Another Mighty Warrior Strides Forth...

Just a little too close to home......

HT: C. Michael Patton

Pray for Oklahoma

I HATE TORNADOES!!!!

Prayers for Dallas Willard

Please pray for Dallas Willard, an influenecial Christian leader and one of my favorite authors. From CT

Dallas Willard has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, according to a tweet from the author's official Twitter account. Willard, who is a University of Southern California philosophy professor, is 77 years old.

Willard is well known to many Christians from his books on spiritual formation, including The Divine Conspiracy (which Christianity Today selected as Book of the Year in 1998), The Spirit of the Disciplines,Hearing God, and Renovation of the Heart.

Willard has been a provocative Christian thinker since the 1960s, when he abandoned ministry to study philosophy. Since then, he has "devoted [himself] to reestablishing the exalted place moral reasoning once held in the academy."

May the Lord be with him and his family in this time of trial. 

Grace in the Storm

From Grace in the Storm - How to pray for people affected by Super Storm Sandy.

Lord, have mercy!

Vague Prayers

To borrow a phrase- "What happens in vagueness, stays in vagueness."

"God does not answer vague prayers.."

"The more faith you have, the more specific your prayers will be. And the more specific you prayers are, the more glory God received... If our prayers aren't specific, however, God gets robbed of the glory that He deserves because we second-guess whether or not He actually answered them. We never know if the answers were the result of specific prayer or general coincidences that would have happened anyway."

"...When you spell out your prayers with specificity, it will eventually spell God's glory."

             - Mark Batterson, The Circle Maker, pages 25-16

Lord, Have Mercy!

No matter where you are in this world, I hope you will join with me and so many other believers in prayer for the millions of people in the eastern U.S. now suffering under the fury of Hurricane Sandy.

Kyrie Eleison - Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy!

   

Pray for Chuck Colson - PF Founder Near Death

Please joins me in prayer for Chuck Colson, prolific Christian author, popular speaker, and founder of Prison Fellowship. From LifeNews.com:

Family and associates of Chuck Colson, a pro-life Christian writer who has graced the LifeNews web site dozens of times with his insightful analysis and opinion, are worried he is dangerously close to death.

Colson was in critical condition following emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries, had shown “some early signs of potential for recovery,” according to staff at the ministry, is hospitalized at a northern Virginia facility where he reportedly suffered a brain hemorrhage while speaking a couple weeks ago.
Jim Liske, CEO of Prison Fellowship Ministries, said Wednesday morning that Colson’s condition was not improving.

“It is with a heavy, but hopeful heart that I share with you that it appears our friend, brother, and founder will soon be home with the Lord. Chuck’s condition took a decided turn yesterday, and the doctors advised Patty and the family to gather by his bedside,” he said. “As you know, Chuck underwent surgery more than two weeks ago to remove a pool of clotted blood on the surface of his brain. And while we had seen some hopeful signs for Chuck’s recovery—including his ability to talk happily with Patty and the kids—it seems that God may be calling him home.”

Day of Prayer for North Korea

From Joe Carter at Gospel Coalition:

The Story: Christians around the world are setting aside April 15 as a day of prayer and fasting for the country of North Korea and the believers who live there.

The Background: According to Open Doors, this Sunday all of North Korea will celebrate the "Day of the Sun" in honor of Kim Il-Sung's 100th birthday. To the outside world, the picture will be one of prosperity and wealth; that North Korea is a great place to live under their caring leaders. But outside of the media's eye the vast majority will continue to quietly suffer extreme poverty and starvation.

The organization is encouraging Christians to show our solidarity by praying for believers in North Korea and taking a day off of food---or perhaps one meal---to remember the suffering of the North Korean people.

Why It Matters: North Korea is "among the world's most vicious religious persecutors," says Doug Bandow, a Senior Fellow in International Religious Persecution at the Institute on Religion and Public Policy. "For the Kim cult is akin to a religion, as evidenced by the exaggerated grief expressed over Kim Jong-il's death."

Even worse in Pyongyang's eyes is the rise of Christianity within the North's boundaries. Although no accurate count of Christians is possible, the Pew Forum estimates 480,000, most of them Protestants. The regime targets the faithful: "In recent years, police and security agency offices have infiltrated Protestant churches in China, begun training police and soldiers about the dangers of religion, and set up fake prayer meetings to catch worshippers." The penalty for law-breakers is high. Stated the Commission: "Anyone caught distributing religious materials, holding unapproved religious gatherings, or having ongoing contact with overseas religious groups is subject to severe punishment ranging from labor camp imprisonment to execution." One North Korean believer told Open Doors: "Since Kim Jong-un came closer to the helm, North Korea has stepped up its attempts to uncover any religious activities."

As Bandow notes, the greatest threat to North Korea's communist system is not internal strife, but the people's transfer of allegiance to a different God, one who created human beings in his image and values them accordingly.

Pray for Chuck Colson

Please join me in prayer for the health of Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, radio commentator on Break Point, and author of Born Again, Loving God and so many other good books. Mr. Colson had emergency brain surgery this week. World Magazine reported the following:

Four days after emergency surgery to remove a pool of clotted blood from the surface of his brain, Prison Fellowship founder, author, and radio commentator Chuck Colson was in critical condition at a Washington, D.C., area hospital.

Colson was speaking at a Wilberforce Weekend Conference sponsored by the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview in northern Virginia on Friday when his speech became garbled and he had to sit down, according to witnesses at the event. He was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital, where he underwent evaluation and then surgery early Saturday.

Prison Fellowship CEO Jim Liske said the surgery for the 80-year-old Colson was successful. “Chuck is resting comfortably, and his family is with him. He is heavily sedated (which is appropriate in the aftermath of this kind of procedure) and is responding well,” Liske said in a prepared statement on Monday. Tuesday night, the organization updated that statement, noting that Colson was in critical condition and had suffered an intracerebral hemorrhage, which is when blood vessels in the brain begin bleeding.

Liske, who visited Colson in the hospital on Tuesday, said, “I was encouraged to see that as we prayed, Chuck was responsive.”

Lord, please bless our brother, and return him to his ministry and the comfort of his family.

Thanks for the Prayers

Thank you to all who prayed for my mother after my prayer request last week. She went home from the hospital on Friday, and is doing better. Still a long way to full recovery, and we appreciate your continued prayers.

God is good! Thanks, again, for your prayers.

Pray for the IMonk

Denise Spencer has posted a health update on her husband, Michael Spencer (aka "the Internet Monk" or "IMonk"), and the news is not good. Michael has colon cancer and per his doctor has less than a year to live, absent a miracle. Details can be found at Michael Spencer Update, 3/9/2010

I have benefited greatly from Michael's transparency, openness and wise observations as I have read his blog over the past few years. A quick search for his name on the pages of this blog will confirm that. Thank the Lord that he completed work on his book before the illness struck, because I really want to read it.

This one is hitting me hard, in part because he is the same age as I am.

I ask all my readers to join in prayer for Michael and Denise Spencer. Pray for that miracle. And pray also, that if the Lord does not choose to heal him, that Michael's desire to testify to his Lord in the way that he faces death will be fulfilled.

Praying for the Persecuted

Today is International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church - see Persecution.com

Churches across the United States and around the world are preparing to “remember those in bonds” (Hebrews 13:3) on Nov. 8, the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP).

Begun in 1996, IDOP is a day for intercessory prayer and citizen action on behalf of persecuted Christian communities worldwide.

May the Lord succor, protect and deliver our persecuted brothers and sisters.

Prayer for Rain

Yesterday afternoon it rained at my house for about 15 minutes, after three weeks of temperatures in the high 90's without a drop of rain. It is amazing what just a little rain can do to a yard; our grass seemed to visibly perk up.

Lord, send your rain on the dry souls where the ground is hard and cracked. I include myself in that request. Let it rain, dear Lord, let it rain.

“Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the Lord have created it." (Is. 45:8 ESV)

Prayers for Family of Pastor Shot During Sunday Sermon

Let's all be praying for the people of First Baptist Church of Maryville, Il and the family of Pastor Fred Winters, who was shot dead by an apparently deranged gunman while in his pulpit during Sunday worship yesterday. Dr. Winters leaves behind a wife and two daughters.

Pastor Shot and Killed During Sunday Sermon | Liveblog | Christianity Today

Pray for First Baptist Church of Maryville, Ill.- Between Two Worlds

Southern Seminary Graduate Slain in Church - Denny Burk

Prayer Request for The Jollyblogger

Please pray for David Wayne, who blogs under the sobriquet "The Jollyblogger." David has announced that he has colon cancer and will have surgery soon. JOLLYBLOGGER: I have cancer

Praying for you, David.

Prayers for Secret Muslim Believers

Michael at Charismatica offers this sample Prayers for Secret Muslim Believers. I agree and say amen.

Sovereign Lord,

We pray for believers across the Muslim world who have chosen to follow Christ, often at great personal cost.

Strengthen those who lead congregations, that they may be faithful to the call of God to build the church in the Muslim world. Give courage to those who face intimidation, discrimination, imprisonment or torture for their faith in you. And bring peace to the Muslim world, so that your church may grow and flourish freely.

We also pray for Muslims all over the world who are seeking the truth about God. Bring alongside them someone who will share the love of Jesus so that they can know God for themselves.

We ask this that your church may advance, to the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Pray: Anti-Christian Violence In India

Pray for our fellow believers in India who are currently experiencing a wave of anti-Christian violence and great persecution -See this Christianity Today report at India's Anti-Christian Violence

-In Orissa State, 65 identified people have been killed and 85 are still unaccounted for. Among those killed were one man buried alive near the village of Rudangla; several people burnt to death and others cut into pieces.
- 117 churches of all Christian denominations destroyed. Not a single Hindu temple has been destroyed – despite allegations of retaliation by Christians.
- Approximately 5,000 homes destroyed.
- An unspecified number of Christian businesses destroyed, with the loss of livelihood for their owners.
- 54,000 people displaced from their homes, forced to take shelter in 14 State-sponsored Relief Camps in Kandhamal District; together with many hundreds living in non-State camps, including 2 ‘camps’ in densely overcrowded buildings in Cuttsack town.
- It is estimated that about 20,000 are still living in the jungle or have fled to big cities. Some may be living with relatives elsewhere.
- In addition to the violence in Kandhamal District, 2 other Districts, Japati and Baragras District, have also experienced similar atrocities, including killings, looting and burning of churches and homes. 2 Relief camps have been established for approximately 2,700 people who have had to flee their homes.

Prayer Request for India and Iraq

From Eric Ortland, via Justin Taylar, a request for prayer for India and Iraq:

I find I far too often tell people I'll pray for them and then forget about it. I'm asking you not to be like me after reading this post. I'm sure some of you have heard about the persecution in India, in the northern province of Orissa - about 50,000 Christians have had to flee their homes under persecution by extreme Hindus. Churches have been burned and Christians have been tortured and martyred for their faith in Jesus. I'm asking everyone who reads this to pray frequently for these Christians, with whom we'll be spending the rest of eternity - and to pray for their persecutors, that, like Paul, they'd see the light.

No corner of the Internet is really private, and one has to be careful about what one says; but the situation in India is no secret, so I think it's OK to talk about it here. The sitaution in Mosul, a city in Northern Iraq across the Euphrates from Ninevah, is no secret either - 1300 Christians have been forced to flee, often entire families, under persecution. Christians have been martyred here as well. See this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7671609.stm

I got an email through the grapevine from an Iraqi pastor who talked about how families were sleeping in their cars, who had had relatives kidnapped and executed. I don't want to be ashamed before him in Heaven by having to admit that I never prayed for him. Let's not fail to pray for peace in this area, and even more deeply for Jesus to shine his light through his people.

Hat Tip: Between Two Worlds, Ben Witherington and Pure Church

We Don't Like Ike!

First Fay, then Gustav, now Ike!

Let's all offer many prayers for the people of Galveston and Houston tonight and tomorrow.

Remembering 911

We Remember September 11, 2001.


May the Lord be with those who still mourn the loved ones lost that day, and may His grace be with those brave men and women who fight for our freedom and the freedom of other peoples and nations, and may God bless America.