John Bunyan, on prayer…
“Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer.”
“Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan.”
“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. ”
Prayers for the week…
- As people of the world:
- Pray prayers of mercy and relief for the people in the path of the line of storms that crossed the midwestern United States on Sunday, Nov. 17. Pray for the families and friends of those who lives were lost, pray for those who lost homes and pray for those who lack hope. Pray also for the Church to bear authentic witness to the goodness of God in the midst of it all. Pray for the Presbyterian churches in Washington and Peoria, Ill as they find themselves on the front line of witness.
- Pray for the people of Syria and for Christians caught in the crossfire: http://www.pcusa.org/news/2013/11/18/children-killed-attack-near-damascus-church-and-sc/
- Continue to pray for the people of the Philippines as relief and aid has yet to reach some communities cut off by the typhoon more than a week ago.
- As neighbors and citizens: During the holiday season, pray for families who have loved ones serving abroad in the armed forces. Let them know that you are grateful for their loved one’s service … and for their own sacrifice of missing out on their presence during the holidays. Pray for the men and women in the armed forces who do not know Christ, to have this be the time in which they hear and respond to the Gospel through a chaplain.
- Pray pro-life prayers.
- Pray for the Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) ministry taking place at the University of Alabama — led by Ryan Moore:
Ryan Moore is from Dayton, Tenn., a small town just north of Chattanooga. He is a graduate of The Baylor School in Chattanooga, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Covenant Theological Seminary in St Louis, Mo. On May 27, 2006, he married Ada Appling, now Ada Moore, a native of Memphis, Tenn. She graduated from Germantown High School in Germantown, Tenn., Auburn University and Covenant Theological Seminary. Ryan is an avid fan of just about everything. He loves reading, movies, music, playing guitar, painting, any outdoor activity, any game (backgammon, poker, bocci ball, etc.), listening to talk radio and the stock market.
Using the 2013 “watchlist” produced by Open Doors, we pray for the persecuted Christians of a different country each week.
Teachers/parents, consider this a great way to introduce geography into the weekly lessons. Show students where the nation is, then pray for Christians in that place.
This week we pray for the Christians of Djibouti, which ranks No. 43 on the watchlist.
Djibouti is more than 95 percent Sunni Muslim. The government generally respects the constitutional protection of freedom of religion, although its attitude toward Christians and other religious minorities is negative. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians form the largest Christian group, followed by foreign service persons and native Djibouti Christians. Non-Ethiopian Christians are very small in number. Djiboutians are vulnerable to the religious influence of Saudi Arabia and extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab.
Pray:
- Thank God that expat Christians are rarely restricted in their activities and Christians from neighboring Ethiopia are tolerated
- For native Djibouti persecuted Christians, who experience much pressure from family and community, and may well be rejected by them
- For Christian TV and internet sites in the French language which spread the message of Christ within the country.
- Prayer for the nation – focusing this week on the territory of Rhode Island, the birthplace of religious freedom.
- In 2013, we are praying together by name for Christians in 50 nations, Christians in all 50 states and all the presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and the emerging new Reformed body, ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. You are encouraged to add specific pastors, lay leaders, congregations, missionaries, new church developments and other ministries to the list by posting a comment to the blog. (Please do not publicly post the names of missionaries serving in contexts where exposing their identity would cause them harm or bring harm to those they serve in Christ’s name.) Let us kneel before the Father and ask His will be done.
- Prayers for the PCUSA: Pray for the presbyteries of the Synod of Alaska-Nothwest: Alaska, Central Washington, Inland Northwest, North Puget Sound, Olympia, Seattle, and Yukon.
- Prayers for Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC): Alleghenies (Bruce Allison, stated clerk).
- Prayers for the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA): the churches of the Eastern Pennsylvania Presbytery.
- Prayers for ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.
- Prayers for The Fellowship of Presbyterians.