Rousing Her Radiance: Praying and Fasting for the Church

October 11th-November 19th, 2023

‘I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him’ (2 Cor. 11:2).

Husband and wife. Bridegroom and bride. Lover and beloved. Jesus and Church.

Spousal imagery runs through Scripture like a crystal stream, reminding us of who He is and who we are. Self-discovery requires Another and others. We know ourselves as male and female through the reflection of our sexual counterpart. Though broken, the divine image in humanity still represents our Creator and Redeemer (Gen. 1:26-27). He is preparing His Church to receive Himself (Eph. 5: 26-27). That requires the sexual clarity and integrity of every Christian.

Our 40-day prayer and fast together will reflect on the meaning of our sexual humanity, the Church’s responsibility to guide our understanding, and the perils of misunderstanding. Most North American denominations have divided over LGBTQ+ rights, and now the Roman Catholic Church faces a similar challenge as the ‘synod on synodality’ (2021-2024) meets throughout October in Rome to discuss, among many things, what ‘radical inclusion’ of LGBTQ+ identified persons means for the RCC. The global gathering of 370 persons will inform a document Pope Francis will write by fall 2024.

We will pray daily for churches to be faithful to Jesus. We will especially cry out for global decision-makers who either encourage chastity or sins against it. Daily readings will illuminate how truth, grace and Jesus’ transforming power liberate radical wholeness and shed light on how a broken Bride can be faithful to Her Bridegroom.

Our impassioned Spouse loves us into chastity. For 40 days, we will cry out for Her to blaze radiantly like a torch to the nations (Isa. 62:1-2) in a confusing age.

Please join the DSM staff as we pray together daily at 3pm CST, starting on October 11th. Sign up to receive a daily, digital devotional prayer guide. Together, we will rouse Her radiance and help prepare a Bride fit for her Bridegroom.

‘I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem, they will never be silent day or night. You who call upon the Lord, give yourselves no rest and give Him no rest, till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of all the earth’ (Is. 62:6-7).

“Father, we thank You for Jesus who established the Church on a Rock against which hell will not prevail (Matt. 16:18). We pray for every Christian leader to build on Her firm foundation of sexual clarity and integrity. Father, unmask our common enemy who deceives and divides Christians over LGBTQ+ issues. Unite us in one Spirit. As weak members of Christ, we ask for truth to guide our pursuit of sexual wholeness, for grace to sustain it, and for spiritual power to transform us. May we reflect the chaste radiance of Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18) as we ‘shine like stars in the universe, holding out the word of life’ (Phil. 2:15-16) to a lost and hurting world.”