075 - Pray on MLK

Letter from the Editor 
When Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel joined Dr. Martin Luther King in 1965’s march from Selma to Montgomery, he was asked upon his return if they had found time to pray. He answered, “I prayed with my feet.” Today’s Briefing lays out a strategy of how we can do the same. I hope you’ll mark 8/8 on your calendar and begin to pave the way through intercession for this very strategic and important rallying cry.  

-- Cheryl Amabile 

PRAY ON MLK

“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand 
before me in the gap on behalf of the land...” 
Ezekiel 22:30

A few weeks ago, Jonathan Tremain Thomas, our friend of many years and the founder of Civil Righteousness Movement, visited Colorado Springs to help lead a solemn assembly with Contend Global. Jonathan, also known as JT, came to us from Minneapolis, testifying of the “awakening” that is happening there on the streets amidst the pain, violence and racial tension. He also came with a sober warning that has become a clear call to action.

Earlier in June, Jonathan had a dream in which he was shown that President Trump must not deploy troops into the cities until the Church has first been deployed. JT understood that the deployment of federal troops without the engagement of spiritual troops would allow violence to escalate, as anarchists have been waiting for an excuse to exchange molotov cocktails for semi-automatic weapons and grenades. To the contrary, the dream implied that if the Body of Christ was deployed into the streets and into the courtrooms of heaven, there could be a different result. 
 
Along with this warning, JT brought a strategy. It was first given to us back in Detroit, Michigan prior to TheCall on 11/11/11. Our team spent 44 days together with JT in the inner city of Detroit in 2011. There, on Eight Mile Road, the physical and psychological barrier between the region’s black and white residents, we were led to form a multi-ethnic “wall” of silent prayer. A few years later, Jonathan was thrust into the center of the conflict in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting of Michael Brown. Once again, he and his intercessory teams filled the gap between heaven and earth and often between protestors and police. Standing shoulder to shoulder - black and white, Latino and Asian - the gospel of peace was being made manifest, not just to men, but to “rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places” (Eph 2:14). This wall of unity also testified to the barrier that has been removed between Jew and Gentile (all ethnos), making us one new man in the very body of Jesus our Messiah. 
 
“But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.”  Eph 2:13-14

In recent weeks, Civil Righteousness mobilized a 21-day season of fasting and prayer while encouraging groups across the nation to raise up “The Wall” in their own cities and towns. Adam Cox, a pastor in Kansas City, invited JT to help him spearhead a ten-mile chain of prayer involving over 6000 people along Troost Avenue. It was a dramatic display of peace and unity that had a visible effect on the city. However, as violence and clashes continue in multiple cities, it is clear that more needs to be done. 
 
For the past 60 years, no one has effectively filled the vacuum left by Martin Luther King, Jr., whose non-violent message of love and unity harnessed the groans of the masses. There were other voices at the time who were promoting violence and separatism as the only effective means for change. These voices, however, remained on the fringe while a vision of “the table of brotherhood” took center stage. Today, those fringe ideologies have claimed a more prominent place in the hearts and minds of a generation still troubled by cycles of oppression and division. It’s time for the sound of hope and biblical truth to resound from the rooftops. 
 
In response to this burgeoning need, Jonathan and his team began envisioning another  initiative to beckon the Body of Christ into the crisis. He shared with us in Colorado Springs how they were considering a plan to mobilize The Wall to every MLK street throughout America (and the globe) on one day, August 8th. 
 
When Chris Berglund heard Jonathan’s plan, he was struck by the date 8/8 as he had just dreamed the night before of a mountainous path involving those numbers. In his dream, there was a fiery volcano under these mountains that was attempting to erupt, and the travelers had to grasp each other’s hands to be able to stay on the path without falling. After hearing Chris’ dream, Lou Engle’s next thought was to look up the date to see what other significant historic events might align with it. Amazingly, we found that the first street to ever be named after Martin Luther King, Jr, was MLK Drive in Chicago, Illinois, which was dedicated on August 8, 1968 - four months after his assassination in Memphis. 
 
Needless to say, this swirl of confirmations filled our hearts with faith that his initiative was inspired from on high. Since then, the strategy to “Pray on MLK” has been set into motion for the 8th of August, just a few weeks from now. Along with JT, Lou Engle and other leaders, we are urging everyone to run into the gap and join in this public demonstration of prayer as we cry out together for the mercy of God to be manifest in our nation.

Would you partner with us to help lead one of these gatherings in your city?  For more information and/or to register as a local director, go to prayonmlk.org.
 

Pray on MLK
8 - 8 - 20
6:01 PM - The Wall (silent prayer protest)
7:01 PM - Worship, Prayer, & Prophetic Declaration 

In the meanwhile, pray with us for word to run swiftly and for believers across the nation to take their place on the walls of their cities. We believe the rallying call for 8/8 is not unlike the decree that Esther and Mordecai released in Esther 8:8 that turned the tables on Haman’s scheme of violence...
 
“Now write another decree in the king’s name on behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring...”
 
Even while demonic strategies are at play, capitalizing on centuries of pain in order to wreak further destruction in our cities and nation, God has a counter plan and a different narrative. It’s time to assemble and be a public witness of the power of God to heal generational wounds. It’s time for the Body of Christ to be deployed en masse, putting feet to our prayers, and to impact the trajectory of the nation.