03-02-2008, 02:01 AM
Daily Prayers for Evangelical Believers
March 2
by Ed Vasicek
All-Powerful One,
Thank You that You are a Mighty Warrior (Exodus 15:3). You are not the fearful passive god that many believe in: You are the God Who fights, and Who fights aggressively. Just as You fought for Israel as they broke free of Egyptian bondage, so You have fought for our salvation. When the Savior prayed in Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion, He sweat drops of blood as He battled to submit His will to Yours. By His sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection, He provided the basis to defeat Satan and all the forces of evil and darkness. He arose a Victor and Conqueror. You fight for us in ways we do not even recognize.
Today I praise You that the Holy Spirit has sealed me for the day of redemption. I bear the royal seal of the King of Kings, and none dare open the seal but He. I am Yours, Lord, bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. I am not my own.
But, Lord, sometimes I live as though I were my own. I steer my own course and leave You out of the equation completely, or relegate You to second or third place. Oh, Father, help me to resist this and other temptations, temptations I face every day, temptations that do not even register as temptations. You know it is difficult for me to live for You. But then I again remember that You are the Warrior God, fighting for me!
Help me to be a person of hope. Sometimes life seems mundane and routine. Some of the people I have to deal with are unpleasant or unimaginative. Sometimes my own personality defects make me uninviting! So help me, Lord, to be patient with others, but to humble myself and check my own arrogance or rudeness.
Today I pray for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire. This nation is separate from but adjoining Congo. The DRC has suffered from war after war and oppression from without and from within. Thank You that now the government recognizes religious freedom. Thank you for that over 19% of the population claims to be born-again. There is a lot of work to be done: reaching the severely despised Pygmy peoples, training lay leaders, and addressing tribal and "warlord" tensions. There are many groups that need Bible translation. I pray that the church would become stronger, the leaders eager for training, and that the environment would be conducive for evangelism, discipleship, and spiritual maturity. May Your church shine in the DRC, Lord!
I remember the SGA, the Slavic Gospel Association. "With 90 percent of the thousands of towns and villages in the lands of Russia still waiting for their first Bible-preaching church, it's no surprise that tens of millions of struggling Russians have yet to hear the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ." Thank You for SGA's ministry of working with the indigenous church there, planting churches, training leaders, and using media to reach lost people in not only Russia but other nations of the former Soviet Union. Help the missionaries to work in harmony with one another and the leaders of the individual churches; may Your Spirit empower them and grant them a great harvest. Provide for the physical and spiritual needs of the missionaries and those with whom they work.
I pray for childcare workers everywhere. Lord, keep our children safe and treated compassionately; help those in the childcare field to take pride in their task, and give them a love and protective spirit for the children they supervise. May many childcare workers come to know You, and may they share their faith, not only with the children, but also with parents.
I commit my day to You, in Jesus' Name, Amen.
March 2
by Ed Vasicek
All-Powerful One,
Thank You that You are a Mighty Warrior (Exodus 15:3). You are not the fearful passive god that many believe in: You are the God Who fights, and Who fights aggressively. Just as You fought for Israel as they broke free of Egyptian bondage, so You have fought for our salvation. When the Savior prayed in Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion, He sweat drops of blood as He battled to submit His will to Yours. By His sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection, He provided the basis to defeat Satan and all the forces of evil and darkness. He arose a Victor and Conqueror. You fight for us in ways we do not even recognize.
Today I praise You that the Holy Spirit has sealed me for the day of redemption. I bear the royal seal of the King of Kings, and none dare open the seal but He. I am Yours, Lord, bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. I am not my own.
But, Lord, sometimes I live as though I were my own. I steer my own course and leave You out of the equation completely, or relegate You to second or third place. Oh, Father, help me to resist this and other temptations, temptations I face every day, temptations that do not even register as temptations. You know it is difficult for me to live for You. But then I again remember that You are the Warrior God, fighting for me!
Help me to be a person of hope. Sometimes life seems mundane and routine. Some of the people I have to deal with are unpleasant or unimaginative. Sometimes my own personality defects make me uninviting! So help me, Lord, to be patient with others, but to humble myself and check my own arrogance or rudeness.
Today I pray for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire. This nation is separate from but adjoining Congo. The DRC has suffered from war after war and oppression from without and from within. Thank You that now the government recognizes religious freedom. Thank you for that over 19% of the population claims to be born-again. There is a lot of work to be done: reaching the severely despised Pygmy peoples, training lay leaders, and addressing tribal and "warlord" tensions. There are many groups that need Bible translation. I pray that the church would become stronger, the leaders eager for training, and that the environment would be conducive for evangelism, discipleship, and spiritual maturity. May Your church shine in the DRC, Lord!
I remember the SGA, the Slavic Gospel Association. "With 90 percent of the thousands of towns and villages in the lands of Russia still waiting for their first Bible-preaching church, it's no surprise that tens of millions of struggling Russians have yet to hear the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ." Thank You for SGA's ministry of working with the indigenous church there, planting churches, training leaders, and using media to reach lost people in not only Russia but other nations of the former Soviet Union. Help the missionaries to work in harmony with one another and the leaders of the individual churches; may Your Spirit empower them and grant them a great harvest. Provide for the physical and spiritual needs of the missionaries and those with whom they work.
I pray for childcare workers everywhere. Lord, keep our children safe and treated compassionately; help those in the childcare field to take pride in their task, and give them a love and protective spirit for the children they supervise. May many childcare workers come to know You, and may they share their faith, not only with the children, but also with parents.
I commit my day to You, in Jesus' Name, Amen.
