Prayer blog
Prayers for the week of December 17 – 23, 2012
The Layman, December 18, 2012
Prayer blog for December 17 – 23, 2012
“A man who is intimate with God will never be intimidated by men.” –Leonard Ravenhill
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Advent prayers. Follow the lead of Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:22-38), two senior saints living in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ birth, who longed to see “the Lord’s Christ.” Simeon had received a promise that he would see the Messiah before his death, and when that day finally arrived, he took “baby Jesus” into his arms and prayed, “…my eyes have seen your salvation…a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
Pray that people will give thought to who that “baby Jesus” really was, and is! Pray that the same Holy Spirit who caused Simeon and Anna to adore the Christ, would lead Christians to adore Christ in the coming year. And, that those who do not currently know Christ at all would find him to be a “light for the Gentiles” which brings them salvation.
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Pray for citizens of Newtown, Connecticut in the aftermath of last week’s tragic massacre at the elementary school. Words are inadequate to express the sense of shock in the face of the evil we witnessed last week. Pray for Christian pastors in the area who will undoubtedly be given extra opportunities to minister to these families and the general community. As Christians, we “weep with those who weep” during these times, even as we remember the promise of the Gospel – that through Jesus’ death and resurrection, there will be a new heaven and a new earth where:
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
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Continue to pray for pro-life ministry in your local city. December is an especially hard time of the year to counsel walk-in clients, as a higher percentage of them are pre-determined not to be pregnant through the holidays and into the new year. Pray for these counselors to keep from discouragement. These folks are on the front lines of ministry in the pro-life movement.
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Pray for the Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) ministry taking place on the campus of College of Charleston in South Carolina – led by campus minister Danny Clark [HYPERLINK: http://www.charleston.ruf.org ]. In this history-rich city (the U.S. Civil War began here), pray that the Gospel would bear fruit in the lives of students of the present generation.
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This week, pray for persecuted Christians in Eritrea:
Using the “watchlist” produced by opendoorsusa.org, we will pray for persecuted Christians in a specific nation 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.
An excerpt from the report on Eritrea:
The government is the main persecutor. The government of Eritrea adheres somehow to Marxist ideology but its real quest seems to be plain power. The general population has become tired of the government and does not expose evangelical Christians to the government like it did before.
The persecution pattern in Eritrea is therefore mostly related to the specific dynamics of government driven persecution. No spontaneous killings-on-the-spot by individuals or mobs, inspired by their overzealous religious leaders, but more systematic government action. Christians from the evangelical minority are pressured to change or renounce their religion. They are tortured and forced to revert to the registered denominations. While no Christian has been killed in the last year, five Christians died in prison due to illness. Many more believers were released so that they wouldn’t die while in government’s custody. Some were denied medical attention, others received inadequate medical care. Anyone who is caught or discovered to be an evangelical Christian was sent to jail without trial, the crime committed being an evangelical Christian in Eritrea. It is hard to establish exactly how many Christians are in jail because of the nature of crackdown that the government undertakes all over the country. Actual estimations are around 1,500 Christians in detention. The government holds Christians in military camps, some in hidden places not accessible to ordinary people other than government officers. The persecuted only emerge to narrate their story after they have been released. . Source: Page 17 of (PDF)
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We will also pray for Christians across America by lifting them up by state. Additionally, we will pray each week for our fellow Presbyterians. So, in 2012, we will pray 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, The Fellowship of Presbyterians (these will be added as they are formed). 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.
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Prayer for the nation – focusing on the state of Wisconsin. Lutheran (c. 700,000) and Roman Catholicism (c. 1.6 million) are the dominant religious forms in the state. As in every state of the Union, pray that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached from the pulpits and given vibrant expression through the lives of believers.
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Prayers for the PCUSA: Pray for the presbyteries of the Synod of Lakes and Praries [HYPERLINK: http://www.lakesandprairies.org/ ]: Central Nebraska, Dakota, Des Moines, East Iowa, Homestead, John Knox, Milwaukee, Minnesota Valleys (remainder next week).
Prayers for Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC): the Alleghenies (Bruce Allison, stated clerk).
Prayers for the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA): the churches of the Providence Presbytery (Northern Alabama, Mississippi)
Prayers for The Fellowship of Presbyterians.
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Pray for Christians everywhere to embrace Jesus’ call to “be sent” into the world:
“Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21)
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Amen.