On August 26, women from all over the globe will gather for worship and to hear biblical teaching from beloved Bible study teacher, Priscilla Shirer, at the Going Beyond Simulcast.* First, I want to invite you to join us if you haven’t planned to already! You can participate from your home in your favorite pajamas, with a small group of friends, attend a church hosting the simulcast, or host it at your church! However, you decide to attend the simulcast, my suggestion for making this event a rich experience is to prepare for it.
In 2012, God opened a door for me to work on a volunteer team for Lifeway. Lifeway was bringing a Bible study teacher to my city, and they needed a team of volunteers to spread the word about the event. I was blessed to be on the leadership team, and we had over a year to prepare before the actual event happened. One of the things we did in preparation for our big day can apply to the Going Beyond Simulcast as well.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO TO PREPARE IS PRAY.
Prayer seems like an obvious answer to a person of faith, but prayer can often be an afterthought or something that plays a small role in preparing for a faith-based event. For my event in 2012, God brought an incredibly special woman to our team in the role of prayer coordinator. This woman was a woman of prayer, and she understood from the very beginning that our event must be saturated with our prayers and the prayers of any others that would join our team.
One of my special memories of the event was walking into the arena as people were arriving and finding their seats. Joy and peace filled my heart as I looked at the faces of those attending. I had been praying for these women that I did not even know, and now they were sitting there, waiting for the event to begin. Because of my prayers, I felt like I had a personal stake in the spiritual lives of these precious women. I did not know them, but I was connected to them in a way only God can orchestrate.
The same can be true for you, whether you pray for the friends and neighbors you’ve invited to your home or the women at your church who will attend the event.
Our team was dedicated to praying for the speaker of the event for over a year. No, I did not pray every day, but as the Lord would remind me to pray for the speaker, I would. Sometimes our team would gather to pray for the speaker, her family, and the worship team. We truly felt like it was a blessing to be able to lift these servants of Jesus up in prayer.
A God-moment was when the speaker of the event began her first session. She shared that the past year was one of the hardest she had been through to date. God knew this from before time, and He would move in the hearts of a volunteer team from Springfield, Illinois, to pray for His daughter during a difficult season of her life. God is faithful, and He is always working.
I hope sharing this story of prayer will encourage you to pray for the Going Beyond Simulcast. Here are several ideas of things you can pray, whether you are a host or attendee of the event.
- Pray for Priscilla Shirer. Pray for her emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Pray that she will be surrendered to God and let Him work through her for His Glory and Good.
- Pray for Anthony Evans and his worship team. Pray that the Holy Spirit will be present during worship and that God will be glorified through this time.
- Pray for the attendees of the simulcast. Pray for those that will gather in churches and small groups. Pray for the one who will be alone watching by herself at home. God’s presence can be everywhere, and He can reach everyone.
- Pray for repentance of sin.
- Pray for restoration.
- Pray for healing.
- Pray for the salvation of any unbelievers.
- Pray for the eyes, ears, and hearts of those watching to be opened to receive all that God wants to give.
The list could go on forever, but the message is just to PRAY.
While you are praying, do not forget to pray for yourself. All the things you pray for others, pray that the Lord will do for you. God works corporately as we gather, but He is always working individually too.
I leave you with one last word of encouragement. You will have prepared for this event through praying, but do not forget to open your own eyes, ears, and heart to see how God answered those prayers. There will be prayers answered that you will not see with your physical eyes, but maybe one day in heaven you will know how God answered your prayers for this event.
The Lord may grant you a glimpse of what He is doing through this simulcast. Do not forget to praise and thank Him for all the ways He answered those prayers according to His will and good purpose. Sister and friend, He is faithful!
It’s not too late to host! Visit lifeway.com/goingbeyondsimulcast for more information.
*With the GBS church pass, you will have up to 60 days to view the simulcast if the live date does not work for your schedule.
Kim Uden lives in Tampa, Florida, after living in Illinois for eighteen years. She is a native Floridian and is glad to be back in her sunny home state. She has been married to her husband for over twenty-nine years, and they have three adult sons. Kim and her husband are recent empty nesters and they are adjusting to a quiet home. She retired from teaching preschool (fifteen years) when she moved back to Florida and God opened a door for her at a Faith-based Pregnancy Center, where she is the Director. She loves coffee with lots of creamer, a good book, volunteering at Assisted Living/Memory Care facilities, and The Bible Recap (with Tara-Leigh Cobble). One of the things that bring her the most joy is connecting women first to Jesus and then to each other.
