2017 May Prayer Powerlines

For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” -Acts 13:47

1. MEKONG MINORITIES. This month, join us in praying for China’s Mekong Minorities. The Mekong is a river that flows from China along the borders of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, through Cambodia and Vietnam. A diverse array of unreached people groups live along the river, searching for a hope that is found only in Christ. Pray that they would come to know the Lord as Savior.
2. BUNU PEOPLE. The 850,000 Bunu people live in a remote, mountainous region of Southwest China and practice animism. They are one of the largest people groups in China without a single known church. Ask God to make himself known to them, despite the linguistic and geographic challenges of reaching them with the message of Christ.
3. BUDDHA’S BIRTHDAY. Throughout East Asia, to be a member of a particular ethnic group is to also be Buddhist. This month, hundreds of millions of East Asians will celebrate Buddha’s birthday. Pray that instead of working to achieve merit and favor with the gods, that many in East Asia would trust in the God who made merit for them and calls them to come to him.
4. HEART TRANSFORMATION. Christian workers among the Brao people in Cambodia are seeing God work in the heart of a Brao man who once had a damaging influence on the church. Praise God for changing this man’s heart. Pray that he would be transformed by the Spirit’s work and reconciled to members of the church.
5. MEN’S BIBLE STUDY. Praise God for a group of men from a village in Cambodia who have been meeting together to hear the gospel message. One week, they read a few key verses together from the Khmer Bible, which was a huge answer to the leaders’ prayers. Ask God to work in the hearts of these men and to use them to bring the gospel to their entire village.
6. RETURNEE RETRAT. Pray for OMF’s Diaspora Returnee Ministries team as it plans a retreat to help prepare Chinese believers to face the spiritual challenges of returning to China. The retreat takes place May 18-20. Pray that Chinese believers would see the need for this training and take the time to go, despite their busy schedules.
7. PERSEVERANCE. Praise God for the faithfulness of Christians in a minority people group of Southeast Asia who walk, trek, ride and boat for many hours to share God’s story, make disciples and start communities of faith among unreached villages. Pray for their encouragement in the Lord as they face persecution, and for continued boldness as they share the gospel message.
8. PEACE IN THE DPRK. Pray for God’s peace to settle over the Korean peninsula, as tensions between North Korea and other nations have escalated in recent weeks. Ask God to guide the international community as it responds to the DPRK’s declarations and nuclear missile tests.
9. WOMEN IN BUSINESS. In 2013, a Singapore-based company that develops young business leaders launched a “Women in Business” program in North Korea. The program ran until 2016, when it was shut down due to lack of funding. Pray for women in the DPRK to have the opportunity to flourish and contribute to North Korean society.
10. PRAYER VISION FOR JAPAN. Last year, the OMF Japan Field Leadership Team set a prayer vision for “200 by 2020.” This means they are looking for 50 new committed long-term workers and 50 short-term workers for Japan by the end of 2020. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into this harvest field.
11. OLYMPIC OUTREACH. The Ultimate Victory, a Christian sports ministry, is partnering with OMF and others to plan a series of large outreach events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Pray for permission from the city of Tokyo, and that God would guide the planning team’s next steps.
12. OFF-CAMPUS MINISTRY. Although ministry on college campuses in Myanmar is not allowed, there are now a number of Bible study groups meeting off campus. Pray that the students in these groups would become strong and mature Christian professionals. Ask God to provide more staff workers and volunteers, as well as inductive Bible study materials, for college students across Myanmar.
13. LEADERS IN MYANMAR. Several senior members of Myanmar’s new government, including one of two Vice Presidents, are professing Christians. However, pressures are great as they lead a country experiencing significant change and development. Ask God to give them wisdom to know how to apply biblical faith into national leadership.
14. VIETNAM’S MINORITIES. Vietnam has more than 50 minority groups. In the northern provinces, many of these groups remain completely unreached with the gospel. Some of the largest groups are the Muong, Tay, Nung and Black Thai. Ask God to pour out his Spirit on Vietnam’s minority people groups, that they would turn to Christ and be saved.
15. CHALLENGING WORK. Lift up people who minister to Tibetan Buddhists in East Asia. The work can be lonely and difficult. Pray that they would persevere in the Lord’s strength as they traverse challenging terrain to share about the Creator God with nomadic herders, and that they would have access to times of fellowship and worship with other believers.
16. OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE. The OMF team in Mongolia is looking for people to fill roles in church planting, helping establish a cheese factory, teaching English and more. One long-term worker in Mongolia says, “There is lots of work to be done here.” Ask God to provide workers to fill these important roles, that Jesus’ name would be glorified in Mongolia.
17. HOMEGROWN LEADERS. Lift up a group of five Filipino young men who started Bible college last month. Four of the five heard the gospel more than a decade ago through an OMF ministry and have now joined OMF workers in street ministry among the urban poor in the Philippines. Pray for the Bible training to be fruitful in preparing them to be Christian leaders in their communities.
18. CHURCH PLANTING WOMEN. Pray for Indonesian church planters who are also wives and mothers. Ask for God’s wisdom and strength as they balance their family responsibilities with church planting activities. Pray that their roles as wives and mothers will be a way to connect with the women in their neighborhood and villages.
19. ON HOLD. Pray for several projects that have been put on hold due to lack of finances at a community center in Southeast Asia. These projects include weekly respite services for people with disabilities and help for those with high dependency needs and multiple disabilities. Pray for the funding and right staff to help get these off the ground again.
20. LEARNING HOW TO SURVIVE. A new OMF worker writes that a typical day “usually consists of language school for us, school for the girls, meeting neighbors and trying to figure out how to survive and live in a strange (to us) culture.” Pray for smooth adjustment by new missionaries to the places, languages and cultures God has called them to.
21. REAL EVIDENCE. Pray for the evidence of God’s presence in Southeast Asian believers’ lives to be so real that unreached people in the area will also want to know God personally.
22. MEMBER CARE CONSULTATION. OMF’s first-ever international member care consultation is being held this month at OMF headquarters in Singapore. Pray for guidance as this meeting is held, that the result might be better care for missionaries and their families so that workers could serve for longer periods of time on the field.
23. YOUNG MOTHERS’ GROUP. A group of young mothers in Taiwan is meeting regularly to study the Bible. A couple of the mothers are new Christians. Pray for God to continue to make disciples in this group and to help the OMF workers know how to encourage new believers.
24. BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION. “Reading the Bible has made a difference in how I do business,” says a Thai businessman who is a new Christian. Intercede for Christian business people in Thailand, that they will allow God not only to lead their personal lives but also their businesses.
25. COMING AND GOING. Lift up several OMF (U.S.) Serve Asia workers who are coming and going this month. Some are going to Cambodia, while another is going to Mongolia to help with church-planting ministries. Pray for fruitful trips and for discernment regarding next steps for the participants when they return from East Asia.
26. NEW OMF (U.S.) PRESIDENT. OMF (U.S.) President Michael Littlefield will end his current term at the end of this year. Pray for the search committee task force as they continue to pray and seek God for the next OMF (U.S.) President. Pray for everyone in OMF (U.S.) to have a deep sense of trust in God’s timing and choice for the next leader.
27. RAMADAN BEGINS. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins today. Pray that many Muslims’ hunger to know and please God would lead them to meeting Jesus, who said, “whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst” (John 4:13).
28. GOOD ASSESSMENTS. Praise God for a good influx of people planning to come to the OMF (U.S.) June Candidate and Orientation Course. Pray for good assessment and communication among the OMF (U.S.) Candidate team. Also pray for all those applying now, that God would confirm his calling on their lives.
29. CATCHING UP. Ask God to help the OMF (U.S.) Finance team to find needed time to update policies and procedures, as well as to catch up on issues that were set aside during their busy season earlier this year.
30. GLOBAL HYMN SING. Pray for the mobilization of churches across the U.S. to participate in the second annual global hymn sing next month (June 11). OMF is partnering with Getty Music to ask churches to sing a new missions hymn titled, “For the Cause.” Pray for churches to join the effort.
31. SETTING THE EXAMPLE. Following a contentious presidential election and a variety of other events in the U.S., it seems that the ability to have calm, rational discussions is quickly being lost in American society. Pray for believers in the U.S. to be shining examples of wisdom, love and truth as they interact in such a place.

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