Prayers: April 24, 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:

• that the world is alive with colorful flowers
• for the prayers of others which sustain us
• for providing a future with You through Jesus Christ
• for that we can count on Your presence (Hebrews 13:5)
• for a chance to see so many brothers and sisters in church on Easter, especially the babies

Pray:

• for those who are ill
• for those who are homebound
• for Eva, Pastor Charles’ niece, who is making small improvements as doctors move her out of comatose state during COVID treatment.  Pray for others who are still being infected or quarantined due to COVID.
• for those mourning the loss of loved ones (Esther Chow, Karen Moy).  Bring comfort to the Chang, Moy and Lee families.
• that our conversations may be full of grace. Colossians 4:6
• that we don’t allow anger to control and cause us to sin. Ephesians 4:26
• for those looking for a new job
• for those struggling with storm devastation
• for those in baptism class – praise God for drawing new believers to Himself
• in thanksgiving for those who lead our worship time up front and behind the scenes
• for opportunities to share our love and hope in Christ
• for positive ways to deal with frustration – thank God He is always ready to listen to us
• that the messages from Brother Chang this weekend will spur us into faithful action
• that God will provide peace, comfort, and reconciliation for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Be with those who are anxious, fearful and bereaved.  We fervently cry out for an end to this conflict trusting in God’s mercy and compassion.

To Think About:

Who among us has not encountered a difficulty or problem that causes us to wonder, ‘why me’?  Our first response is to moan and groan.  Do we stop to think, ‘why not me’? Job sums it best, “Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?”  Job 2:10. Our first response when something difficult happens is not praise and worship like Job demonstrated in Job 1 after all life as he knew it was stripped away.   Yet, that is what we should do because God’s love, care, and presence for and with us does not change even though our circumstances might.  We can and should still praise God because He is constant and ever with us and has secured our future in heaven.

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：

• 這個世界因有五顏六色的花朵而生機勃勃。
• 有弟兄姊妹以祈禱扶持我們。
• 使我們因著耶穌基督有了從神而來對未來的承諾。
• 因爲我們能依靠你的同在。（希伯來書 13:5）
• 讓我們在復活節有機會在教堂見到這麼多兄弟姐妹，尤其是小孩子。

祈禱：

• 生病的肢體和居家行動不便的弟兄姊妹滿有神的同在。
• 對於辜漢然牧師的侄女伊娃（Eva）的新冠病毒感染和治療，在醫生解除了她的誘導昏迷狀態后，她的狀況略有好轉。也為其他仍因新冠病毒感染或隔離的人祈禱。
• 失去親人（Esther Chow，Karen Moy）而哀傷的 Chang、Moy 和 Lee 的家人能有從神而來的安慰。
• 讓我們彼此間的交談充滿神的恩典。（歌羅西書 4:6）
• 我們不被憤怒控制而導致我們犯罪。（以弗所書 4:26）
• 正在尋找新工作的人能有深度帶領。
• 與風暴照成的破壞作抗爭的人能祈求神的憐憫。
• 參加洗禮班的弟兄姊妹堅定對神的認識和信靠；感謝、讚美神吸引人歸向他、相信他。
• 感謝在幕前和幕後帶領我們敬拜的人。
• 我們有機會分享在基督裡的愛和盼望。
• 我們以積極的方式應對挫折——感謝神隨時準備傾聽我們的心聲。
• 這個週末張弟兄的信息激勵我們發出信心的行為。
• 神為我們在烏克蘭的兄弟姐妹提供和平、安慰與和解；願神與那些焦慮、恐懼和失去親人的人同在。讓我們迫切地禱告呼求神以憐憫和同情結束這場衝突。

思考：

        我們當中有誰沒有遭遇過難處或有難題讓讓我們想問這個問題：“為什麼是我？”  我們的第一反應是傷感和痛苦的呻吟。我們會不會停下來想：“為什麼不是我”？  約伯的總結是最好的，“難道我們從神手裡得福，不也受禍嗎？（約伯記 2:10）”。當有困難時，我們的第一反應並不如約伯的表現一樣 （約伯記第一章）；當約伯知道生命中的一切都被剝奪了，他竟以讚美和敬拜回應神。然而，我們是應該這樣做的，因為神對我們的愛、關心和同在，不會因我們的環境改變而改變的。我們是可以而且應該仍然讚美神，因為他一直與我們同在，並保證我們將來在天堂與他同在。