Wednesday, October 12, 20
“In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.” (Psalm 62:7, NKJV) Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer team, asking you to pray for spiritually rewarding relationships. In the Northwestern Province of Zambia, lives are being changed all because two young men left the comforts of home to come and spend two months doing sports ministry in the secondary schools. Josh and Joseph were able to build relationships with the youth that opened the door for them to answer spiritual questions and give sound spiritual advice. A believer working with the peoples of the Garden Route, South Africa writes, “Shopping for earbuds and smartphone covers has turned into a friendly exchange of curry with warm ‘rotis’ (flat breads) and pumpkin bread. There is a little electronics store right near where I typically shop for groceries. Now each time I pop in for something on the grocery list, I also stop to chat with Hassam* in the electronics shop. Hassam is from Pakistan but has been living here in ‘Small City,’ South Africa, for some time now. He invited me to watch his team play a match of indoor cricket. The more things that we have to talk about in conversation, the more opportunities there are to talk about faith. I ask him questions about Islam, and then I make comments about Christianity. Hassam is not offended by our conversations. Every time I hear the call to prayer ring out from the minaret, I pray for Hassam and the others like him who come to South Africa looking for a good place to do business. I pray for them to find Jesus when they bow their faces down on their prayer rugs.” * Please pray for Hassam’s salvation and for others like him who have not yet found a Christian friend who will share the love of Jesus. * Pray that Zambian youth will continue to thirst for spiritual knowledge long after Josh and Joseph return to the U.S. * Give thanks for God who is our rock and refuge. (*names changed)
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Friday, October 7, 2016
“My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.” (John 15:8, HCSB) Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer team, asking prayer for church planting endeavors. Believers in Jammu, India, have been teaching and walking through Jesus’ church-planting principles for a while with a couple groups of believers. Now they are going to narrow their focus and allocate resources in an even more kingdom-focused way. They are seeking God’s wisdom to know where to engage people. As they progress, trainers are praying that those they have taught will feel a greater sense of ownership over the principles they have learned and the responsibility to use them. A small Punjabi village has all the normal trappings that one would expect to see in an Indian village: piles of single-construction materials outside a plot of land, animals resting in the shade or meandering every which way, and children playing joyfully outside. But the narrow roads in this village have recently been paved, and they have been traversed by 15 pastors who have assembled to learn “best practices” in church planting. Their goal is to pave new “roads” into unreached areas where the lost are waiting and have been prepared by the Holy Spirit to hear the Good News. Second City Church in Birmingham, England, is a new church plant that is being started in partnership with a local church. Young professionals and university students living and working in the city center are the primary target group for this new congregation. Statistically, Birmingham is one of the youngest cities in Europe, with 40 percent of the population being under 25 years of age. * Please pray as Second City Church reaches out to this group that has little to no faith background. * Pray that Punjabi pastors and their families will be protected from every form of evil, and that their efforts in ministry will be directed by the Holy Spirit. * Intercede for church planter trainees in Jammu that they will encounter open doors into new areas where the gospel has never been preached. Monday, October 3, 2016
Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.” (Deuteronomy 4:10b, ESV) Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer team, encouraging you to pray for university students across the globe who have opportunity to hear the Word of God as they go through this new semester. IMB missionaries Wes and Beth Gestring live and work in South Africa. Their ministry focuses on the students of the North West University. Young people come to this university from all over South Africa, as well as from other African nations. Wes and Beth spend a lot of time on campus, getting to know the students. Many times, they invite them to their home for a meal. Wes and Beth are constantly sharing the gospel with young people at a very critical stage of life. When students make a decision to follow Jesus, Wes and Beth teach them how to be disciples of Christ. These students take part in outreach trips in which they learn to share Christ in different contexts, such as in distant villages, townships, or cities. The Indigenous University Student Team in Colombia is taking turns spending afternoons in the student center. Each time the doorbell rings, a student is waiting to enter. Most of them are familiar faces, and the greetings are warm and enthusiastic. Some of the students have brought friends or family who want to begin to participate in the student center services. * Please pray for the CAFÉ Indigenous University Student Team to be able to find new ways to gain access to a greater number of indigenous university students. * Ask God to grant the Gestrings wisdom and creativity as they engage in campus ministry. * Give thanks for young lives being transformed with the gospel and the many years they have ahead of them to share the Good News with others. Monday, September 26, 2016
“You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6, NASB) Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer team, asking you to pray that God’s Word will be received with joy. “Don’t tell me about your God, and I won’t tell you about mine.” “I’ve never seen such young Christians. I thought all Christians were old!” “Thank you for this book. My son told me I should read it, but I couldn’t find one.” “We have a small church of 50 people, and we don’t have enough Bibles.” “I want to know how to become a Christian. I don’t know how to pray.” These are some of the responses of tourists in Macau, who recently received a Chinese Bible from Southern Cross Project volunteers. For the past several years in the urban centers of the Deccan, India, segments of the Muslim community have been pressuring their members to conform in behavior and worship. They are also strategically training members to resist followers of Jesus. They are even being taught not to read the Bible. This is unlike other religious communities in India that do not have such training. Pray for inroads of the gospel into people’s hearts and minds despite such an overt obstacles. Pray that those teaching such things will see the emptiness of life without Jesus and that they will, as a result, repent and place their faith in Him. Pray for Deccani Muslims who have recently placed their faith in Christ and who are now on the receiving end of such pressure. Ask that they will not turn back, but will have an ever-increasing love for Jesus that will surpass any pressures they may face. * Please pray that Deccani believers will experience a powerful outpouring of grace from Jesus in times of such pressure. * Intercede for those who received a copy of God’s Word in Macau to read it and be changed. * Pray for Christians who are taking Bibles back to their cities, towns, or villages to share with others. Wednesday, September 21, 2016
“You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:17-18, NKJV) Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer team, asking you to pray for training events. A group of 20 national leaders in Southeast Asia recently completed their exams and presentations after studying the Old and New Testaments over the past year. They latched onto an effective Bible-teaching method and wowed their teachers with their final presentations. Their well-planned and prayed-through presentations were engaging, touching, and thought provoking. Praise God for working through their lives and gifting them to reach their nation for Christ. They have studied Revelation and 2 Peter and will now teach others. The Antandroy people traveled, some for days, to get to the town of Fort Dauphin, Madagascar. A team from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was coming to offer a leadership training course. Twenty men and women loaded up on big taxi buses and made the journey to join 10 Antanosy (an-tah-NOO-see) people and 30 others from town. The goal was two weeks in intensive classes then spending afternoons sharing the gospel in small groups. There were broad smiles as certificates were handed out to those who had completed the course, and better than that, there were 100 decisions made in town by those seeking to surrender their life to Christ! * Please pray for these baby Christians in Madagascar that they will grow in the Word and for these newly trained leaders as they continue to spread the Good News they have studied. * Pray that the study of those two crucial books will make a difference in the lives of those who hear them and those who teach them. * Ask God to lead you to individuals who need to hear the lesson of your latest time of Bible study and boldly speak God’s Word to them. Friday, September 16, 2016
“The one who has accepted His testimony has affirmed that God is true.” (John 3:33, HCSB) Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer team, asking you to pray for those hearing the Truth of Jesus. Ali* is dearly loved by a brother who desperately wants to see him in heaven. For over two years now, hours and hours have been spent trying to help Ali understand who Jesus is. When it appears that he has moved forward, Ali reverts back to his superstitions. He has been taught stories that have no background or historical support, and whose principals and logic appear to have very little wisdom or moral value. He has two Bibles now, and they just sit on his coffee table, collecting dust. The Kabyle Berber brother feels intense frustration, and there have even been moments of wanting to give up on Ali, who only halfheartedly believes in what he says he believes, yet rejects Jesus because he claims that the Bible was falsified. Ali is an example of someone being held hostage spiritually. He has been given the tools and told the path to salvation, and at this point, only prayer will loosen the grip that false beliefs have on him. In a village in one Southeast Asian province, believers have been teaching health and Bible for a year. The husband, Sokha*, his wife, Sophea*, and their adult children have dedicated their lives and home to the Lord. Selma* and her family were curious when they heard the gospel but made it clear that they believe that Jesus is only a prophet. At the same time, they expressed appreciation when believers offered to pray for Selma’s chronic health condition. * Please pray that Selma and other Saudi Arabs will receive healing in Jesus’ name, and that they will open their hearts to the gospel as they see God’s healing power through Jesus. * Intercede for this Southeast Asian family that they will understand and follow obediently in baptism. * Pray that God will see fit to draw Ali to accept fully that Jesus is Lord. (*name changed) [email protected] is subscribed to PrayerLine. If you wish to no longer receive this eLetter click unsubscribe Monday, September 12, 2016
“Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, 'In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.'.” (Genesis 22:13-14, NASB) Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer team, joining you in prayer for those observing Eid. During the month of September, the peoples of Asia Minor celebrate a four-day holiday that they call the “Holiday of Sacrifice.” It is a time for people to remember God’s provision to Abraham in the place of his son, and animals will be sold, sacrificed, and shared with the poor to earn the favor of God through good works. As people contemplate “sacrifice,” pray for them to acknowledge their sin and their need for a Savior. A very special holiday for the Mandinka people of West Africa is being celebrated today and tomorrow. The Mandinka call it Tabaski. It is a time that the faithfulness of Abraham to be willing to sacrifice his son is celebrated. Each family tries to buy a ram. During the days leading up to Tabaski, much care is spent washing and tending to the sheep. After prayers on Tabaski, the ram is sacrificed. The holiday is celebrated with new clothes and lots of good food. There is great anticipation and joy when family members come home to celebrate. What the Mandinka miss is an understanding that God gives a picture of His redemption in substituting the ram for the son. * Please pray that the Mandinka will realize that the blood of an animal is not sufficient to bring forgiveness. * Pray for the people of Asia Minor to understand that Jesus completed the only good work necessary for salvation through His death on the cross. * Intercede for the Muslims in your community as they celebrate Eid and be open to conversations that will draw them to salvation. PRAYERLINE: PRAY FOR THE WORKERS ON TEA PLANTATIONS IS SRI LANKA, AND FOR A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING.8/26/2016 Friday, August 26, 2016
He “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:21, ESV) Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer team, joining you in prayer that hearts will be transformed. For thousands of years, the people of Bhutan have lived in fear of spirits. Whether they follow Buddhism, Hinduism, or traditional religions, many exert great effort to appease or avert the powers of evil spirits. You may have seen the pictures . . . their colorful saris dotting the hillsides as they work their way through the tea, plucking the tender shoots and tossing them into baskets or sacks on their backs. They are the lifeblood of the Sri Lankan tea plantations. For 150 years, their families have lived in virtual slavery, receiving a few dollars a day for long hours of grueling, tedious work. Pressures from Western countries have led to increased wages or better housing and medical care, but in the minds of these women, they are just slaves, just property. Their husbands return from work only to beat them and their children, drink themselves to sleep, and begin another day. For the women of the longhouses, life holds little hope. Hinduism, the majority faith among them, tells them that they are getting what they deserve and that all they have to look forward to is a chance to improve the next time around. For those who have never heard that through Jesus they can have forgiveness of their sins and the hope of an eternal heaven, the gospel is a blast of sunlight through the darkest of nights. * Please pray that God will awaken His church in the hill country of Sri Lanka to see each person, each dot, on the hillside as one beloved by God. * Ask the Lord to reveal His truth to the people of Bhutan so they may be released from centuries of darkness and fear. * In humility and surrender, submit yourself to the power of the Holy Spirit and the redemption of the Savior. Wednesday, August 10, 2016
“Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6, NKJV) Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer team, asking you to pray for refugees. Four Romanian Turkish families have moved near workers in Germany. The workers write: “They are not believers, but they are all related to a Turkish pastor in Romania and may be open to meeting for Bible study. They moved to Germany for work but have found everything to be much different than expected. The job for which they came here is not providing enough work hours for the families to survive. We are trying to help them as much as possible. They are desperate and may be close to coming to faith in Christ.” Syrian refugee Rawaan* gave her heart to Jesus. She prayed with sisters in Christ that God would mend her separated marriage. Just hours later, her husband came home, hoping for reconciliation. Smiling, she says, “Jesus hears my prayers.” In the Netherlands, a worker has been having interesting conversations with a new friend, Hamidi*, who is a refugee. The worker asked a general question. “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?” Usually this is answered in a multitude of ways, but Hamidi gave a sad, unique, and very honest answer. “I would ask God if I was a mistake. Was I just the result of my parents ‘getting together’ one night, or was there some sort of purpose to my life?” The worker and Hamidi are continuing to meet. * Please ask the Lord to guide the worker in the right words to share and that Hamidi will soon know God’s true purpose for his life. * Pray that many refugee families, stressed by the traumas of war, will be restored and will glorify God. * Intercede for these four Romanian Turkish families to accept the Savior and follow Him faithfully. (*name changed) Monday, August 8, 2016
“If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.” (2 Timothy 2:5, NASB) Hi, this is Eleanor Witcher of IMB’s prayer team, joining you in prayer for ministry through sports. Soccer is the world’s most-played sport, with more than 250 million players in 200 countries. It’s so popular that it has even drawn Deaf nationals into heated discussions over the exploits of teams like Real Madrid and Manchester United. For the younger men, this mania for soccer leads them spend long periods of free time playing pick-up games, barefooted and in the sand. Although the women do not play as much as the men, they often develop soccer skills that would be the envy of any American player. In a land of soccer fanatics, Hannah and Paul Yount* had an opportunity to watch a game between Deaf nationals from two cities. The game was such a big deal that the Deaf went all out by renting a real, honest-to-goodness stadium and having the teams play under the lights. A newspaper reporter was even invited to cover the event. The excitement drew more than 200, and possibly 300, Deaf people to the game. In that fun-filled night, Hannah and Paul made many new and exciting connections among the Deaf of their country in West Africa. The sport of Frisbee® has caught the attention of young people in the Ararat Valley Plains of Armenia. Such sports activities are being used as a way to reach young people with the gospel. As individuals are drawn to fun activities, their hearts and lives are often drawn to the Good News of Jesus. * Please pray for sports and children’s outreach that will be held in the Ararat Valley Plains. * Pray that God will turn Deaf nationals to Himself through the new connections the Younts made at the soccer game. * Give thanks for our remarkable bodies that allow us to play sports and experience the thrill of healthy competition. (*names changed) |
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