2015 September Prayer Powerlines

September 2015
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” -Psalm 63:3-4

1. RADIO PROGRAMS. In answer to more than a decade of prayer, initial preparation for a daily Christian radio program in Cambodia recently concluded. The program will air recordings of scripture, worship and stories. Pray that the radio show will be used mightily for the advance of the gospel in Cambodia.

2. HOPEFUL SIGNS. Twenty-four house church pastors representing China’s major urban and rural house church networks recently met with Chinese government officials to discuss a wide range of issues concerning house churches in China. This was a hopeful sign that house churches could perhaps worship freely outside the Three-Self Patriotic Movement in the near future. Pray for Chinese leaders to view the house churches positively, not as a threat.

3. REMOVING CROSSES. While there have been hopeful signs of improvement in relations between the Chinese government and Chinese believers, the removal of several crosses from churches in China has also made international headlines recently. A cross atop a church in Zhejiang Province was even burned. Pray for Chinese believers to love their enemies and show the grace of God to those around them.

4. INTERNSHIP PROGRAM. Praise God for the birth of a new internship program in East Asia. It will bring more intentional opportunities for Christian workers to come alongside local believers and churches. As with all new ventures, though, the program is experiencing some “birth pangs.” Pray for leaders to have wisdom and grace in knowing how to address the challenges.

5. UNBELIEVING EVANGELIST? A Chinese student in the U.S. recently missed an English club event because he was talking with another Chinese scholar about God and the Bible. He encouraged the man to join a Bible study and took him to church—even though neither of them believes in Jesus yet. Pray for God to draw both scholars to himself.

6. FAMILY HELP. A series of parenting and marriage seminars and classes led by OMF missionaries in Japan have been well-received by Christians and non-Christians alike. Pray for God to use these studies to be a blessing to families in Japan and to draw people to Jesus through the interactions with believers.

7. ANSWERED PRAYER. Recently, a team from the UK conducted a prayer journey in northern Japan, where they joined a local Japanese church in praying for people in the area. Two people for whom the team prayed came to Christ! Pray for good follow-up and discipleship of these two new believers.

8. NEW FINANCE MANAGER. The OMF (U.S.) team welcomes a new finance manager, Brett Kuntz, in mid-September, right in the middle of budget season. Pray for a good transition for him, his family and the finance team.

9. OCU PEOPLE. As a sub-group of the Riau Malay, the Orang Ocu people are a Muslim people in Southeast Asia. Intercede for the Ocu, that they will see they could have the privilege of becoming children of God through believing in Jesus.

10. STORY TEA. In a certain area of East Asia, some of the local women have the tradition of meeting together in groups to have tea and talk about the latest gossip. What if, instead of gossip, there was a time to talk about the Bible? This is the idea behind a new ministry that two OMF workers in East Asia hope to launch soon. Pray for God to use it in these women’s lives.

11. TRAINING LEADERS. Recently, a group of approximately 50 Christian leaders from Thailand and Laos gathered to be trained in Bible storytelling, as well as learn how to train others. Pray for God to use the training to reproduce more believers who can share stories of God’s grace and point people to Jesus.

12. NEW EVANGELISTS? In answer to prayer, it appears that God is raising up some local evangelists among a minority people group in Laos. Just two years ago, there were few, if any, believers in this group. Pray for God to use these two young evangelists to spread the gospel, despite the opposition they will likely face.

13. PARTNERSHIP TRAINING. Please pray for the OMF (U.S.) office’s Partnership Development Training for home assignees and new appointees from September 14-18. Please pray that people will be equipped to share their future ministry with passion and clarity and that the Lord will raise up many ministry partners for them.

14. 120 WORKERS. OMF is looking to the Lord to provide 120 called and anointed workers to join us and minister to the unreached peoples in the Mekong Region of Southeast Asia. Please join us in praying for God to raise up these new workers for the harvest.

15. MONGOLIAN HERDSMEN. Over a bowl of milky tea, a 77-year-old Mongolian herdsman smiled and told an OMF worker and Mongolian pastor, “Thank you for coming from so far away to visit us again and again. You have helped this area.” This man received Christ last year. Pray for his continued growth in the faith.

16. FLOODING. At least 69 people have died and more than 200,000 have been affected by widespread flooding and landslides in Myanmar in early August. Myanmar’s government has requested international aid to help alleviate the problem. Pray for the love and witness of local and foreign Christians at this time to draw many to Jesus.

17. PRAYER APP. A prayer app and a website focused on sharing prayer information for the Kazak people has recently been developed. Ask God to use it to increase awareness of and prayer for the Kazaks of East Asia.

18. GROWING IN FAITH. A cleaning lady in Taiwan who is a new believer in Jesus is growing in her faith and starting to lead others as well. Pray for her to continue to grow and trust in God. Also ask for many more among Taiwan’s working class to come to faith in Christ.

19. NEW GATHERING. Lift up a new Thursday evening gathering for seekers in Taiwan. The hope is that local Christians will lead (or co-lead) these times. Please pray that the Holy Sprit will draw people to this gathering and that many people would understand the gospel and begin a relationship with Jesus Christ through this outreach.

20. KIDS IN TRANSITION. Recently, another Orientation Course for new missionaries was concluded at OMF headquarters in Singapore. Lift up the children in these new missionary families as they transition to a life that is often very different than the life they lived in their home country. Pray for God to sustain them and grow them during this often-difficult time.

21. 20 PER YEAR. Join the OMF team in Thailand in praying for 20 new long-term workers annually. This is in response to attrition and a slow in the influx of workers in recent years. For example, the Bangkok team has only one new member due to join the field this year and several experienced workers have left.

22. UNDER ATTACK. In the last year, more than a dozen people in a certain Thai church have been pushed away from frequent fellowship by peripheral family issues. Even so, the Holy Spirit is using God’s truth to build up these people in the faith. Please pray for protection from counter attacks. Also intercede for those who have been scattered geographically to continue to be spiritually fed.

23. EQUIPPING THE SAINTS. The goal of a recent training in a remote area of the Philippines was to equip Christians to outwit the Enemy, spread the light of Christ and persevere in persecution. Attendees were also urged to be unified and serve together as believers in Christ. Pray for those who attended to be bold in their love and faith.

24. COACHING TRAINING. Lift up Barry Potter, OMF (U.S.) Vice President for Personnel, who will facilitate coaching training on September 23-25 in Japan and September 29-30 in Chiang Mai, Thailand for workers in those areas. Pray that this training will reduce attrition by providing encouragement to workers, as well as helping workers process issues in their lives through God-given direction and wisdom.

25. SECURITY ISSUES. Security is a frequent issue for believers in northern Vietnam. For example, when “outsiders” visit a rural area, the authorities want to know who they are and why they are there. Local believers do not always expect this level of strictness, and may be questioned by authorities afterwards. Pray for wisdom, grace and protection for all concerned.

26. VIETNAMESE RETURNEES. Praise the Lord for Vietnamese who have come to faith in Jesus while overseas. Praise him for those who come back eager to continue exploring or wanting to find a community. Pray for good ways to connect and to encourage these new believers as they resettle back into their lives in Vietnam.

27. LONDON TOUR. With this being the 150th anniversary of OMF, a mobilizer in London has organized a historic walk through the city, looking at sites that were influential to the life and ministry of Hudson Taylor. Pray for the event to spark more interest in cross-cultural mission to East Asia and around the world.

28. NEW INITIATIVE. Pray for C.Y. Yan in Canada, as he works to prepare and launch OMF Canada’s new Connections East Asia initiative. The initiative seeks to reach out to East Asian churches throughout Canada and come alongside them to help build indigenous biblical church movements and develop them into a cross-cultural sending force.

29. UNREACHED PROVINCES. A recently published map showing the 40 least-reached provinces in the world (by population) includes 13 East Asian provinces. Most of the East Asian locations on the list are in China, although provinces in Indonesia and Japan were also included. Pray for more workers for the harvest in these unreached areas.

30. GETTING READY. Praise the Lord for the seven people who received clearance at our U.S. Orientation Course at the beginning of June. Pray they continue to walk closely and grow with God and that the Lord would provide all that is needed for them to get to the field in a timely manner.

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