Prayers: March 6, 2022

Prayers

Always be joyful. Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Thank you, God:

• for Jesus, the Lamb of God, who has taken away the sin of the world, for our eternity
• that we can encounter Jesus in the pages of Scripture
• for the first daffodils peeking out from the cold ground
• that you promise to give to us, those who feel worried, hurried, pressured, and stressed; deep rest and peace for our souls – if we’ll just come before you. I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13
• for the blessing of quiet time with You

Pray:

• fervently that God would intervene soon in the war in Ukraine, and all violence and hostilities would cease;
  that those whose lives have been torn apart by suffering and loss will turn to God for hope and security; for God’s presence with those who defend their country and for those who have become refugees
• that God will take our everyday, mundane tasks, and transform them into works of art for His glory
• that when we are faced with a dilemma, God will help us make choices that honor him
• that God will help us see that our church is not just a set of programs or a building, but a family, maybe disgruntled at times, but a family united to seek God to love more, serve more and share light in a super, super dark world.
• that our eyes will be opened and we will be encouraged to see Jesus at work all around us
• for those whose physical bodies are becoming more frail; may their hearts continue to be strong in faith
• that we remember our purpose in life lies in serving our Lord whatever our profession, circumstance, or age
• for our missionaries who can add war as an additional challenge to spreading the Gospel
• for our pastors to have the wisdom, strength and perseverance to care for the flock entrusted to them
• for the ability to recognize how we may serve in the church, not how we think others may need to serve.  Thank God for volunteers!

To Think About:

In varying degrees, many of us can take this passage from 2 Corinthians 4: 8-10 to heart, We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.  We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.  Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies – those of us with struggles of COVID or other illness, financial difficulty, family discord, and war, to name a few – we can identify with Paul’s suffering.  Likewise, let us respond as Paul did, So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. V. 18. May we be less nearsighted with the pains of this world and practice farsightedness, filled with the hope of eternity.  God is the eternal Rock who will never be destroyed.

禱告事項

“要常常喜樂， 不住的禱告， 凡事謝恩。因為這是 神在基督耶穌裏向你們所定的旨意。”

帖撒羅尼迦前書 五章 十六至十八節

感謝神

• 因為耶穌、神的羔羊，除去世人的罪孽，使我們得永恆。
• 我們可以在聖經中遇見耶穌。 
• 為從凍土中伸出頭的第一支水仙花。
• 在以賽亞書41章13節中應許我們這些憂愁的、驚惶的、被壓迫的人在靈魂深處有平安：因為我耶和華你的神必攙扶你的右手，對你說：『不要害怕，我必幫助你。 
• 和你同在的寧靜時光。 

祈禱

• 讓我們迫切禱告神介入烏克蘭戰事，平息暴力和仇恨；盼望遭受戰爭摧殘的人民呼求從神而來的希望和安全；求神與抵抗者和難民同在。
• 神看顧我們每一天的日常生活，讓我們在平凡的生活中成爲神榮耀的見證。
• 我們面臨困境時，主會幫助我們做出的選擇可以榮耀他的名。
• 神幫助我們看到，我們的教會不僅僅是一套計劃或一棟建築，而是一個家庭，儘管有時會覺得不滿意，但她是一個家庭可以團結起來，在這個越來越黑暗的世代，尋求神，去更多地愛人、服事人和與人分享神的光。 
• 神打開我們的眼睛，鼓勵我們看到耶穌就在我們的四圍工作。
• 當肉體漸漸變軟弱時，願他們心中的信心卻更堅固。
• 我們要記住，無論職業、環境或年齡如何，我們的人生的目標在於事奉我們的主。 
• 宣教士在福音事工中能安然面臨戰爭的考驗。
• 讓我們的牧師有智慧、力量和毅力來照顧託付給他們的羊群。 
• 我們要有能力辨認到自己在教會中服侍的崗位，而不是關注別人如何在教會中服事。為義工感謝神。

思想

        或多或少，我們中的許多人都可以將哥林多後書 4章8-10節 中的這段話牢記在心：我們四面受敵，卻不被困住；心裡作難，卻不致失望；遭逼迫，卻不被丟棄；打倒了，卻不致死亡；身上常帶著耶穌的死，使耶穌的生也顯明在我們身上。——我們從與新冠病毒或其他疾病、經濟困難、家庭不和和戰爭作鬥爭，及其他例子——可以認同保羅的苦難。同樣，讓我們也像保羅一樣回應，原來我們不是顧念所見的，乃是顧念所不見的，因為所見的是暫時的，所不見的是永遠的（林後4:18）.  願我們對今生的苦難少一些短見，對永恆的生命有長遠的眼光和盼望，因爲神是永不毀壊的永恆磐石。