel 1:17
  • What did God provide for these youth?
  • What does God provide for us today?
• Daniel 1:18-20
  • They were now standing before the king as he had commanded 3 years ago:
  • What did the king see?
  • Do you think anyone was surprised by this? Who?
• Application:
  • What might you take from this story of Daniel and his friends?
  • How does this story relate to our topic Fear of God?
  • Can you think of any other stories in the Bible that reflect a healthy fear of God?
  • If so, what ones?

Daniel chapter three provides another story of Daniel’s friends that represents fear of God. Read it if you have time and discuss.

Resolve to be like Daniel and others who fear God, not man.

I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.

Daniel 6:26

Pray for YWAM:

• As you pray, be aware of His presence. Ask Him to keep you in the state of being aware of His presence even after you finish this time of prayer. (Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” ESV)
• Think of five characteristics of God. Write those down and thank Him. Ask Him to reveal other characteristics to you.
• Praise God for the ways He has used YWAM leaders because they feared the Lord. Praise Him for how He has directed you in this area.
• Ask the Lord to convict you of where you are more concerned with how others view you than how the Lord views you. Ask Him to take away the fear of man and replace it with proper fear of Him.
• Thank God for the grace He has given you and for the love He has for you, in spite of Him knowing everything you do and think.
• Ask God to teach you His ways. (Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. Psalm 86:11 ESV)
• Ask God to show you how to fear Him.
• Think about a particular aspect of His creation. Ask God to show you how big He is. (For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,^[a]in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:20 ESV)
• Pray to be in alignment with God’s Word.
• Pray for mentors who have more of a fear of God than you do.
• Ask God to show you the value of fearing of God.
• Thank God for His Son with whom you have a personal relationship. Thank Jesus, that you can trust Him with your life.

<figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><figcaption>Photo credit: kingjamesbibleonline.org</figcaption></figure>

Take Action

• Train yourself to daily, even minute by minute, focus on His presence. Focus on what is going on in the spiritual world, blocking out noise from the physical world.
• Read The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence.
• Think of one “right” in your life that you want to give up and take steps to make it happen.
• Put yourself in different settings: away from everyone in the woods, with very young children, large YWAM meeting, walking down the street, at a park, etc. Stop and look around you. Ask Him to show you how big He is. What characteristics do you see by observing His creation in different settings? Make a list and ponder it for several days.
• Find a mentor that displays fear of God. Be a mentor to someone else.
• Read None Like Him: 10 Ways God Is Different from Us (and Why That’s a Good Thing) and In His Image: 10 Ways God Calls Us to Reflect His Character, both by Jen Wilkin.

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