“Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things.”
–Andrew Murray
We begin with prayers for all those affected by the bombings in Boston and the explosion of the plant in West, Texas. God have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.
- 1-Minute Devotional thought:
(Luke 11:2) And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, …”
When Jesus mentors us in prayer, He tells us to address God as Father. In addition to helping us understand God as being benevolent and good (the very point of the following verses in Luke 11:11-13), the term also reminds Christians of their adoption as a son or daughter of God — through Jesus Christ.
This “Father” term is not the general Fatherhood of God as being the Creator of all things. Rather, Jesus’ disciples speak of God as their Father because of what Jesus Christ did in dying and being raised for their redemption (see Galatians 4; Titus 3:7; Romans 8:14-17).
Because of Christ, we are children of God! Pray to Him with that truth in your heart!
- As citizens of the City of Man: Pray for President Obama to grant asylum to the German family who desires to stay in the United States in order to be able to homeschool their children. If they are deported back to Germany, they will not have the freedom to do so. Consider signing the petition to the White House to raise the pressure for the U.S. government to grant such asylum. — Update from last week: the petition has received enough signatures, but the decision to grant asylum has not yet been given. Romeike v. Holder is now before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and will be heard on April 23.
- Pray for the pro-life message to really be heard and understood this week as the trial for abortionist Kermit Gosnell continues. Pray that people would have their eyes opened to the atrocity of abortion.
- Pray for the Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) ministry taking place at Indiana University — led by Brad Tubbesing:
Both Brad and wife, Caroline, were born and raised in St. Louis, Mo. The two became high school sweethearts, dated through college, while Brad attended Miami University in Ohio and Caroline, the University of Missouri-Columbia, and were married immediately following. They have three beautiful daughters and a black lab named Gunner. Brad received a Master of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary in December, 2006 and was ordained in the PCA in July, 2007. After graduating from seminary the Tubbesings moved to Huntsville, Ala., to begin a new RUF ministry at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). Seeing God begin and grow the ministry of RUF at UAH was an amazing experience. So much so, that they moved to Bloomington in 2012 to begin an RUF ministry at IU
- Using the new 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 Nigeria, which ranks No. 13 on the watchlist:
The Islamist extremist agenda to bring Nigeria under the ‘House of Islam’ versus the election of a southern Christian as President has caused much unrest. The Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram, has claimed the lives of at least 800 Christians. The decisions of local government, especially in the twelve northern Sharia states, mean that Christians experience persecution and restrictions in schooling, threats of abduction, forced marriage, as well as denial of employment, clean water and healthcare. It is dangerous to convert and for churches to integrate new converts.
PRAY: Give thanks that believers are responding to recent pressure with increased prayer, evangelism and care for Muslim Background Believers, That Christian youths will resist the temptation to respond with violence to Muslim attacks, For Open Doors workers providing emergency support and trauma counseling to victims of attacks.
- P
rayer for the nation – focusing this week on the state of Hawaii.
- In 2013, 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, ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbytreians. 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 the Trinity: Beaver-Butler, Carlisle, Donegal, Huntingdon, Kiskiminetas, Lackawanna, Lake Erie, Lehigh, Northumberland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Redstone, Shenango, Upper Ohio Valley, Washington and West Virginia.
Prayers for Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC): the Rivers and Lakes (Carolyn Nystrom, stated clerk).
- Prayers for the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA): the churches of the Western Presbytery.
- Prayers for ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.
- Prayers for The Fellowship of Presbyterians.
1 Comment. Leave new
Please pray for India. There is so much poverty, caste discrimination continues, discrimination and violence against women is increasing, Hindu fundamentalism is growing, corruption is rampant, and the well-educated middle classes turn a blind eye and are totally apathetic to what is going on in that country. Most Indian Americans, one of the wealthiest and influential group of new immigrants to our country, also don’t seem to care or want to give back to their country of origin. Pravaham: A Community for Peace and Justice in rural south India shares the love of Christ and provides a 1-year vocational education to rural high school dropouts. The girls are placed in jobs at the end of the year and their own lives as well as that of their families and the families they serve are transformed. So far about 100 girls have been helped, a drop in the ocean of India but praise God. He is working in a quiet and powerful way and I would like continued prayer and praise for his presence and provision to the millions of poor and suffering in India. That he will open the hearts and minds of well-off Indians at home and abroad and bring many more into his work to further his kingdom in India and in places like Pravaham. Thank you very much. God bless you.