As I look ahead into 2019, it looks like our national and global situation is in turmoil. Our world is in a moral and spiritual decline, we are in a battle for the minds and hearts of our dear grandchildren. The enemy is trying to steal their hearts and the plans God has for them. In addition to trying to destroy their faith, the enemy is trying to destroy the morals of our country, especially the family unit. It is urgent that we stand in the gap to pray for the spiritual, emotional, and physical protection of our grandchildren and their parents so they do not become victims of our culture.

For that reason, the mission of Christian Grandparenting Network is to challenge grandparents around the world to intentionally and regularly come together to pray, interceding for their grandchildren, children, and communities.

Therefore, we have organized “Grandparents@Prayer” (G@P) intercessory prayer groups. Our goal is to encourage grandparents to be prayer warriors through the personal discipline of intercessory prayer in the battle against the enemy. We encourage grandparents to meet together in small or large groups on a regular basis to unite in prayer at a designated location for 1 hour or so of guided prayer and fellowship.

Many grandparents have indicated that they appreciate the G@P prayer times because it is a safe place to share their heavy hearts for their grandchildren.

In Isaiah 58:6 we read that we can “loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke” in our world. One of the ways we can break these chains is by “standing in the gap” for our dear grandchildren.  Just as Esther stood in the gap for her people, the Jews when they were physically threatened. Today grandparents can stand in the gap with prayer for their grandchildren as the enemy threatens their spiritual lives.

I have found uniting in prayer with other grandparents for my grandchildren is a special blessing for me. It’s a safe place to share my concerns for my grandchildren and their parents and to know the others are praying for me. We now have a number of G@P intercessory groups meeting in various places throughout the world, in retirement Centers, schools, churches, and homes. Some of the groups meet weekly, some twice a month or once a month, whatever the group desires.  

I want to challenge you to ask God whom He would have you pray with you for each other’s grandchildren. Ask your friends, church senior group, neighbors, family members, or whomever.

Prayer: Lord will you set a fire in my heart to pass the baton of truth and pray intentionally for the next generation. In the name of Jesus, Amen

If you are interested, please go to https://christiangrandparenting.net/grandparents-at-prayer/

to learn more about the G@P intercessory prayer groups.

The first step is to complete the form and we will help you start a group.

By Lillian Penner, Co-Prayer director for Christian Grandparenting Network,  lpenner@chrisrtiangrandparenting.net

JANUARY 10

From and 1830's Devo Mark has republished (https://markmirza.com/product/threefold-cord/)

JANUARY 9

From and 1830's Devo Mark has republished(https://markmirza.com/product/threefold-cord/)

JANUARY 8

Guest blog written by Cathy Jacobs

Joni Eareckson Tada tells the story of a visit she once had to Russia.  While there, she befriended an old woman who cleaned the hotel lobby floors. Through an interpreter, Joni became friends with the elderly lady by praising her on her excellent care of the floor.  This lady was aged, wrinkled but had rosy cheeks framed with a tightly knotted, colorful scarf.  Standing in the hotel lobby with her broom in hand, she seemed out of place.  Joni felt perhaps that was what attracted her to the woman.

While in Russia, Joni actually met many Russian “babushkas” like her.  People call these women “the praying grandmothers”.  They were the rock-solid saints that Stalin aimed to eliminate.  He realized that if he could get rid of these “old women”, he had an opportunity to get the Russian youth into his hands

Praise God, Stalin failed! And thank the Lord for these praying grandmothers. They connected a generation lost to atheism to a new generation of people who today are asking questions about Jesus. 

A vital part of being a Godly grandparent is prayer.  Just as these babushkas provided a spiritual wall of protection over their young, a praying grandparent can do the same today. Can you imagine what it was like for these women in the 1930’s and 40’s?  They witnessed Stalin’s army marching into the center of their small villages. The soldiers would come directly into their homes where they would capture the Russian sons and grandsons. Then the soldiers physically carried off to war the men and boys. The babushkas watched their loved ones be forced out of town knowing that probably they would never see their loved ones again.

What kind of prayers do you think these women uttered as they fell to their knees on behalf of their sons and grandsons?  Was it a quick, fleeting prayer?  Or was it a deep, daily time of crying out desperately to the Lord? 

There is no doubt that the days of Stalin and Hitler were terrible.  But we also live in a time of fierce spiritual battle. The Bible tells us “… our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”. (Ephesians 6:12)  Yet scripture is also clear that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world”. (I John 4:4) There is an urgent need today for grandparents to “stand in the gap” and pray fervently for their children and grandchildren.  The Lord has issued to us a high calling for a deep level of prayers.

Yes, we are in a spiritual battle that requires spiritual weapons.  Babushka-strong prayers are such a weapon.  This is a challenge, not for the faint-hearted, but for passionate, intentional grandparents who are willing to get on their knees daily to intercede passionately for their loved ones.

God has placed your children and grandchildren in your lives and under your care. These loved ones are maneuvering through a world that is hostile to the ways of God.  We must become their “babushka-prayer warriors”. God has given us the awesome opportunity to partner with Him on behalf of these dear ones.  This is not an accident.  Nor is it incidental.  Rather, it is intentional on His part.  So let us rise  -- or should we say, “fall”  -- to this important calling on all grandparents. 

May each of us find the “babushka” within us as we storm the gates of Heaven on behalf of our children and grandchildren?

Catherine H. Jacobs, Founder and Executive Director, Pass the Legacy Ministry, www.passthelegacy.com  cathy@passthelegacy.com

This blog is taken from Cathy’s new book on her website, Pass the Legacy, 7 Keys for Grandparents making a difference. Check it out.

PS:  Would you like to find grandparents to pray with you for your family? If you do we have the answer.

Just go to https://christiangrandparenting.net/grandparents-at-pray

JANUARY 4

JANUARY 3

JANUARY 2

From and 1830's Devo Mark has republished(https://markmirza.com/product/threefold-cord/)

Over 258 million people live in a different country from their birth country. Another 20 million are refugees, 3 million are asylum seekers and 10 million are stateless. There are many other "people on the move" who are not counted in those statistics -- tourists, seafarers, diplomats, flight crews and so on.

Here are a few questions to help you know how to pray for diaspora people -- whether your neighbor, the person next to you on the bus, another church member or someone you see on the news.

Diaspora experience

In what ways does this person feel pushed out of his or her homeland?

In what ways does this person feel pulled by (or drawn into) his or her new location (as opposed to the homeland or another location)?

Who comes into regular contact with this person? With whom does this person wish to connect?

How long might this person be at the new location? How long might it be until the person returns “home”?

What skills, experiences and gifts might this person offer?

Faith experience

How much knowledge does this person have about the good news of Jesus? Is this person growing in this knowledge? What are some hindrances to more knowledge? What are some opportunities to know more?

What is this person’s attitude toward Christ and people who follow Christ? Is this person growing in love toward Christ? What are some hindrances to loving Christ more? What are some opportunities to grow in love?

What does this person understand to be the bad news about his or her situation? (This may include physical, emotional, social, economic and spiritual aspects.) What about God might this person then hear as good news?

Find more free prayer resources focused on diaspora at Global Diaspora Network

a child of a fearful, frightened, neglected, and abused 16 year old girl

a child of a father who abandoned her and her mother 

a child molested by her grandfather

a teen raped

a unwed young mother 

a young woman who thought abortion was a solution 

a life tormented by being told you were the reason for another’s pain

a life tormented with thoughts of suicide, pain, anger, agony, and shame

a journey of perseverance, forgiveness, healing, trust, thankfulness, and the spirit to “try” to love without conditions

a GIFT of being “Born Again” and having Jesus Christ to walk beside me daily

Pray In The New Year – The Great Escape

How do you exercise hope when you are grieving in the depth of your soul? In the 12th chapter of John Jesus showed us something about this spiritual discipline. Listen to His voice as his heart bleeds with sorrow in verses 27,28.

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

In this chapter Jesus and His disciples come to the ultimate clash of good and evil. The chapter begins with Mary Magdalene anointing Jesus’ feet with the costly perfume, and of course, Judas’ objection. Then came our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem with the multitudes shouting, “Hosanna!” Even some Greeks asked to see Jesus. But Jesus knew this was all leading to the ultimate sorrow of the cross. And He spoke the words, “Now is my heart troubled.” This heartache no doubt intensified as He went with His disciples to the garden to pray saying, “My heart is sorrowful even to death.”

Many of you have experienced deep sorrow in your life. If you have not, you will. While our heartaches are not as deep as our Lord's, we face sorrows that overwhelm our lives. In such times you will need a hope that is deeper than all that you are losing, a hope that goes beyond life and death. In His great sorrow Jesus gives us a glimpse of such a hope.

First He asks how He should respond. I'm not sure from the text whether He is praying or simply asking me how I think He should pray. Either way He asked if He should pray for God to save Him from the crisis. There is certainly a place for such prayers. That is how Jesus began praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. In Matthew 26:39 we read His prayer.

“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.”

But of course, even here He prays in submission.

“Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

But there comes a point where God tells us that escaping the sorrow is not His will. And as difficult as it was, Jesus knew His sorrow was the purpose of God. He says, “For this purpose I have come to this hour.” We often cannot see the purpose of what we endure. Your grief may seem pointless to you. But God knows the purpose of your heartache.

Then Jesus gives us the right prayer in sorrow. “Father, glorify your name.” This is the goal for anyone who has been redeemed, for anyone whose life is being transformed, who has been brought from alienation to the embrace of God's love. If your goal is something less than that, your sorrow will only deepen.

God's hope reaches beyond the darkened corridors of death. In 2 Corinthians 1 Paul speaks of facing death.

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”

The point of our lives and the heart of our prayers ought to be for God to be honored whether we succeed or fail, whether we live or die. Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians from jail, not knowing if he would be released or executed. And he encourages them with these words.

“It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”

As Jesus prays God's glory in John 12, something spectacular happens. A voice comes from heaven, saying, “I have glorified it and I will glorify it again!”

Some of the people standing around Him said it must have thundered. Others said an angel spoke to him. But Jesus said that was not it at all. He said, “This voice was for you.” They were the ones who needed to know God's glory and judgment were at hand. As we learn to pray for God’s glory, He speaks to our hearts, assuring us of His glory and grace. And others around us will glimpse His glory as well.

http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

Website

http://daveswatch.com/

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Pray In The New Year – City Slickers

Pray In The New Year – Blazing Saddles

Pray In The New Year – The Santa ClausE

Pray In The New Year – Indiana Jones

Pray In The New Year – The Godfather

December 25

• Background to today’s prayer

  • So today is the last day.

  • Why have you spent the time to pray this?

  • What result do you expect?

  • Below is my prayer, my expectation, for you…enjoy.

TODAY’S PRAYER

Lord this is the last day of this 25 Days of Prayer. And it is fitting  to end this with a picture of Jesus life AFTER His birth. Luke 2:40 and 52 tell us that He grew in strength, wisdom, grace, stature and favor, among both You and man. Father, my prayer is that each person praying during these 25 Days of Prayer would go from these prayers, and grow in the experience of Your presence, that comes so clearly as we spend time in close communing prayer with You Lord. Thank You Lord for this 25 Days of Prayer.

FREE prayer helps are always available on our Prayer-Basics-Page

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