Convoy of Hope is planning a highly visible, worldwide prayer event called Pray for Hope (prayforhope.com), with the goal of enlisting a million people to intercede on behalf of the planet’s poor and suffering.

A ten-day prayer pilgrimage in Israel during December will culminate with a 12-hour gathering on 12.12.12 (December 12, 2012) in Jerusalem. The tour, in cooperation with the Center for Holy Lands Studies, will focus on alleviating conditions causing poverty.

“The poor were near to the heart of Jesus,” says Thomas E. Trask, chairman of Convoy’s Global Prayer Initiative. “When people pray, the Lord is able to turn the circumstances of the poor and suffering. When we pray, the Lord will bring those in poverty and distress out of hardship and heartache, and into joy and abundant life.”

Compassion has been a hallmark of Convoy of Hope since its founding in 1994. “When Jesus was moved to compassion, His first step was always prayer,” says Assemblies of God world missionary Tom Lofton, founder of 12.12 Global Day of Prayer for the Poor and Suffering. “That ought to be our response as well.”

Trask, who retired in 2007 after 14 years as general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, is volunteering to head up the campaign.     The past two years, Pray for Hope has been held on Dec. 12 in Kansas City, MO, in conjunction with International House of Prayer (IHOP). Scores of intercessors, especially young people, have been praying at IHOP around the clock since 1999. In addition, Pray for Hope has sponsored summits in Phoenix, AZ; Detroit, MI; Brooklyn, NY; Laredo, TX, and Springfield, MO.

Jerusalem Connection

The 2012 experience will feature live-stream coverage from Jerusalem. Numerous partners supporting the event include the Global Day of Prayer, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, National Day of Prayer Task Force, America’s National Prayer Committee, ourprayer.org of Guideposts, and IHOP.

Jerusalem is a significant location in Christian history. “We recognize that the greatest act of compassion was Jesus laying down His life in Jerusalem,” says Harold Sallee, director of Convoy’s Global Prayer Initiative.

The prayer journey will involve participants boarding buses daily to visit sites as well as to pray. Marc Turnage, director of the Assemblies of God Center for Holy Lands Studies (holylandsstudies.ag.org), says throughout the trip people will be praying at specific locales that have stories relevant to the 12 points of prayer that Convoy of Hope has outlined in connection with the poor and suffering.

Trask says the ultimate goal of 12.12.12 is to awaken the Church to pray to be God’s hand extended to those in need. “The Church has yet to discover the power of prayer,” Trask says.

JOHN W. KENNEDY is news editor of the Pentecostal Evangel.

(c) 2012 Prayer Connect magazine. To subscribe to Prayer Connect, click here.