I received an email with information which follows. This "call to prayer" was new to me. After checking it out, I think it is definitely of God and something to participate in.
Today marks the first day of 10-days of praying by Christians all around planet Earth. It culminates on the 11th day being Pentecost Sunday, May 19th this year. On Pentecost Sunday many churches will unite to pray. Both the Jews and Christians have something to celebrate on Pentecost Sunday.
For the Jewish person it is called Shavuot or Feast of Weeks that starts 50 days after Passover “Shavuot is traditionally a joyous time of giving thanks and presenting offerings for the new grain of the summer wheat harvest in Israel. The name "Feast of Weeks" was given because God commanded the Jews inLeviticus 23:15-16, to count seven full weeks (or 49 days) beginning on the second day of Passover, and then present offerings of new grain to the Lord as a lasting ordinance.”
For the Christian it is called Pentecost Sunday. “In Acts 1, just before the resurrected Jesus is taken up into heaven, he tells the disciples about the Father's promised gift of the Holy Spirit, which will soon be given to them in the form of a powerful baptism. He tells them to wait in Jerusalem until they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which will empower them to go out into the world and be his witnesses. 50 days from His crucifixion on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), the disciples are all together when the sound of a mighty wind comes down from heaven, with tongues of fire resting on them. The Bible says, "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." They were amazed and thought the disciples were drunk on wine. Then Peter got up and preached the Good News of the kingdom and 3000 people accepted the message of Christ! That same day they were baptized and added to the family of God.”
If you are a Messianic Jew, then you get to celebrate twice as much and hopefully will appreciate a greater depth of meaning to this important day!!
My investigations:
* The history of the Global Day of Prayer is fascinating. It began in South Africa in 2000 and has now spread worldwide - http://www.globaldayofprayer.com/index.php/about-us/history/
* Here's a one-page prayer guide suitable for printing - http://gdopusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/GDOP13-Ten-Day-Black-White-REVISED2.pdf
* I love this prayer to be used collectively around the world on Pentecost Sunday - http://gdopusa.com/gdop/
* Here's a video the Global Day of Prayer has Produced: