2016 June Prayer Powerlines

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” -Isaiah 40:28

1. TRAVEL THE SILK ROAD. This month, a united prayer effort is underway for the Silk Road People of China. Join with others, praying that more Hui, Uyghur and Kazaks will hear of Christ, trusting him as Savior. Pray that more intercessors and workers will respond to this need. (To receive a short Silk Road People prayer guide, e-mail your request to prayer@omf.org.)

2. PRESSURE TO MARRY. Children in Silk Road families often feel pressure from parents to marry. This can lead young adults into unsuitable marriages. The divorce rate is high. Pray for patience and grace, both for young people and the older generation. Pray that married believers will model the beauty of marriage as God intended.

3. NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR POLICY. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in May that North Korea would not use nuclear weapons unless “its sovereignty is encroached upon by any aggressive hostile forces with nukes” (BBC News, May 2016). In some ways, this was actually an encouraging statement from the regime. Pray that the DPRK leaders would govern wisely and peacefully.

4. COUNSELORS NEEDED. A counseling ministry in Cambodia is bearing much fruit, but needs more counselors to meet the needs of the people being served. Pray for God to guide the ministry’s leadership as they consider a proposal to add more staff. Ask also that God would raise up a counselor to be on the ministry’s spiritual impact team.

5. REJECTIONS AND DEFEATS. A missionary who has worked in Cambodia for many years writes, “For every convert and victory here, there have been countless rejections and defeats … But it is good to occasionally remind ourselves that a spiritual battle is being fought in Cambodia.” Pray against the spiritual forces and principalities that seek to keep people in spiritual darkness.

6. IT RESTRUCTURING. The OMF (U.S.) IT department is being restructured. Meetings will take place today and tomorrow to determine the best way forward. The IT team is vital to the daily operations of the U.S. office; pray for God’s guidance and provision as the team’s future is discussed.

7. PRAYER MOVEMENT. Prayer materials are circulating this month to encourage prayer and fasting for people living in the Tibetan Plateau, which includes the Uyghur, Qiang, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Hui, Salar, Mongolian, Han Chinese and many other people groups throughout China, Nepal, India and Bhutan. Pray for God to break the spiritual bondage that binds so many in the region.

8. CULTURAL NUANCES. A new worker living among an unreached minority people group in East Asia is in the early stages of language and culture learning. Pray that she would learn well the many cultural nuances that could open doors for sharing the gospel in impactful ways.

9. JESUS IS SUPREME. A woman among an unreached people group in China who has tried to appease many different spirits and “gods” recently prayed to receive Christ after realizing Jesus was supreme above all. Pray that Jesus’ name and fame would spread throughout her village as she shares about her newfound faith in Christ.

10. DYING WISH FULFILLED. An HIV-infected Chinese believer’s dying wish was that her brother might be saved. Praise God that that has now happened! Pray for the brother as he is a new believer in Jesus but still struggles with alcohol and with grief over his sister’s and mother’s recent deaths.

11. FRUITFUL STUDY. A Bible study about creation is bearing fruit among Chinese graduate students in the U.S. Zhou, a postdoctoral engineer, was amazed that the order of creation was the same as what she had learned from reading Darwin. Pray that students would keep coming to the study despite their busy schedules and that they would encounter God through the Bible.

12. BOOK PREPARATION. The sixth Japan Conference on Evangelism is scheduled for September. Pray for a sports ministry called The Ultimate Victory as it aims to publish a book about sports ministry that will be ready to be dispersed at the conference. Pray that the book will be used to spark new ministry and outreach.

13. EARTHQUAKE RECOVERY. A strong earthquake hit the Kumamoto region of Japan in April, killing nearly 50 people and injuring almost 3,000. Approximately 1,000 buildings were seriously damaged. Pray for rebuilding efforts to go smoothly and for believers in the area to be a means of comfort and hope to those who are now grieving the loss of loved ones.

14. CHILD SOLDIERS. The Lord has led a Christian in Myanmar to start a ministry that rescues the country’s numerous child soldiers. So far, he and his family have cared for almost 30 children. Pray for God’s protection over this work, which can be dangerous, and for God to use this family to bring many former child soldiers to Christ.

15. FAMILY CONSIDERING THE GOSPEL. A family in rural Vietnam is strongly considering following Jesus. However, they live more than three hours away from the Christians who have been reaching out to them. Please ask that their desire would grow to know God more and that they would learn to place their complete trust in him.

16. RESPECT AND FAITH. A Vietnamese believer’s mother recently came to Christ and stopped making sacrifices to the spirits on her deceased parents’ behalf. She currently lives in a rural area where there is no church. Please pray that this new Christ-follower can move to live with her daughter, where she can be fed spiritually with the word of God.

17. HOSPITAL WORK. Lift up the medical staff at a hospital in Laos. A fatalistic view of the world is common among the doctors and nurses. Ask God to open opportunities for some of the Christian staff members to share and show the love of Christ to their co-workers, that they might know joy in Christ.

18. WHERE IS HOME? Recently at a conference for missionaries from Taiwan, the missionaries’ children had a difficult time answering the question, “Where’s home?” Such difficulty is common among third-culture kids (TCKs). Pray for God’s grace upon these children as they often face transitions between life in East Asia and life in their parents’ home countries.

19. DISCIPLESHIP IN THE VISAYAS. The Visayas are some of the most gospel-resistant areas in the Philippines. Folk Catholicism intertwined with superstitious animism is common. Two natural disasters in 2013 opened people’s hearts to the gospel. Pray that God strengthens the evangelism and discipleship efforts underway. Ask the Holy Spirit to move powerfully and raise up church movements in the Visayas.

20. HARD WORK OF FORGIVENESS. “Words are cheap. A real apology requires sacrifice,” say some Kazak believers in China. Pray that these particular believers would put in the hard work required for reconciliation. Disunity, misunderstandings and hurt have destroyed relationships within the local church. Please pray for humility and unity among the leaders.

21. GUEST HOME WORKER. Pray for the Malay-Muslim man working for OMF at the guest home in Singapore. He is working out his six-month probation arrangement through a Christian-based rehab program. Pray that he would be exposed to Christ’s love and would be drawn to Jesus.

22. SAFE HAVEN. The Taipei Shopworkers’ Church in Taiwan not only ministers to busy women working late hours in department stores, but also single mothers and those fleeing domestic violence. For struggling mothers and wives, the church provides housing and offers employment opportunities. Pray that this church would be a safe oasis for women where they experience Christ’s transformational love and healing.

23. NEW STRATEGIC LOCATION. A church in Taiwan has moved to a larger building. Its new location in Zhongpu is even more strategic for reaching nonbelievers. Pray that God will provide the funds to sustain the church’s operations. Pray also that many would be baptized and discipled through this center.

24. SONGKRAN FESTIVAL. The 2016 Songkran Festival, a Buddhist celebration marking the Thai New Year, resulted in 442 people dead and 3,656 people seriously injured (Bangkok Post, April 2016). The word “songkran” denotes movement from the present stage of life into the next. Pray that the people of Thailand would move toward freedom in Christ and away from religions that enslave them to false beliefs.

25. BISU PEOPLE. The Bisu people are a minority ethnic group scattered throughout China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. About 500 Bisu people are split between two villages in Thailand. In April, Pui Kham village in Chiang Rai held a Bisu New Testament Dedication service. Pray that this milestone in the Bisu’s spiritual history would lead to many transformed lives in Christ.

26. WISDOM IN NEXT STEPS. An historic OMF child safety inquiry is coming to a conclusion and we need to know how to process the information we have obtained, as well as how to respond. Pray for wisdom and grace in this difficult situation.

27. REUNION AND TRAINING. OMF (U.S.) is excited to welcome more than 30 missionaries to our Littleton, CO, office in July for Home Assignment Reunion and Training (HART). Pray that our team can help these missionaries adapt to life and ministry in the U.S. while they are on home assignment.

28. MANAGER TRANSITION. Pray for the OMF (U.S.) Serve Asia team as the current Serve Asia Manager, Cheryl Eichman, passes her role to Matt Whitacre. Ask God to support the team in this transition and provide at least two more program coordinators to increase the team’s capacity to send short-term workers to East Asia.

29. VOLUNTEER APPLICANTS. Pray for a manageable flood of committed volunteer applicants to enable the Bridge Asia team to meet its goal of 44 new volunteers by the end of 2016. Currently, many applicants show great interest in serving but back out halfway through the application process because they find themselves too busy.

30. PRAYER MOBILIZER ROLES. There are now two new roles on the OMF (U.S.) Prayer Mobilization team: Middle Adult Prayer Mobilizer and Senior Adult Prayer Mobilizer. These mobilizers will engage middle adults (ages 35-65) and senior adults (ages 65 and older) in prayer for East Asia. Pray that the Lord would lead the right individuals to these positions.

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