Week 3 || Day 6
PRAYER FOCUS: OUR CHURCH FAMILY/MISSIONARIES
The world exists as a canvas for God’s glory. One way God is expanding His Glory is through missionaries living all over the world. To some of us, it may seem exotic and exciting to live that life - and it may be! - but there can be a heaviness that goes with it. There may be loneliness or a feeling of missing out. There are still hardships and can be danger as well. There are challenges to learning new languages - or if they are local - new customs and behaviors. Our missionaries and mission partners need our prayers and encouragement. And those in our church families do as well. Often there are difficult things that people are walking through that they may only share with a few close friends. We may not know all of the circumstances - but prayer can go places we can’t! All over the world - and it can even enter the hearts and minds of those we pray for. Prayers are so important to strengthen the global body of Christ. They are our roots! Roots do the hard work of grounding and strengthening the tree. They are often hidden but are not less important than other things we can do as believers.
Illustration:
“The first message at the birth of Christ was a missionary message—Luke 2:10
The first prayer Christ taught was a missionary prayer—Matt. 6:10
The first disciple, Andrew, became the first missionary—John 1:41
The first message of the Risen Lord was a missionary message—John 20:17
The first command of the Risen Lord to his disciples was a missionary command—John 20:21
The first sermon given by an apostle was a missionary sermon—Acts 2:17-39
The first reason the Lord gave for Christian love was a missionary reason—John 13:35
The first coming of Christ was for missionary work—Luke 6:13-21
The second coming of Christ is to be prompted by missionary work—Matt. 24:14
Our Savior's last wish was a missionary wish—Matt. 28:19
The last wish of the Jesus as he was leaving should be the first wish of believers.—(Mark 16:15)” - source unknown
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Kids SEEK, too!
Note to caretakers: Encourage kids to ask others in the congregation what they need prayer for. Then ask if you can pray right then and there!
Kids’ Illustration: 97% of the world has heard of Coca-Cola. 72% of the world has seen a can of Coca-Cola. 51% of the world has tasted a can of Coca-Cola. Coke has only been around since 1886 - 135 years! If God had given the task of sharing Jesus to the Coke company it would probably be done by now! (Source unknown)
However - God gives US the opportunity to share Jesus! We can do that right where we are and we can also pray for those who are doing that around the world. Life West Church supports many missionaries right here in Grand Rapids (you can find more at the Give page on our website), in the United States (including Hawaii!), and in Japan, Guatemala, Thailand, Uganda, and TWO missionary organizations in India!
Kids’ Activities for Today’s Prayer Focus:
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Bible:
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message…” (Colossians 4:2-3 NIV)
“Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.” (Ephesians 6:19 NIV)
“Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.” (2 Thessalonians 3:1 NLT)
“And then he told them, ‘ Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.’” (Mark 16:15 NLT)
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Quote for Today:
“In no other way can the believer become as fully involved with God’s work, especially the work of world evangelism, as in intercessory prayer.” — Dick Eastman, president of America’s National Prayer Committee
“We can reach our world, if we will. The greatest lack today is not people or funds. The greatest need is prayer.” — Wesley Duewel, head of OMS International
“Prayer is the mighty engine that is to move the missionary work.” — A.B. Simpson, founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance
“The history of missions is the history of answered prayer.” — Samuel Zwemer, missionary nicknamed “The Apostle to Islam”
“Just a word of warning. Passionate prayers not only change the world, they have a way of transforming the people who pray. … God’s goal is to recruit every one of us for his search and rescue team.” — Debbie Meroff, author
“I never knew before how much is dependent upon a full cooperation with the Lord in prayer. He has, in some sense, limited himself to the scope of the prayers of his people, as taught them by his Spirit. What a partnership prayer is!” — Phil Armstrong, SEND International’s first director
“Prayer needs no passport, visa or work permit. There is no such thing as a ‘closed country’ as far as prayer is concerned … much of the history of mission could be written in terms of God moving in response to persistent prayer.” — Stephan Gaukroger, British philosopher and historian
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Points to Ponder:
Below is a prayer to pray but there are many ways we can pray for our missionaries and our congregation!
Pray for the boldness to share Jesus
Pray for protection for them and their families
Pray for peace in the missionary organizations
Pray for the salvation of the missionary’s own family
Pray for their emotional needs
Pray for their relationship with God - that it would be continuously strengthened
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CLOSING PRAYER: Father God, today we pray for missionaries around the world. We ask that you would open doors for them to be able to share the truth of your Gospel. We ask that you would protect them as they do so. We also ask that the Holy Spirit would continue to soften the hearts of the people who will be hearing the Bible for the first time, so that the message may be planted in their hearts and take root to grow strong! We pray that the missionaries would have a boldness for sharing who You are and the account of Jesus! We stand against any tricks of the enemy that would stand in the way of our missionaries and that you would help to remove obstacles from the paths of those furthering the Gospel. Finally, we pray that their ministry would be effective and fully lead by the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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