Pray Network Forum

missionaries (3)

PRAYING FOR THE KINGDOM

Posted by David Young on October 5, 2015 at 17:50

We pray for so many things. I saw two prayer requests this week for sick and suffering dogs. I think that is legitimate. Those who lifted the requests loved their animals. Our prayers should reflect the concerns and passions of our hearts. But it is crucial for us to have right priorities of desire and concerns. Jesus told us to seek first the kingdom of God. Are you praying for the kingdom?

The day will come when the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. In 2 Peter 3:11-12 we find these words.

"Since all these things are to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening, the coming of the day of God."

We are to wait for and hasten that day. Now let me ask you what we could do to hasten the culmination of history?

It is legitimate to pray as John prayed at the end of The Revelation. "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" But there is more that we can do and pray in this regard. In Matthew 24 Jesus gave us signs of the end times. And in verse 14 He said, "This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all people groups, and then the end will come."

Are you praying for the spread of the gospel, the spread of the Kingdom?  Do you have lists of missionaries that you pray for every day? Are you praying for the gospel to be brought to unreached and unengaged people groups? www.operationworld.org/ is great place to begin. They have the definitive prayer guide for people groups around the world. You can also find information on praying for the spread of the gospel at www.imb.org/ or on the websites of other mission agencies. We can pray for His kingdom to come.

Next week we will look at praying for God's will.

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

daveswatch.com/

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THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

Posted by Bernie Lutchman on January 12, 2015 at 7:30

DAYS 1-11 ARE HERE

DAY TWELVE:
VERSE:
As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him....(1 John 2:27)
PRAYER:
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Most gracious, kind merciful Heavenly Father, Who gives all things to all all people, we thank You for the special"chrisma" (gift of anointing) You have given Your anointed and those upon whom You have placed a special calling to reach, teach, preach and outreach to a lost and dying world. These are those who are truly called by Your Name, those who have been reborn and brought into the Kingdom of Your Son. 
Because You have given us Your Spirit, we cannot be deceived by the god of this world and even if distracted, we shall soon learn the errors of our ways. There are some things which bible colleges, Sunday School teachers and preachers cannot teach and that is how to listen to You, how to respond to You and how to obey the promptings and directions which Your Holy Spirit, Who is our true friend in the Faith imparts and inputes into us. He infuses more oil and blessing daily from our first calling on our lives and the Truth can only be found in Him.
 
So most compassionate, gracious and long-suffering God, we lift up on this special day of recognition of Your anointing on the lives of your true followers, those who take this Word across the globe. We lift up Your missionaries who abide and rest more on You for their moment by moment nourishment, guidance, protection and direction than the rest of us. Lord, not only are Your true missionaries, i.e., those whom You have actually sent out to dangerous and seemingly unproductive lands, not only are they solely dependent on You, but sometimes they lose courage in the face of evil persecution as seen with Your servants the Burnhams when Martin was killed by islamic guerrillas in the Philippines in 2002. Lord as the flesh told Gracia, his dear wife to see revenge, Your Grace and Your Love encouraged her to show love, mercy and compassion. Because of that, she "learned to fly again" and won many more souls to Christ, a testimony for us not to give up and even in the pain and suffering in her own family, to see the bigger picture of the Love You have, which put Christ on the Cross.

Father, we also pray for those of us who are missionaries in our own "Jerusalem"- namely outside our own front doors. May we never tire of the hard work that it is to reach on and teach and care for the lost when their hearts are so hard and they literally hate You, while professing to love and know You at Christmas and Easter time. Father, we pray for those of us that we persevere, never give in, never give up and in fact live up to the standards and the call with which You have have called. We do this because Your Call is True, Your Word is True, Your Love is True and Your Promises are Yes and Amen....and we believe it, because of Jesus Christ, our soon coming Lord and Savior, in His Name, amen.
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Praying with Your Feet

Posted by Rob Griepentrog on August 27, 2014 at 9:25
This past weekend, I had the privilege of prayer walking the grounds of some local schools with area residents, ministry leaders, students, and even an alumnus of the schools!  While many simply consider the concept of prayer walking (walking while praying) or praying on site, just another way that one can pray, I can tell you that people participating left excited, enthused, and invigorated!  Yes, invigorated.  That's a word I seldom, if ever, see paired with the word, prayer.

Here are just a few things that people shared following walking the grounds in prayer.

* "Prayer Really Works!"  That's a fairly easy idea to intellectually agree with, but when those in attendance heard reports of specific ways God answered specific things he had people praying during last year's prayer walk, everyone was encouraged and energized to continue praying- during and even long after the formal prayer walk concluded!

* "I now have new ideas and ways to pray for students, teachers, administrators, and supporting staff on these campuses.  God has revealed to me people and matters affecting students here that I can pray about every time I drive past this place."

* "I've never thought about praying on site at the schools before.  God brought so many different ideas to my mind to pray about while I was here today.  It wasn't until I followed Him here that He brought these to light.  I can't wait to do something like this here again!"

Blessed Are Your Feet

Romans 10:15b- As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (NIV)


Paul's words are associated with missions outreach and the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  But let's also remember that prayer is an active, ongoing, aspect of missions and the gospel going forth into the world!  Without prayer, the gospel often falls upon deaf ears or hardened hearts.  With prayer, eyes are opened, ears unstopped, and hearts softened to salvation through Jesus Christ.

Prayer walking, and praying on site, as mentioned above, is often used by God to reveal new people to pray for and circumstances to engage in prayer. 

We walk and travel many places each day.  A key difference between walking and prayer walking is whether one's heart and mind are engaged with God or not.  Much of our time and our daily movements can be infused with prayerful conversation with God.  If that's a new concept, or if it seems difficult to implement, ask God to help you turn your thoughts to Him- or to help you see others, or circumstances you encounter, with His eyes, heart, or mind.  He'll be happy to help you see and experience things His way, and then help tune your heart to pray accordingly.

By doing these kind of things (seeking to see and experience people and matters through God's eyes, heart, and mind), we become missionaries actively engaged right where we are!  God blesses our feet as we walk, drive, and move about- and He does so as a result of aligning our hearts, minds, and other senses with His!


Praying for Missionaries

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. - Ephesians 1:15-17

We may not actively consider ourselves missionaries- especially if we're not formally serving with a church denomination, ministry, etc.  But by praying on site, and by prayer walking, we can personally take an active role in missions each and every day; right where we are!

As Paul wrote to the Ephesians (noted above), we can pray for one another to receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation- so that we may know Him better (and while doing so, also help others know Him better as well).  This mindset of prayer can help us pray for missionaries near and far- including ourselves and every other Christ follower around us.  This kind of missions mindset (beginning with prayer in knowing God better) is a powerful way to glorify God and seek His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10)!


Carrying Prayer Everywhere

As we've seen, prayer can easily be carried everywhere.  Whether one uses their feet, a motorized vehicle, or some other method of transportation, the key is our focus upon God, His heart, mind, and will- moment-by-moment.

This moment, I encourage you to pause and ask God to reveal to you something around you He sees that you might be missing.  Ask Him if there's a way He'd have you pray about what He's revealed to you.  Then, if He does, pray accordingly.  It's a model you can apply to and throughout your day- wherever you are, wherever you go, or around whomever you meet.

Let's pray with our feet today!
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