Prayer Update 586
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE …
“Let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and may glorify your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16)
Yesterday, 9 February, was a wonderful day in my life as I finally retired from teaching at Massey University, 47 years after I started teaching at Wellington Polytechnic (which was taken over by Massey University in 1999). I had a wonderful opportunity at my farewell to share the calling and goodness of God in my life to many of my fellow-staff and post-graduate students, and to friends and fellow-staff from previous years. Praise God for every good influence we have for sharing the Good News with others; of living out our faith day by day, and seeking to glorify our Heavenly Father by our lives! Pray that all of us, no matter what our calling in life might be; no matter what our situation might be; will be a constant, faithful light shining out into this world which is so full of unbelief, uncertainty and darkness, and that our lives will be beacons which lead people to the Lord.
PRAYER @ PARLIAMENT
The first of this year’s three Prayer @ Parliament gatherings will be held in the Grand Hall at Parliament on Thursday 22 March at 7.20 pm. These gatherings are open to all Christians who desire to come together to pray for our Members of Parliament, the Government as a whole, its policies and directions, etc. If you would like to come, it is essential (for security reasons) to register in advance by going to www.PrayerAtParliament.org.nz and registering your attendance. At the first gathering it is planned to focus on the new Government and its new year; new Ministers of the Crown; Party Leaders and our local MPs. It will also deal with social issues (e.g., child abuse). Please start praying for this gathering now, and also for these issues.
Another area for prayer for our Government is for divine wisdom concerning financial decisions that need to be made (e.g., the partial sale of State assets). The past 18 months have seen major, unexpected disasters in our country which are going to be a major drain on our nation’s finances, and we need to pray for the Minister of Finance and the Government as a whole, as they seek to find ways of meeting the costs associated with the West Coast mine disaster, the past and ongoing earthquakes in the Canterbury area, the Rena shipping disaster, floods in parts of the country, and so on. Pray for God’s wisdom in dealing with these, and other issues, and for all those people involved in making these decisions.
TOO BUSY?
How many of us have said (many times!) that we are “too busy” for this or that? All our “time-savers” save us time so that we can do more and still have no time for what is really important! As Christians, we should be considering what it is that the Lord wants us to be doing, as distinct from the multitude of things we could be doing, especially in today’s world. What is really important, as distinct from what we can do?
· Jesus said we should “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). So the pre-eminent place should be the Lord’s. We need to MAKE time for the Lord and His people, the Church.
· We need to make time for our family and friends.
· We need to make time for other people – people the Lord is calling us to love, serve, minister to or help in some way.
· We also need time for our own personal rest, relaxation and enjoyment – this is why God has given us one day in seven as a day of rest (Shabbat).
Pray for God’s wisdom as to how to use our time in ways which are pleasing to Him, and also that He will deliver us from Satan’s yoke of bondage to busyness, which can be so destructive to good life and health – body, soul and spirit.
OUR MISSION-FIELD
Please pray for our mission-field – right here on our front doorstep! We live in a land of freedom, where we can share our faith without fear of being arrested – or even opposed or ridiculed, in most cases. The huge majority of our people do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Many are ignorant of even the basics of the Gospel, or see God as irrelevant in a land which provides most of their needs. Please pray for a spiritual awakening in our land – for a move of God’s Spirit, convicting people of sin, righteousness and judgement; and a move of God’s people, and the Church as a whole, towards reaching out to the lost with the saving Gospel – the GOOD NEWS – of true life, eternal life, through Jesus Christ. Pray that this year will be a year of sowing – and reaping!