Prayer Burdens, week of September 17, 2023
Prayer for Maui
Our hearts go out to all those who have suffered the loss of their loved ones and homes in the devastating wildfires in Maui. Please pray that the Lord would meet their material needs and soften their hearts to receive the gospel.
In coordination with the brothers in Hawaii, Bibles for America sent over 3,200 gift packets containing pocket New Testaments, gospel tracts, and ministry books to Maui. So far, more than 1,600 of these packets were given to residents of Maui, including those directly affected by the fire, firefighters, and relief effort volunteers.
Please pray that the Lord would direct every New Testament package that’s been distributed, to get them into the hands of the seeking ones. Pray also for all the saints in Hawaii who are laboring together, that the Lord would lead their coordination in the Body regarding the ongoing distribution of Bibles as well as the follow-up effort.
2023 July Semiannual Training
The general subject of the 2023 July semiannual training is “An Overview of the Central Burden and Present Truth of the Lord’s Recovery before His Appearing.” Please pray that the Spirit will operate through the Lord’s present speaking to build up the Body and prepare the bride for His return.
North America College Training (NACT) (July 16 to 22)
Over 1000 students and serving ones attended the NACT, with many also joining the July semiannual training and then blending with the churches in North America before and after the NACT. Please pray:
. For an unprecedented move of the Holy Spirit in this generation and that many will offer themselves willingly to the Lord in the day of His warfare (Psa. 110:3, 7; Matt. 4:19-20)
. That each student and serving one will not merely be involved in outward activity but that the Christ of glory will be wrought into each attendee through the Lord’s direct and personal appearing (Luke 8:45; 1 Sam. 3:10; Job 42:5-6)
. For the Lord to cover the weather and the travel and health of each one who attends
. That Satan, the ruler of this world, will suffer irrevocable loss, that his kingdom will be shaken to its foundation, that he and his principalities and powers will repeatedly taste the effect of the Lord’s victory on the cross in the choices and lives of all those who join the NACT, and that the enemy will have no ground but will be bound, exposed, and thoroughly put to shame (Matt. 12:29; Luke 10:17-19). Jesus is Lord!
Strengthening of the Prayer Ministry of the Church
May all the saints be watchful and prayerful concerning the age that we are living in and be willing to give themselves by redeeming the times (specifically the prayer meetings of the church) and cooperating with the Lord in His heavenly ministry to carry out His eternal economy to consummate this age.
Prayer for the spreading of the truth
Individual saints in the US can now order copies of the New Testament Recovery Version and a selection of ministry books from Bibles for America (BfA) to give to people they are shepherding. Orders for Bibles and books can be placed on materials.bfa.org.
Pray that the saints would take advantage of this opportunity to present people with the wonderful truths in the ministry so that many more could find the meaning of their life and their purpose on earth.
Please also pray for the fulfillment of these orders for Bibles and books. Pray that the BfA staff and volunteers laboring at the distribution center would be strengthened and supplied, and that all the orders would go out in a timely way so the truth could spread throughout this country.
FTTA and FTTA-XB
Pray for the Lord’s blessing and protection of the full-time training in Anaheim (FTTA) and in Boston (FTTA-XB). Pray that the Lord will continue to use the full-time training to raise up a group of young overcomers who will be obedient to the heavenly vision and will be one with Him for His final move to build up His Body and prepare His bride for His return.
The current situation in Poland
A report on the current situation in Poland can be downloaded from here. Please pray for:
.The blending and building up of the Polish saints and the Ukrainian saints in Warsaw and Krakow
.The feeding and shepherding of the Ukrainian refugees gained through the gospel
.The 15 trainees in the Warsaw extension of the full-time training in Moscow
.The raising up of new lampstands in Wroclaw, Lodz, and Poznan
The conflict in Ukraine
Please continue to pray that:
.The Lord will keep all the saints in the involved countries open to Him for their experience of the divine dispensing in all the situations of their daily living
.The Lord will meet all the practical needs of the saints as the cold weather of winter settles in
.The brothers who are fighting in the war will be preserved by the Lord in their tripartite being
.The Lord will shepherd the refugees and establish them in the church life
.The local saints, serving ones, and trainees in Europe will be blended with the refugees
.The saints in all the involved countries will be kept in the oneness of the Body and the reality of the new man
.The tripartite being of the saints in the besieged cities will be protected and preserved for the Lord’s interests
.The Lord will comfort and sustain those who have lost loved ones in the war
.The enemy will be bound in his attack on the Lord’s interests in Russia, Ukraine, and Europe
A reminder from the footnote on 1 Kings 8:48: “During the Babylonian captivity Daniel prayed toward the Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple three times a day by opening his window toward Jerusalem (Dan. 6:10). This indicates that God will listen to our prayer when our prayer to God is toward Christ, the kingdom of God, and the house of God as the goal in God’s eternal economy. This means that no matter for whom we are praying, our prayers should be aimed at the interests of God, i.e., at Christ and the church as God’s interests on earth, for the fulfilling of God’s economy.”
Portions of the ministry that are helpful in directing our prayer are chapter 139, “World Wars and the Church,” in The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Set 2, vol. 45; chapter 17 in Lessons on Prayer; and chapter 12 in Life-study of Daniel. Please pray for the ruling of the heavens over the entire situation so that the saints will be preserved, Satan will suffer loss, and God’s economy will advance in the spreading of the gospel and the building up of the Body.
Brother Nee’s prayer at the Keswick Convention in 1938 is also instructive. When he was asked to offer a prayer concerning the war that was raging between China and Japan, he prayed “The Lord reigneth. He is reigning, and He is Lord of all. Nothing can touch His authority. It is the spiritual forces that are out to destroy the interests of the Lord in China and in Japan. We do not pray for Japan. We do not pray for China. But we pray for the interests of Thy Son in China and in Japan. We do not blame any men. They are only tools in the hand of the enemy of the Lord. Lord, we stand in Thy will. Lord, shatter the Kingdom of Darkness. Lord, the persecution of Thy Church is persecuting Thee.” – The Keswick Convention: 1938 (London: Pickering & Inglis, 1938), 246
To give directly to LME for needs related to Ukraine, please follow instructions at here