rebelling against low expectations

Project: Pray for Our Generation

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Recently the Lord laid it on my heart how important prayer is. He showed me how it is His desire for this generation to become one of prayer.

He also showed me how broken this generation has become. Alcohol, drugs, depression, homosexuality, STDs, and teen pregnancies run rampant.

But there’s something we can do. Pray.

After my eyes were opened to what’s happening, I knew I had to do something about it. So I started a prayer group. I’m asking for people to take a specific hour each day to pray for this generation. That way there are people praying 24/7 around the world with the sole intention of seeing change and restoration brought to this generation.

We’re calling it, “The Few” from Matthew 9:37-38.

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

We are The Few. The Few who desperately pursue God as far as humanly possible. The Few who pray without ceasing. The Few who glorify the Lord in all that they do. The Few who boldly proclaim the name of Jesus wherever they go. Are you the many or the few?

the_few_1

Here’s how you can get involved:

    Volunteer to pray! Leave a comment below letting Josh know what hour of the day you can pray and what time zone you’re in. There can be more than one person praying each hour.
    Help spread the word! Share this post on Facebook and Twitter, and invite your friends and family to join you in prayer for our generation. The more people praying the better.
    Offer your skills! Josh is working on a website, so if you have gifts in graphic design, web design, or writing, let him know using the comment section below.

About the author

Josh Murphy

is a 15-year-old homeschooler who loves reading, writing, and spending time with the Lord. He is passionate about seeing change and restoration brought to this generation, as well as seeing a culture of prayer developed in this generation. He is involved in orphan care in Kenya, and plans to go into full-time missions.

82 comments

  • I know some stuff about building websites. Is this going to “static” HTML?

  • Oh! This is exciting! God has given me this vision as well, and it’s so awesome to see that other young people have it too. I can pray from 6-7 EST time.

  • Excelant idea!!!!

    This ‘small’ group reminds me of a quote by Hudson Taylor

    “The prayerpower has never been tried to its full capacity. if we want to see mighty works of Divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and
    disappointment, let us answer God’s standing challenge, “Call to me, and I will
    answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

    I’ll be praying 9pm EST.

    Elaine

  • Thank you for taking the initiative to do this! It is something our generation needs.

    I can write fairly well. And for my high school (homeschool) I took a graphic design class. I am also building a website for my dads business.
    If I can help The Few please let me know.

    I will pray 8:30PM EST.

  • I read that quote by Hudson Taylor a couple weeks ago, and it challenged me to pray more. Thanks for reminding me of it again!

  • God’s been showing me how powerful prayer is, too! It’s exciting to see how He is working through us all, giving many of us the same message. I will bring this up at our church’s next prayer meeting.

  • Wow, I am so encouraged to see this! Thank you so much for doing this, Josh. God has been burdening my heart to pray for this generation these past few months, and I’m so thrilled to see how He’s drawing other hearts to prayer as well.
    7 am CST!

  • Thank you so much for reminding us how important prayer is!! I am working on a project right now involving Human Trafficking, and more and more God has shown our team that only He can unlock the doors we need opened… Through prayer. Prayer is what sets the prisoners free. It’s what releases people from depression, addiction, etc.
    I cannot commit right now to a specific hour, but please know that I will be praying!! =)
    …What is your website adress??

  • We don’t have a website as of now. We have a new facebook page if you want to check that out. It’s facebook.com/thefewmovement. And that’s so awesome what you’re doing! What is your project called?

  • Okay:)~and thank you! The FB page is neat! =)
    The project is called Walk/Run4Freedom! Our website is http://walkrun4freedom.weebly.com/ (it is actually on TheRebelution as well…posted a week or two ago??)
    Your bio mentioned that you are involved with orphans in Kenya~ does that mean you have lived in Kenya, or have gone on a mission trip there?? 🙂

  • Thank you! The Walk Project has so far has been a blessing, and a challenge, as we watch God direct us and trust Him to continue to go before us! =)
    OH, that is So Neat!! Thank you to you and your family for what you do for those Precious children!!
    Have you ever heard of George Mulluer?? He took care of thousands of Orphans in Bristol, England, during the 19th century. My mom read me his biography in 1st grade (i’m homeschooled), and ever since then I have had a passion to do something for/with orphans!
    God bless as you live there and work with them, loving them and being “Jesus with skin on”! =)

  • I have! He’s definitely an inspiration of mine. His trust in the Lord was astounding

  • I’ll try to pray from 9-10pmEST. I’m not the best at staying focused while I pray, but I’ll try! 🙂 #Godforgiveme #igetdistracted

  • Wow – I cannot express how wonderful of an idea this is! God has been challenging me so much about prayer for my generation lately! Thank you for doing this! I’ll be praying!!!!!!!

  • This is awesome. God hasreally been teaching me the power of prayer as I, as well as Molly Warren, & a couple other teens have been working on organizing a walk/ run to raise money for Rapha House (working combat human trafficking.) I’ll be praying at 7:15/7:20 EST. Here is a verse from Matthw 18:20: “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

  • I write for my high school newspaper and would love to help in any way I can. I will definitely be praying too!

  • Yes, prayer does work. I have seen it work first hand in several people I know who were healed of cancer. In addition to praying for our generation, we should pray for our nation and government as well. God is working in this nation. God Bless America and the Youth of America.

  • I totally agree. In an hour there’s plenty of time to pray for other things as well, just the main focus is this generation.

  • Defiantly, God says we should pray for our leaders-He turns the heart of the king wherever He wishes.
    my Papa ran for a political office last year-and won. but now we are seeing more spiritual warfare that we ever have before.

    Defiantly- please pray for our leaders.

  • It is SO true. This is a fantastic idea- reminds me of a story I once heard about everyone joining together to pray about a war (and well, this is one, just in a different sense!). I’ll do it at 8am, Pacific Time.

    Also, I can do graphic design and writing/editing if you want! 🙂

  • I have some graphic design experince, and I have a willingness to help! You should make a list of what times are still open for people to pray during as well. Praying!

  • All 24 hours are taken! I don’t really like assigning hours to people. I want them to pick a time that works best for them, so that they can actually focus on the prayer.

  • wow this is so awesome! God has been showing me this passion for the youth of Sydney. This coming generation will be one of prayer and revival!
    I’ll be praying 8pm UTC+
    also i do like designing stuff on photoshop sometimes, if you need some help im willing to help! 🙂

  • Mr. Murphy, how encouraged I am to see young people whom the Lord has placed the same passion in! For the last couple of weeks I have been waking up at 6:00am to pray for our generation that the Lord would raise up prayer warriors and labors in His harvest. In fact, the Lord used that same passage in Matthew 9 to spur my heart on to prayer. I really felt this was an answer to my prayers!
    I will be joining you and “The Few” in prayer every morning around 6:00am CST. Thank you so much for being willing to be used by God, brother.

  • this is awesome! We are going to pray at 2am-3am!!!! SMT (standard mountain time)

  • One night something was going on then so I just prayed an hour earlier. I don’t think it’ll be possible to always do the same time. My Dad said the time wasn’t what was important (no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus), but that I prayed. 🙂 I’ll do my best to stick with 9-10pmEST, but as long as I get that important hour of prayer in my day, that’s what counts.
    Do you agree?

  • I definitely agree. And also, the place doesn’t matter. Even if you’re busy and out doing stuff, you can still be praying in your head.

  • Thank you so much, Jemeriah! Let me know if anyone on your campus is interested.

  • Starting on the 8th, I will be able to take from 9-10 OR time. I feel that I have been called to empower our generation and maybe this is how I can begin. 🙂

  • This is a great idea! I think it’s very important to pray for ourselves too, that we will make a difference for good in the people we are around.

    I really need to build the discipline of prayer into my life, so I’ll start by committing at least five minutes in the hour 6-7 am, GMT+8, weekdays 🙂

    God bless!

  • I live in Ohio, eastern time zone. I just finished Do Hard Things not 10 minutes ago, and know myself well enough to know that if I don’t get some accountability going, I’ll never get anything going. God has recently impressed the immeasurable importance of prayer on my heart as well, so I would like to volunteer to pray from 12:00-1:00 am. I believe this a truly doable time, and am eager to see God work His will through me. Thank you for this challenge, and may The Lord bless it.

  • Lol, and here I wondered what I should be praying for. I’m 22, so not exactly a teenager, but until I’m old enough to be your mother, I still consider you as part of my generation. I’ll pray at the seven ‘o clock hour, central time. Do you need a writer for your website? I volunteer!

  • If you would like help writing anything for your website I enjoy writing and would love to help in any way possible.

  • I just graduated from high school and want to be a youth pastor. I definately know and feel the need for prayer and how it important it is. I will dedicate to 11 PM eastern time 🙂

  • I know this is a bit late, but I’d like to pray too! This is such a cool project!
    7 AM Central time. 🙂

  • Do you want 7 AM or 7 PM? And we aren’t currently looking for any more writers, but if you feel led to write about The Few share with people, feel free!

  • That’s a great idea!! I love to write and I’m pretty good at it. Id love to help if u need me!! Also ill be praying 7am central time

  • 10:00 am est
    I think this project is amazing
    After it has been brought to my attention I am making it a point to get my youth group involved!!!

  • I’ll be doing 9pm Eastern Standard (UTC+8)!
    I do graphic design, especially logo, text and photo, and would love to help!
    I’m 15, christian, and live in Tasmania, Australia

  • this is awesome our generation needs prayer! We just need to bring all of our problems to God and then there solved.

  • Wow! I am REALLY impressed. What an amazing goal. I have to be part of this!
    Looking at our generation now, we need all the help we can get, especially in the form of prayer for each other. Help from God is the most sustaining help we could wish for and SHOULD wish for! I will be praying at 9 am and 8 pm , Sandard Mountian Daylight Time. What an amazing goal. Thank you for this wonderful Christ like example.

  • This is spectacular! Its so cool to see other teens passionate about prayer! I will pray at 6am. I’m in the Pacific Time Zone. And if you need any help writing, email me. Is this still going on?

  • This is so exciting!! I would love to pray too…a disciplined prayer life is something I need to work on. I will be praying daily during the week at 5:00am, Mountain Standard Time. God bless this project!

  • So sorry I haven’t been able to keep up with my hour of praying….but I will definitely continue to pray for our generation

  • our generation needs serious prayer and help. we’re sinking low and living up to our stereotype. which is not good at all. bad enough that some christians are joining the ranks of the broken gen.

  • The Bible talks a lot about homosexuality in specific chapters like Romans 1. The word “homosexuality” isn’t mentioned, but verses 18-27 talk about the core of what homosexuality really is.
    God didn’t design men to be with men or women to be with women. He designed relationships in an intricate way that would honor His kingdom. In the very beginning, when God made Adam, he knew that Adam needed a helper. Nothing that He had yet made would do the trick. So He created Eve. God made them both in different ways for a reason.
    1 Corinthians 6:9 says “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality.”
    People who turn away from Gods design and turn towards homosexuality with not be with God because they ignored His warnings and teachings.
    Does this answer your question?

  • I’ve heard that slavery in Bible times was like being part of the family or like being a hired hand, not at all like African slavery in America.

    If this is the case, I believe that slavery would still be ‘right’. There would be nothing wrong with it anyway.

    For example, a family I know has a nanny. She lives with the family and takes care of the daughter and cooks and cleans and does all the household work. She gets payed and is provided for by the family, but her pay is very minimal.

    I do not believe this kind of work is ideal, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.

    As for polygamy, the Bible never actually says it’s okay, and it does show the consequences for it. It doesn’t actually say that it’s wrong either, but by using Biblical guidelines, we can conclude that it is at least unwise.

    As for the OT commandments, in the new covenant those are no longer followed, and that is made clear in the Bible. If we were still in the old covenant, it would have been sin not to follow those commandments.

    Romans 1, though, is part of the New Testament, and therefore should be followed even now as should much of the Old Testament, including I believe the commands about not eating the blood of animals (But that’s another topic).

    Of course, there are some things that we cannot take literally in the Bible, but most of that is clearly hyperbole like, “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off.”

    Even with verses like that, though, I think we tend to not take them literally enough. Maybe we shouldn’t cut off our foot but we should make changes in our life drastic enough that they feel like we’re cutting our feet off.

    As you said so eloquently 4 months ago, “Thank you so much, to anyone who read this with an open mind. I know it was long, so thank you.” 🙂

rebelling against low expectations

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