“Whenever God is about to do something truly great, He first sets His people praying!” -- Matthew Henry, 1662-1714
For the 31 days of October, more than 4,000 Christians across America joined in a united effort to seek God in an extraordinary way, through prayer, Bible reading, repentance, listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit, evangelism, and a bold step of faith called “The Joshua Challenge.”
These were the “Five Rs” of The Great Experiment, October 1-31, 2018:
Read & Pray. Spend 30 minutes every morning reading the Bible and praying, and also spend time in the evening doing the same.
Repent. What sins do I need to repent of today? What hindrances to my devotion to Christ can I remove today?
Respond to the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, what is the one thing you most want me to do today? (Write it down, and do it today).
Raise Your Faith. God, give me the strength and courage to complete my Joshua Faith Challenge.
Represent Christ. How will I bear witness to Christ today? With whom shall I share the Gospel today?
The new Joshua Challenge created an opportunity for believers to know the power of having the Holy Spirit direct their actions in everyday life.
These are some of the experiences shared by participants:
Elizabeth from Kansas shared:
"My Joshua Faith Challenge was creating a community event called the Concert of Prayer to pray against suicide and for the youth of our nation. There were many obstacles that stood in the way, but God forged a path through all of them. Not many people ended up coming (about 20) but it was still beautiful, and I trust that God is going to use my obedience in ways that I cannot see."
Connie from Montana wrote:
"Taking part [in the Great Experiment] has renewed my relationship with God. My husband and I have become closer through our reading of the Bible and daily prayer. We have a new outlook on life through God's love and forgiveness. I was able to forgive those who had hurt me and to heal broken relationships."
A gentleman from New York shared:
“The Joshua Faith Challenge inspired me to address an issue that has bothered me for some time - the presence of a few inappropriate pinup calendars in my Social Club. I set up a meeting with the Club Manager, who I expected to resist based on tradition, but I was pleasantly surprised when he agreed that they should go, and furthermore agreed to take them down right away. I went to check this weekend and they had already been removed.”Christian Union Day & Night is planning more opportunities for Christians across America to seek the Lord together for revival. Stay tuned for details about a ten day fast in January 2019 and the return of The Great Experiment in March 2019.
Go to dayandnight.org to find resources for prayer and fasting, encouraging stories of past revivals, profiles of faithful followers of Jesus Christ, and updates about upcoming prayer and fasting events.
Whit Hazelton is the Marketing Director of Christian Union Day and Night. With over 15 years of experience in the field of digital marketing, Whit has overseen the creation and growth of numerous websites and social media properties in the real estate, land planning, non-profit and aquaculture industries. A native of Arizona, Whit was raised mostly in Europe before returning to the US for college. He attended Princeton University before graduating from Westmont College in 2001. He currently lives with his wife and two children in Vero Beach, Florida.