“Oh brother, pray; in spite of Satan, pray; spend hours in prayer; rather neglect friends than not pray; rather fast, and lose breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper – and sleep too – than not pray. And we must not talk about prayer, we must pray in right earnest. The Lord is near. He comes softly while the virgins slumber.” –Andrew A. Bonar
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He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)
In this one, theologically-dense word – “propitiation” – we have the heart of the Gospel and the core of all Christianity. Jesus came to save sinners by laying down His life as a substitute – a sacrifice for sinners which satisfied the righteous demands of the Father. He took divine wrath – in our place.
1,000 pages more could be written to explore and sing about this “propitiation” work of Christ, but just let that one verse above guide your mind into a spirit of gratitude and prayer today. If you are a Christian, you are one who believes that Christ died in your place. Hallelujah!
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As citizens of the City of Man … Pray for your trash collectors. Yes, your trash collectors. Whether your local municipality owns their own trucks or outsources this task to a private company, collecting the garbage is something we all take for granted – but highly appreciate the effects of the service!
If you’re usually at home when they dump your cans, give them 10 seconds of greeting and a smile. My trash gets picked up by pretty much the same guys each week. No surprise here, but meeting them curbside with a dozen Krispy Kremes really goes a long way toward establishing some Christian-missionary credibility. Give it a try. Pray for your truck’s team for a month … then donut them (using “donut” as a verb). Invite them to your church or ask them if you can pray for them or their family. Tell me how it goes!
Remember, we are dual-citizens … of the City of Man and the City of God.
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Pray for your local Pro-life ministries. Recently, I’ve been hearing powerful stories of Bible studies taking place with post-abortion women. The Gospel transforms lives, and brings forgiveness of sin to anyone who looks in faith to Christ.
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Pray for the Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) ministry taking place on the campus of East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, Tennessee. This ministry is led by Chad Smith.
“Chad grew up in Memphis, TN and graduated from the University of Tennessee (Knoxville) in 2000 with a degree in History. He also got married that year to Jennifer, whom he met through RUF at UTK. Chad worked in small business and then served on staff of two local churches before graduating from RTS-Jackson in 2007 with a Master of Divinity. He loves serving in RUF, a ministry that was huge in his and Jennifer’s lives! Chad and Jennifer have 3 precious children.
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Using the new 2013 “watchlist” produced by opendoorsusa.org, 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 Iraq, which ranks #4 on the watchlist:
Christians in Iraq are on the verge of extinction. Large numbers have fled abroad or to the (until recently) safer Kurdish region, where they face unemployment and inadequate schooling, medical care and housing. The church faces many challenges – members being killed or abducted, and a lack of capable leaders. In central and southern Iraq, traditional Christians suffer as much as Muslim-background believers, as a result of their visibility. In May 2012, 20 Christian families in Mosul received threats, and the house of another Christian was set on fire.
Pray:
- For the many Christians displaced from their homes by threats of murder or abduction
- Ask God to raise up godly, wise leaders to shepherd the church
- For Open Doors trauma counsellors working with children and families affected by persecution.
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Prayer for the nation – focusing this week on the state of Arkansas. An immense percentage (86 percent) of the population of Arkansas identifies at Christian, and specifically Protestant (78 percent). Pray that the 1,000s of pulpits throughout this state would be led by pastors who dig deep Gospel wells of ministry, and that from these living waters would flow great missionary endeavors – in the state and around the world.
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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, 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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Prayers for the PCUSA: Pray for the presbyteries of the Northeast Synod: The Albany, Boston, Cayuga-Syracuse, Eastern Korean, Elizabeth, Genesee Valley, Geneva, Hudson, Long Island, Monmouth, New Brunswick, and New York City (more next week).
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Prayers for Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC): the Central South Presbytery(Ken Van Kampen, stated clerk).
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Prayers for the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA): the churches of the Southeast Louisiana Presbytery.
Prayers for ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.
Prayers for The Fellowship of Presbyterians.