SHEEP (1)

PTAP: God is Building His Church.

Praise God for the handfuls of known believers in this country. Every person who is given faith is a miracle of God's washing and regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5)! Praise him for his grace that has appeared, bringing salvation for all people (Titus 2:11).
Pray for these believers, that they would renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age as they wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:11). Praise Jesus that he will continue to purify a people for himself for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:13-14). So pray that these believers would continue to grow in their knowledge of God and who they are in Christ and as a result, be very zealous to do good works, to practice love, and to meet the needs of others before their own (Phil 2:1-11).
Pray for unity among the believers. The evil one plants distrust and fear among them and it is difficult at times to be united as one community for Christ. Pray that they know how much God loves them so that love would reign among them so that fear is cast out (1 John 4:18, 19). Pray for unity (Psalm 133, 1 Cor 12:12-26). Pray that they would attain the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:13).
Pray for a zeal for outreach as well. Part of growing in the knowledge of the Son of God is to reach out and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). Pray that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit and thus be bold in their witness (Acts 4:29-31).
Most of the believers come from the same areas of the country. The other regions are totally unreached. Pray that God would bring in his sheep from these unengaged regions, that they would hear the Shepherd's voice, and that they would unite with other members of Christ's body here so that there will be one flock under one Shepherd (John 10:16).
Pray for the people of this country who study abroad as international students and become believers there. Praise God that this is happening. Pray for continued outreach to all people from the Middle East who study abroad and who are exposed to the knowledge of the Son of God for the first time in their lives. Pray that God would continue to build his church among "aliens", "immigrants", and "sojourners" because He loves them as He loves orphans and widows (Deut 10:18-19).
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