John 3:19-24 (New American Standard Bible)

 19"This is the judgment, that ^(A)the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for ^(B)their deeds were evil.

 20"^(C)For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

 21"But he who ^(D)practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

This is especially pertinent in Chicago, a city of secrets.  Let us pray for God's light to expose what is in the hidden places.  

Downtown Chicago Prayer Meetup WILL be meeting this week - please note that the 6PM Monday meeting has MOVED to the Starbucks at Wabash and Chicago.

Peace,

John

We will be meeting this week

Hi everyone, and Merry Christmas!
We will be meeting this week. As we continue to commission each other to be ministers in our workplaces and classrooms, I also want us to focus in on what the Spirit is saying about the investigation of the governor. Meeting just down the street from the Thompson Center (The Governor's home office), we are strategically located in the hottest spot, politically and spiritually, in the nation right now.
Please join us either Monday evening at 6:00 PM at the Starbucks at Chicago and Wabash or Tuesday morning at 8:00 AM at the Argo Tea at Randolph and State.
John Backesjwbackes@gmail.com

The temporal leader sets the spiritual tone.

If Mayor Daley called on the people of Chicago to fast and to pray, they would do it.  We need the advisement of those in temporal authority to know what the issues are, then taking them to God.  It was the job of the king to go to the prophet.  When Jonah visited Nineveh, it was the king that responded, followed by the people.

Wednesday Morning Prayer group joining Monday Evening group

For awhile now, I have been weighing this decision. This Wednesday will be the last Wednesday morning prayer meeting at the Merchandise Mart. I will be joining the Monday evening prayer group. It is my hope that this will be a convenient time for all. I apologize if this causes a hardship for anyone.
Please contact me with any questions.

amber.backes@gmail.com

Scratch that...

Wednesday meeting is canceled this week!

Meeting, week of 11-10

Hi all,

We will be meeting at the Starbucks at Chicago and Wabash tonight.

Tomorrow and Wednesday we will meet normally at Argo Tea and Merchandise Mart, respectively.

Peace,

John

This Week

Hi everyone,

We will be meeting normally this week - don't forget there are three separate meetings, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Come prepared to intercede for Chicago!

Peace

John

Borders

Hi everybody,

There will be no meeting at Borders this Monday evening - 10/06/08.

Thank you,

John

Office Visits

We are branching out with our prayer groups. By this we mean we are moving in a new directions -office visits. It has always been our understanding that God cares about institutions and companies so we are offering to come to people's offices and pray, asking God about the spiritual climate of the office, building or company and then praying into whatever God has showed us.

If you are interested in us visiting please email us.

One Year Old

Can you believe it? We have been praying in the loop for an entire year now. We have seen things shaken up in that time. Corruption exposed, CTA issues eased (not resolved). We have also seen answers to prayer in our offices with supervisers seeing the need to instill structure and others receiving the advancement they have been waiting for. God has much more in store for us. May we be open to hearing how He would like it done.

20/20Vision Save the Date! In

20/20Vision Save the Date! In the first seven months of 2008, the number of murders in Chicago has increased 13% over the same period in 2007. More Chicago Public School students were violently murdered in the first four months of 2008 than any other year on record. Join us on Saturday, September 13 for a rally regarding the 20/20 Vision for Schools in Chicago. This is an endeavor to challenge and equip us as The Church to be salt and light in our school system. Hear from Jeremy DelRio who began 20/20 Vision for Schools in New York City. Also hear local testimonies of churches that are being used in local schools here in Chicago. We are praying that God would draw over 100 churches and over 1,000 individuals by the end of the school year in 2009 to partner with their local schools to make an impact on our children and youth socially, academically, physically and spiritually. Will you join us in this movement? Marshall High School3250 W. Adams Saturday, September 13 2008 10:00am-1:00pm
Please contact us with any questions at the email address listed. The Vision There are roughly 700 public schools in the city of Chicago (not taking into account private schools). As we know, many of them are well behind in state and national standards. There is much that can be done in regards to more school funding, changing of administrations, changing of curriculum, equipping of teachers, etc. Yet, we as 'The Church' are called to be the salt and light in the world. How long do we stand by and wait for others to change a messed up culture? We, as believers, are called to be light. We, as believers, are called to preserve the earth. Ultimately it is our goal to make disciples of Christ. Yet, if our students are unable to read and comprehend while in school, they will be unable to read and comprehend as adults. Thus, our church members will be unable to flourish spiritually as they should. They will become more and more dependent on a sermon and a pastor for their only spiritual input rather than a daily devotional life. There are roughly 7,000 churches in the city of Chicago. That is 1 school to every 10 churches. Imagine if 10 churches would partner with their local school and assist the present administration to create the best environment possible for the students. Imagine if believers would volunteer a couple hours a week to read to a kid, coach a basketball team, paint walls, assist in ACT prep, etc. Imagine if the Church would have the impact on the world that God intends. We are beginning to explore the possibility of adopting the 20/20 Vision for New York City as our strategy in Chicago which would help us facilitate this dream. (Check out more info at their website at: www.2020schools.net) We realize that there are a number of churches and ministries in the city of Chicago that have already built strong relationships with local schools. It is our desire to build on this foundation until every school is covered by at least one local church which would serve the students, faculty and staff.

Bob Sorge at the Prayer Furnace

Check out Bob: http://www.theprayerfurnace.com/upcoming_events___

I've read a number of his books, and I'm sure what he has will be good.

MBN Thursday Morning Prayertime

> You are invited to attend the MBN Thursday Morning Prayertime.We meet each Thursday from 7:30am to 8:30am in the food court on the> ground level of the Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph St. (north across> the street from City Hall). Look for our table to the left of the> elevator bank. > > We pray for revival in the city of Chicago, for the area's senior> pastors, and for city, county, state and federal officials. We also> lift up the public servants in the police and fire departments. We start by reading a passage of Scripture and then ask for God's will to be done in Chicagoland. The discouragement of the culture wars, Presidential races, budget deficits, big-city crime, bank closures and energy prices all seem to> fade when we bring these issues to the throne of God! In August we will be prayer-walking the Loop of Chicago. We'll still meet at our usual spot and then walk in pairs through the downtown past buildings that remind us of who we are praying for. Please pass this on to any you may think interested. If you have any> questions, please email or call.> Thanks,>
Robert J. Schuldt, CFP > MBN Distinguished Speakers Luncheon Series > (http://www.mbnluncheon.org) > mobile 312.841.0210>

Lord, bring blessing to this city. Bring blessing. There are those who don't know you, God. For them, we ask blessing - bless their jobs, their homes, the deepest desires in their hearts. Your spirit is on the waters, God. We bless this city for justice, for good dealings. We ask you to end corruption, to bring good relations between the different government offices, to heal our transportation system, for your spirit of truth and power to be in city hall and all of the businessplaces. May you, source and bringer of all, be lifted up in this city! May we be your people, as you are our God!

June 19, 2008

Today we met at the Chicago Merchandise Mart. The prayer group started off a little slow. Hey it's 7 in the morning. Once we started sharing about what was going on in our lives and the things we wanted to see change the time took off and we were done before you knew it. I'm eagerly praying to connect with more business people who want to see change in the downtown area.

Chicago Judge quotes Luke at city official charged with corruption

The Gospel is glorified in corruption scandals.

Ex-Chicago Department of Buildings supervisor gets 15 months for taking bribes By Jeff Coen |Tribune staff reporter12:23 PM CDT, June 13, 2008

A federal judge Friday sentenced a former Chicago Department of Buildings supervisor to 15 months in prison for taking bribes, saying she wanted to send a message to other employees that public corruption is not acceptable.

U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow told Kurt Berger that his decision to take money to lift stop-work orders was extremely serious. Lefkow likened it to a judge who made a decision in a court case, "and then accepted a check for $1,000 from the winning side."

"You know that is not the way to carry out a public trust," Lefkow said. "The people of this city relied on you that you would act with integrity."

Berger, 45, had pleaded guilty. He had been charged as part of Operation Crooked Code after he accepted a payment through an inspector who was cooperating with the city's Office of the Inspector General and federal agents. Berger's attorney, Jeffrey Steinback, told Lefkow his client had accepted responsibility for his actions. Public safety was not compromised, Steinback said. Berger viewed the situation as him lifting orders so fixes could be made, the lawyer said, and then taking "thank yous" from contractors.

"It wasn't with the sense that something structural was about to happen, or electrical wires were hanging out and the public was about to be exposed to them," Steinback said.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Juliet Sorensen disagreed with that view.

"He was responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the building code," Sorensen said. He was willing to ignore that for payments, she told Lefkow. "That was the bottom line."

When Berger addressed the court, he told the judge he had devastated his family through what he did. Counselors had become involved, and Berger said he knew his wife and three children would suffer when he went to prison.

He had worked for the city for 10 years before the case and had lost his dream job, he said.

"It was a selfish act I participated in without thinking about the consequences," Berger said.

Lefkow said she hoped the sentence she imposed would lead others to think about what it would mean for them if they followed in Berger's footsteps.

The judge agreed Berger had come from a good family, had supported his children, had been a good Catholic and had been entrusted with an important job by the City of Chicago.

"To whom much is given, much is expected," Lefkow told Berger, quoting from the Gospel of Luke.

A Hub for All Chicago Downtown Prayer Groups

My intention in creating the Chicago Downtown Prayer Meetup blog was to create a space for all of the Lord's prayer groups that meet in downtown Chicago. So if you are blessed to lead one, I would be blessed to list it on the calendar and also link to your site, if you have one.

Just contact me!

John

Meeting on Thursday 6/12 (FIELD TRIP!)

Please note that we're having a field trip on Thursday, 6/12. The meeting will NOT be at the Merchandise Mart, but will be at Bethesda Christian Center @ 4538 W Fullerton @ 7:15 AM

Peace,

John

Chicago Downtown Prayer Meetup

Welcome to the official Blog of Chicago Downtown Prayer Meetup. This will be your source for happenings involving prayer in downtown Chicago and the thoughts, inspirations, and concerns that come out of it.

Please visit our site at Meetup.com.

Grace and Peace,

John
Organizer