P r a y e r S u g g e s t i o n s

 

SHARING THE GOSPEL

Many of the things we pray about, as we pray for our country and people, are because most of our people are not Christians and so they do not follow the Lord and His ways. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will move on Christians throughout the country, encouraging them and anointing them to boldly share the Gospel with unbelievers. Pray for a major turning of people to the Lord. Pray for all the evangelists and evangelistic organisations you know, that they will see, as never before, people coming to the Lord. Please pray for:

·         OAC Ministries, Children’s Bible Ministries, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Youth With A Mission

·         Radio Rhema and Shine TV and their ministries

·         Prison Fellowship

·         Chaplains and their ministries in hospitals, prisons, schools, the military, old people’s homes, etc.

·         Christian Fellowships in high schools, universities, polytechnics, etc. Bible in Schools

·         Bible Colleges and their training of evangelists

·         All evangelists ministering in our country, and the calling and training of many more evangelists

·         Ministry to children in the home, church, school, etc

·         Outreaches to the community, including beach missions

·         Personal evangelism – at home, at work, through the church; friendship evangelism in the neighbourhood

Please pray that thousands of people in New Zealand will be born again this year, as a result of a powerful moving of God’s Spirit on His people, and a willingness and boldness for all Christians to share their faith.

 

CHURCH LEADERS

Church leaders, and other Christian leaders (for example in Christian organisations) often come under a lot of pressure, not only because of the work they do, but they also come under spiritual pressures from satan who always opposes God’s work and His people. Sometimes the pressures come from other Christians – from their unfulfilled expectations, from gossip, unfair criticism or even fair criticism but coming from a wrong attitude. Please pray for all Christian leaders, that they will not try to carry more than God asks them to; that they will be given grace and wisdom to deal with difficult situations and difficult people; and that they will know God’s rest and peace even in the midst of demanding work pressures. Pray that leaders who have been called by God to their work will not resign because of the pressures they are under but will find God’s ways of coping and succeeding in the work He has called them to do.

 

GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER

This year’s Global Day of Prayer will be the 10th anniversary of the start of Global Days of Prayer in South Africa. Several thousand church, mission, youth and children’s leaders from many parts of the world will come to Cape Town, South Africa from 18-23 May 2010 to celebrate what God has done through the GDOP over 10 years and to consider the way forward together in the global prayer movement. There will be five concurrent streams – church, missions, youth, transformation and prayer. The prayer stream will look at the theme of “Investing in future generations: affirming what God is doing among children and youth in the prayer movement”. (You are no doubt aware that in some parts of the world there are very strong prayer movements amongst children and youth – not just the older Christians!) There will be an inter-generational prayer summit, with youth and children taking a leading role. Please pray for all the preparations going on for this GDOP and prayer summit. Pray that God will lead and provide for everyone He wants to attend. If God leads you, email office@ipcprayer.org or visit their website at www.ipcprayer.org for further details. More details about the GDOP can be obtained from www.gdop2010.com

 

HUNGER FOR GOD

A hunger for more of God, and a hunger after righteousness, are so important as we grow in our Christian lives. It is so easy to lie back and be content with what we have achieved so far, rather than “press on towards the goal” (Philippians 3:12-16). Jesus said “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Pray that we will all have the attitude of Paul – “not that I have already achieved, but I press forward ...” Pray for those Christians who have fallen back in their Christian lives, or who have stagnated or come to a standstill, or who are content with where they are at, while God is calling them on. Pray that we will all hunger and thirst after the Lord, His ways and His righteousness in our daily lives.

 

E100 BIBLE READING CHALLENGE

In April, the Bible Society, Wycliffe Bible Translators and Scripture Union will launch the E100 Bible Reading Challenge to churches and individual Christians. “E” – for Essential and “100” – for 100 days, aims to encourage people to read parts of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation over a 100-day period, thus getting an essential overview of the whole Bible. Please pray for this Challenge. Many people, including many Christians, have a poor knowledge of the whole span of the Bible. Often we read our favourite verses, or Psalms, or short passages but we have little idea of how it all ties together and of the Bible from a chronological point of view. Pray that Christians and churches will be inspired by this Challenge and that it will be a blessing to thousands of people as they participate in this. www.E100nz.org.nz

Please pray too for the Bible Society, Wycliffe Bible Translators and Scripture Union as they encourage people to read God’s Word; for its translation and dissemination to non-Christians as well as Christians. Pray for Bible in Schools as they teach school children the Word of God, for chaplains in hospitals and prisons as they share the Scriptures with those who are sick or in prison; for the distribution of God’s Word to refugees and to the elderly. May God’s Word have a life-transforming impact on all our lives, and be the means of bringing many people to Christ, to become part of His Kingdom.

 

POSSIBLE CHANGES IN TAXATION

The Government is presently looking at possible major changes to our taxation system, including lowering the top tax rate from 38% to 33% but increasing GST (possibly to 15%), removing tax exemption for depreciation on buildings, looking at taxes paid on investment properties, etc. This will have a major effect on everyone – individuals, businesses, organisations and so on. Please pray for great wisdom to be given, so that what is fair, reasonable and sensibly-achievable will be done. Pray especially that people on lower income levels will not be further disadvantaged by any changes made, especially by raising GST.