It is encouraging that leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention is serious about a Jan. 30 call to nationwide prayer and repentance.

In last month’s Baptist Messenger article, I mentioned various tools that are available for spiritual preparation as well as sample formats for conducting a solemn assembly. As a reminder, downloadable tools are available from Claude King at www.lifeway.com, www.namb.net and the BGCO Office of Prayer website at www.bgco.org. In addition, two new tools are now available.

In addition to the five-day cleansing guide on our website, we have just released a new resource with more extensive help. The book is titled, Restoring Our First Love—A Solemn Assembly of Full Surrender. Its uniqueness is to help believers embrace specific points of lasting change.This tool is especially designed for ongoing use long after a solemn assembly. The book can be ordered from our office for a small cost. It contains practical tools for equipping believers in powerful daily prayer, spiritual empowerment and consistent focus on reaching the lost. A second new tool is a more detailed format for conducting a powerful one-night solemn assembly. This new tool can be downloaded from our BGCO Office of Prayer website.

In light of today’s devastating moral decline, modern churches need far more than a brief one-time emphasis. The desperate need is for a lasting return to first-love passion for Jesus and renewed obedience to Great Commission living. For a society in such darkness, sweeping Heaven-sent revival is truly the only hope. Such movements come only one way. That way is fervent prayer, deep repentance and a lasting commitment to the Great Commission. On Jan. 30, may God find Oklahomans seeking His face.