Neighbor Prayer Update

Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth -
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.
Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.
All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble.
(Isaiah 43:5-9)

In a time of global financial crisis, political instability, religious and cultural tensions, civil and international wars…..God’s word for us is still “Do NOT be afraid!” In the realm of things that really matter, God is at work amongst the nations, opening eyes that are blind and ears that are deaf, gathering in his sons and daughters from the north, south, east and west. As we pray today for neighbors, lets see our world through the eyes of hope — hope in the promises…in the realities of God.

1. Pray for the pastors and members of two or our churches in Indonesia that have recently been confronted with opposition from some radical leaders in the community who are trying to close their churches. Praise God that our fellow believers in both locations have responded with a loving, forgiving attitude. They had already previously built strong relationships with several leading neighbors in the community and God is using these friendly neighbors as advocates for the church. Lets focus our prayers on those who are opposing the work that they will be drawn to Isa al Masih through the love and respect being displayed by these followers of Christ. May these events lead to a spiritual awakening in this community.

2. Continue to lift up colleagues (a young couple and their children) in one of our sensitive areas who are developing a network of disciples whom they are training to be church planters. May the Lord bless and strengthen these relationships and empower these new disciples to effectively witness amongst their families and friends, leading others to Christ, establishing the church in these communities.

3. One of our colleagues in a key gateway neighbor city has just completed another short language immersion trip. They are preparing to move to this area permanently later this year. Pray that God opens all the right doors for their move and provides them with all the key contacts (men and women of peace) that they need to establish the church in this very challenging area.

4. During their Saturday morning soccer (football) practice, and the lunchtime afterwards, A & T were able to get much better acquainted with two young neighbor boys (brothers). The boys shared that their father is involved in a folk-animistic dance club. When they perform these “cultural” dances, they invite spirits to take control. The boys are expressing interest in following their father’s footsteps in joining this club. Pray with us that the boys and their father will have their eyes opened to the emptiness (even the dangers) of these folk-islamic practices, and be drawn by the Holy Spirit to Jesus Christ.

5. Pray for Luis, who wants God to take over his business so that he can be used as a servant of God’s people and help them. Luis also asks for God’s direction and provision in his relationships. May he find contentment first in his relationship with Christ, to be the man that God wants him to be, and be a light and witness to his neighbors.

6. Continue to intercede for the troubled Middle East, particularly Palestine. Pray for lasting peace, that will only come as Prince of Peace controls the hearts of people on both sides. Pray for both the Jew and the Palestinian who both equally need Christ.

7. From this week’s Intercede Magazine — Please pray…..

• …for Neighbors in Lebanon. Pray that the Lord would continue to use MBBs to reach Neighbors with the love of Christ.
• …for the gospel of Jesus Christ to be heard by Neighbors in Chad.
• …for a Jordanian MBB labeled an apostate by his own father. His marriage has been annulled and he has left the country. If he returns to Jordan, he’ll lose his wife and children.

“We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities!”

When Walt Kelly penned this now famous quote, he probably wasn’t thinking in terms of Kingdom opportunities, but the idea certainly reflects the positive (“I can do all things through Christ”) spirit found in Scripture. We are faced with many seemingly impossible crisis situations in our world today, from the troubled economy to tragic natural disasters to increasing turmoil in the Middle East. But through PRAYER, Almighty God invites us to see every problem as an open door of opportunity for God to work — as only God can work. So as you intercede today for the following requests for Neighbors, be encouraged by God’s Word:

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9)

“…a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.” (1 Cor. 16:9)

“And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.” (Colossians 4:3)

“See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” (Rev. 3:8)

• Pray for the Jesus Film team in community “B”. Praise God they already have a good contact, a Nazarene Bible College alumni, in this area from when they showed the JF several years ago. However, the challenge (opportunity) is that they are located right next to a religious school of the majority religion! Pray for them that God will open a door for them to shart a new post in this area this year. Especially pray for the one family there who is already being discipled intensively, that they may be instrumental in planting the church in this area.
• Praise the Lord that our team members have received renewal of their multiple entry visas to continue working in their creative access country. This will allow them to work in a strategic gateway city up to 30 days at a time as they prepare to move their permanently in August. From January 15-24 they will be in that city to continue language study and take more steps toward their August move. May their language skills continue to improve as they develop deeper relationships with local neighbors.
• Pray for Steve who is teaching this week in the Western part of his country. He’ll be returning to his home and family on the Monday (19th). Ask God for a successful time of teaching and fellowship at the first district assembly ever to be held in this place.
• Remember the situation in Israel and Palestine as these event have repercussions in other neighbor countries. May believers in each of these troubled areas be strengthened to live according to Christ’s teaching from the “Good Samaritan” story and the Sermon on the Mount–love your enemy, pray for those that persecute you, and BE a neighbor to those you meet along lifes path. [Interesting note--the Samaritans lived in and around what is now Palestine].
• Lift up Pat and his work amongst neighbors in Mindanao and in South Asia:
  1. For favor with the potential donors of the construction of the computer literacy centers in Isla Verde and
  Tukanalepau.
  2. For discernment for our upcoming Pakistani trip to follow up on the pastors and church workers of the 13
  Pakistani Christian Churches we trained during the end of 2008. Seven of the thirteen Churches are actively sharing
  the love of Christ with their neighbors. Our medical outreach will bring about 200 people per church with whom they can pray with, offer the Gospel to and follow-up on once we leave.
• From this week’s Intercede Magazine…
  • for the Church in Kazakhstan. Pastors are still being fined for leading unregistered churches. The fines are severe, often
    many times the minimum monthly wage. May these hindrances become opportunities for believers to trust in God’s provision alone.
  • for government leaders in Qatar.They have recently given Christians permission for a second “church” to be built.
  • for MBBs in Iran.The government crackdown on MBBs continues unabated.

Often times our prayer lives and our intercession can grow dry, repetitive, even lifeless. That’s why we are told to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions.” One of the best ways to pray in the Spirit — to pray according to God’s will — is to use God’s word as a guide for our praying. A friend recently sent the following prayer guide which has been very helpful as I pray for my neighbors.

I encourage you to once again, fresh and new, get out your intercessory prayer list of the people and nations that you are praying for and use the following Scriptures to intercede for them.

And this week, especially remember the Palestinian (Hamas) / Israeli (Gaza) conflict. It has begun to have a ripple effect in some other Neighbor countries. May God’s people all around the world rise up in these desperate times and be peacemakers and ambassadors of reconciliation.

Praying Scripture for Unreached People

What was Jesus’ purpose in coming?
· Luke 19:10 “…For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
· Matthew 20:28 “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life–a ransom for many.”
· John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
· John 10:10 “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.”
· John 12:46 “I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me would not remain in darkness.”

AS YOU PRAY, INSERT THE NAMES OF PEOPLE AND NATIONS AS THEY COME TO MIND:

• Ask God to draw them to Himself. (John 6:44) “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
• Ask God to convict them of their sin (John 16:8) “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;”
• Ask God to open their spiritual eyes (2 Corinthians 4:4) “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
• Ask God to set them free from spiritual bondage (2 Timothy 2:25-26) “with gentleness correcting thosewho are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
• Ask God to give them opportunities to hear the word of Christ and faith to believe in Him (Romans 10:17) “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
• Ask God to help them believe (Acts 16:30-31) …and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
• Ask God to give them the gift of faith and the willingness to accept that gift. (Eph 2:8) For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift…
• Ask God to send a witness in their life (Matthew 9:38) “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
• Ask God for ways to connect with them (1 Corinthians 9:22) “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.”
• Ask God for opportunities to witness to them (Colossians 4:3) “praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;”
• Ask God for boldness to witness to them (Eph 6:19) “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence,”
• Ask that we would share the gospel fully in words, deeds, miracles and Spirit’s power. (Rom 15:18-19) “Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my words and my deeds among them. They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ.”

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving
be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority,
that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.

I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me,
that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me
so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel…
(I Timothy 2:1-8; Ephesians 6:18-19)

These words of the Apostle Paul are appropriate reminders / challenges for a New Year. If there’s anything we (I) need to resolve to do more of, it is prayer. As Oswald Chambers wrote, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work.” When we look at the news headlines regarding unrest and violence in places like Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, etc or hear about political corruption and injustice….we may be tempted to either give up hope and do nothing, or rise up in social / political activism. But the most powerful form of activism is prayer, which brings us in touch with the heart and mind of God. Only when we know God’s heart for any given situation in our world can we effectively act.

If we want to live in a more gracious, less greedy world, then we need to LIVE with a constant attitude of “thanksgiving”.

If we want PEACE in our world, then we need to pray for peace and then LIVE “peaceful and quiet lives.”

If we want justice and righteousness in our world, then we need to pray for justice and then LIVE “in all godliness and holiness.”

If we want good governance, then we need to pray for “ALL those in authority” (whether we like them or not) and then LIVE according to the values of a “higher KINGDOM.”

If we want reconciliation in our world, we need to pray that “all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth…that there is ONE mediator between God and men…the man Christ Jesus.”

And then LIVE in such as way that our words and our actions will “fearlessly make known the GOOD NEWS.”

May each of us know and experience the abundant blessings of God in our lives, families, communities and nations this year……and let it start with me (and you) today in prayer.