Methodist Evangelicals Together

Praying Always

Winter 2009/10 Prayer Diary

It is so good to hear your updates and answers to prayer. Please do continue to send them, along with prayer requests.

Day : 1

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom, you are exalted as head over all” (1 Chronicles chapter 29 verse 11). How great is our God! Take some time to meditate on His greatness and give thanks that, through Jesus, we can call this great God our Father.

Day : 2

In the run-up to ECG (Llandudno, 6 -11 April), pray for all the preparations which are taking place, for unity and vision for the team, and that there will be a real move of the Holy Spirit in transforming lives and in calling and equipping for service.

Day : 3

Pray for Fairtrade Fortnight (22 February - 7 March), that awareness of the exploitation of workers to provide for our goods might be heightened, and that people might be encouraged more and more to buy fairly traded items. Thank God that some manufacturers are switching to fair trade products and pray that many more will follow suit.

Day : 4

Continue to pray for our President and Vice President, David Gamble and Richard Vautrey, as they seek to serve the Methodist Church over the second half of their term of office. Pray for safety in travelling, quality time with their families and a real sense of being at the centre of God’s purpose for their lives and for the church.

Day : 5

Thank God for the rich diversity within our 21st century society, and pray that our churches will be a reflection of this and a model to the wider community as to how different nationalities can live together in harmony. Pray that we will be open and welcoming to those from other backgrounds, ethnic or social, and of different age groups and abilities.

Day : 6

Bring before God those who are persecuted for their faith, both in Britain and overseas; pray that they will know God’s presence with them upholding them and that their witness will remain strong under pressure, so that those who persecute them might see this and be brought to faith in Christ.

Day : 7

David and Karen Bolton have arrived safely at WEC’s Bourofaye Christian School for missionary children in Senegal. They have started teaching and are finding it quite tiring in the heat. They would value prayer for their teaching, especially Karen, who has not taught English as a second language before. Please pray also for protection for the school, which has experienced several equipment failures following a lightning strike, and for outreach to the local village.

Day : 8

Thank God for the impetus towards clean water and sanitation for all. Pray that governments will fully engage with this issue at the water and sanitation summit this spring. Ask God too for increased support for Christian agencies and others who are concerned to provide this to deprived communities at a local level.

Day : 9

Continue to uphold in prayer Ian Bell and the Venture FX pioneer ministry scheme; pray that workers will be called into this mission field and that local initiatives will lead to projects being established among people who are currently unchurched.

Day : 10

Thank God for his ongoing protection from threats of terrorism. Pray that He will continue to give vigilance to those responsible for our safety and continue to remember in your prayers the police and emergency services in your own area, giving thanks for those men and women who serve us in this way and praying for their safety.

Day : 11

Continue to bring to God in your prayers Martyn Atkins, General Secretary of the Methodist Church, and the Connexional Secretaries, Mark Wakelin, Chris Elliott and John Ellis, that they may know God’s wisdom and enabling in all that they do.

Day : 12

Recently we were asked to pray for Rev Dennis Hayes of Fleetwood, Lancashire. He asks us to join with him in giving thanks that his acute myeloid leukaemia is in remission and that he has had twelve months since his last chemotherapy. He reminds us of the vital ministry of prayer. Thank God that He is being glorified through Dennis’s testimony and that the faith of his family has been strengthened through seeing God answering prayer.

Day : 13

Thank God for the events being planned to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James translation of the Bible next year. Pray that these will be relevant to today and that they will capture the imagination of the public and the media so that the message of the Scriptures will be brought home forcefully across the nation.

Day : 14

Bassey and Jannine Ebenso (The Leprosy Mission) have enjoyed holidays exploring England now that they are based in this country. Bassey is continuing well with his studies; he is returning to Nigeria for three months to start the fieldwork phase of his research project, collecting data on leprosy. He is also involved with training students and lecturing and marking assignments. Jannine was involved with a children’s holiday club at their local church in the summer: 40 children registered, many from unchurched families. She asks for prayer for this outreach. Some of them now attend church term time activities. She has travelled around the country speaking at various meetings and groups and Leprosy Mission events.

Day : 15

Pray for all those Christian agencies working among those who are marginalised: the homeless, alcohol and drug dependent, asylum seekers, offenders, sex workers etc. Pray that in seeing Christ’s love reflected through the love of His people, those who feel themselves to be shunned by society will come to experience His love for themselves.

Day : 16

Pray earnestly that God will stir us up to come before Him in prayer for ourselves, our church and our nation, that we will see the transforming power of the Holy Spirit mightily at work in lives and communities, bringing many into the kingdom and bringing glory to His Name.

Day : 17

Pray for the preparations for the Pentecost Festival 21 - 23 May that as churches work together in outreach, there will be a significant spiritual impact on London and beyond.

Day : 18

As a General Election comes ever closer, pray that the candidates will put themselves forward in a real spirit of service and that those elected will serve in justice, openness and integrity. Pray for a return to godly standards in Government. Bring before God the MP for your own constituency and your local councillors.

Day : 19

Thank God for all those Christians involved in the education system in our land, whether as teachers and lecturers, governors, support staff, schools workers or students and pupils. Pray for their individual witness and example. Pray too for all initiatives to win young people to Christ, whether in schools, in churches or on the streets, that they may be a positive influence in an increasing tide of secularisation.

Day : 20

Pray for your minister and his or her family. Ask God to give them energy and strength to carry out the many duties expected of them, wisdom to prioritise and times of rest and refreshment. Pray that they will see much fruit from their ministry. Pray too for the Students and Young Ministers conference 26 - 28 February that this might be a time of real encouragement to all who attend.

Day : 21

Steve and Rosalind Bagwell have been with Wycliffe Bible Translators for 22 years and in the summer travelled around California on a 5-week Partnership Development enterprise. The Scriptures have now been printed in 2,479 languages around the world. 2,393 languages still have no Scripture at all. Please pray for the work to continue. Bible Translation and Literacy in Kenya are involved in fourteen language projects and several Old and New Testament projects. Support is needed in Kenya. In Cameroon, translation work on a New Testament is ready for printing; please pray for God’s protection on the process of printing, shipping and delivering to churches. In Panama, people listen to tapes of audio recordings of translated Scriptures made by Faith Comes By Hearing. Laura, their daughter, has been on a Youth Mission Team in Honduras, and finished ninth grade well at school. Prayers are asked for Ros’s ongoing dental work.

Day : 22

Continue to pray for justice within our immigration service, that cases may be heard speedily and fairly and that wise and compassionate decisions will be made. Pray for those Christians caught up in the system who will be in physical danger if returned to their homeland, that God will give them a sense of peace and comfort in trusting themselves to His will.

Day : 23

Thank God for the increasing recognition of the need for evangelism amongst the elderly. Pray for all the initiatives in this work, both on a local and a national level and ask God to use these to bring many older people to repentance and faith.

Day : 24

Pray for the work of SJI and its Director, Andy Frost. Thank God for their initiatives in training up young leaders within the church and pray that these will be successful so that we have a generation of Christian leaders who can effectively communicate the Gospel to those of their own age.

Day : 25

Please pray for Hexthorpe Methodist Church, Doncaster, who are about to embark on a new building project. Pray for God’s guidance in deciding upon the plans, His provision for the resources needed and His building the church in unity and purpose for the extension of Christ’s kingdom in Doncaster as they work together on what is needed for the physical building.

Day : 26

Thank God for the MET Executive and pray for them as they seek God to continue to guide them. Thank Him for the new initiative on Facebook, and pray that this will be a real encouragement to members; pray too for the appointment of Regional Co-ordinators, that God will call suitable people to this role and that they will respond to this call. Pray too for the MET AGM at Llandudno on 8 April.

Day : 27

As governments met in Copenhagen in December 2009 to discuss climate change, pray that the agreements reached will not just be words but will be translated into action. Pray that each one of us would have a real concern as to how we use valuable resources, that we may not act in a way which is detrimental to others who are more needy.

Day : 28

Care and Concern charity is sponsoring a medical ministry in a poor village called Kota, Andhra Pradesh, India. Please pray for Mark and Silas Reasbeck (and possibly others) as they visit the project from 18 - 29 January; pray for the development of the charity’s work, local Christians to be encouraged, safe travel, protection, good health and positive relationships.

Day : 29

Please continue to remember those in prison. Pray for the evangelism which takes place in these places and for the ongoing discipleship and nurture. Thank God for those who have been enabled to break free of their former criminal lifestyles and follow the Lord Jesus and pray for those whose hearts are right but who are still struggling against overwhelming temptations to return to their former way of life.

Day : 30

Continue to pray for Cliff College, for Chris Blake, the Principal, and the staff. Thank God that He has continued to provide sufficient resources in a time of recession and pray that this will be ongoing. Pray for the students, both part- and full-time, that their experience at Cliff will be a significant preparation for their future ministries.

Day : 31

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians chapter 2 verses 13 - 14) Give thanks for all the blessings that have been released to us, undeserving as we are, through Jesus’ death on the cross

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