Prayer Coordinators and Mobilizers

Romans 9:14, 17 “What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My Name might be proclaimed in all the earth.””

It seems unfair that we in the Western world should have such spiritual resources at our disposal while almost half of the world is hidden from the outreach of the Church. Is God unjust? Even as God used Pharaoh to help proclaim His Name, so He has used present-day rulers and unjust situations to bring glory to Himself. For example, there are indications that the church in Iran has grown tremendously among certain people groups—especially after the Islamic Revolution!

Pray that God’s sovereignty and justice will cause major changes in war-torn Kashmir.

Today’s People Group

“Raza, don’t go into town today,” pleaded Fida to her son. He left the house, ignoring her plea. “We can’t go on living here with all the unrest. He is our only son,” said Fida to her husband. “We should go to Kolkata.” She was interrupted by gunshots.
She followed her husband onto to the street only to see her son running toward them screaming, his shirt bloodied, “Ayub is dead! They killed him!” Fida and her husband brought their son to the relative safety of their home. Rocking back and forth as his mother cleaned and dressed the minor cuts and bruises on his hands and feet, the boy wailed, “How can we be part of a country that wants to kill us? All we have are shootings and street protests.”
The father looked at his wife, intent written clearly in his eyes. The following day they were on a bus to Kolkata. They didn’t know what poverty and squalor awaited them there, but they knew at least they would be alive.
Folk in the disputed Kashmir find themselves caught in the crossfire between the Indian military and insurgents who either want autonomy or alignment with Pakistan. Many have been driven out of their homes by a conflict that has lasted nearly 60 years.

Pray that these Kashmiris displaced by violence and strife would find peace and provision through Christ.

Learn more at Joshua Project.

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Bugti Baloch Refugees in Afghanistan

May 10, 2012 04:00 am

Today’s Devotional

Isaiah 60:18 “No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls salvation and your gates praise.”

What a great day this will be for the peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan! These are two nations that have suffered from cruelty and violence for hundreds of years. Could it be that the Bugti Baloch are finally ready to seek the One who can end the cycle of violence that has plagued their land?

Pray that many from both the Baloch and the Urdu-speaking peoples in Pakistan will put their hope in the One who will someday replace today’s cruelty with salvation and peace.

Today’s People Group

“What do you want me to do with them?” The Pakistani secret policeman in Afghanistan radioed his supervisor. “Kill and dump,” was the terse reply. The two dead Baloch youths were soon rolled into a ditch beside the dusty road. Headlines read like novels of political intrigue as assassination after assassination of Bugti Baloch refugees are chalked up for those who have fled Pakistan into Afghanistan. Tribal leaders plead with international agencies for protection, but they get no response. The Bugti Baloch people claim that the Pakistani government is so hostile to them that they send thugs to cross international borders to kill them.
Of the 84,000 Baloch displaced persons, approximately 50,000 are from the Bugti subgroup. Balochistan is the largest province in Pakistan comprising 44 percent of Pakistan’s landmass, but it contains only five percent of the population. The region is militarily and economically vital due to its massive coastline and rich natural resources. Therefore, the national government wants more control of the region, and the Baloch peoples are resisting.

Pray for physical and spiritual protection for the Bugti Baloch people. Pray for Christ’s followers to reach out to them with love and self-sacrifice. Pray that the Holy Spirit will come to them in power and love, changing hearts so that many Bugti Baloch may gather around the Throne of the Lamb with great praise for their Savior.

Learn more at Joshua Project.

Posted on May 16th, 2012 by bbyrd
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PRAYER IS THE STRATEGY OF HEAVEN
“Intercession is standing before the court of heaven and pleading a case or cause before an Holy awesome God. There are things that deeply touch the righteous Heart of the Father and above all, He is jealous of His glory…” Michael Howard
 
Dear Intercessors,

Our God is a mighty warrior. He is a God who has a strategic plan. You and I can take part in this strategic plan.

I doubt if very many of us wake up in the morning and enter the day realizing that we are at war and that strategy is of utmost importance. The truth is that prayer is the greatest strategy in the world. Prayer is the strategy of heaven. As we use this mighty weapon, God then gives us His strategy for life on earth.

The majority of the Church worldwide has not, yet, awakened to this strategic weapon of prayer and intercession. If we did, we would be using it daily, and our prayer meetings would be packed to overflowing. I envision the day coming when we will begin to realize more and more that nothing happens without prayer.

Often in the natural we look to man-made methods and schemes to get the job done. We think big money and promotion will reach the world. We try harder with our human ingenuity. That will never work, at least not long-term. Prayer and intercession will prepare the way for the harvest. We must choose to use heaven’s strategy rather than man’s human devices. We must set our minds above and learn to intercede. We read in Colossians 3:1-2:

“Since, then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

It is in prayer that God gives us heavenly strategy to do the work on earth that will touch the world. I have seen this over and over again. In intercession God gives us the greatest plan. In the quiet place God opens to us His greatest secrets. Everything that will make a difference has to have the touch of the supernatural. God does the work through us, and He gives us His plan in prayer. The days we are living in are evil, and nothing but intense intercession will bring in the harvest.

A woman came to a missionary in India asking him to prevent a certain Christian from praying for her anymore. She was asked how she knew that Christian was praying for her.  She replied: “I used to perform my worship to the idols quite easily before and now I can’t. He told me he was praying for me and my family, and now my son and daughter have become Christians. If he continues to pray, I may become a Christian as well! Things happen when he prays. Somebody must make him stop!” 

This Christian knew that prayer was the strategy of heaven and so did the idol worshipper who did not want to experience the power of prayer! God wants us to go deeper in strategic prayer. These are days of opportunity, and God is raising-up intercessors to touch people’s lives in every nation. Never underestimate the true potential of prayer. Ephesians 5:15-16 says:

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

Never fail to realize that an hour in prayer can make a huge difference in the strategic outcome of your day and in the lives of others. But how do we touch this heavenly strategy?

Ways to Touch Heaven’s Strategy of Prayer

I find in my life personally that a faster way to enter into the throne room of God is through worship, praying the Word of God, and fasting. This brings me quickly into heaven’s perspective. These are three secrets to a deeper prayer life. This is what we practice regularly at the International House of Prayer here in Kansas City. You and I have every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 says:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

We touch heaven through our praise, through praying the Word, and when we deny ourselves through fasting. We are then able to concentrate more fully on God’s heart. Let’s look at these three ways along with quotes from Michael Howard, a mighty intercessor, in his book called Proven Arrows of Intercession:

• Worship and Praise. Worship, praise and thanksgiving should be incorporated into your life as much as possible. When you are down or discouraged, try the medicine of praise and thanksgiving. It is a good medicine because it puts your attention back upon the greatness and the glory of God. Praise is a powerful weapon of war.

  “We can never underestimate praise as one of the greatest and most powerful weapons of war which the Lord has placed in our hands. And, when praise becomes high praise, it commands the unlimited resources of heaven because it gives absolute glory to the Lord. In a way which is beyond our understanding, deliverance and redemption are wrought through praise with great power for such conclusively speak of the supreme victory of Jesus.”

• Pray the Word of God. If you want to grow in your prayer life, start praying the Bible. God loves us to pray His Word and use the sword of the Spirit in intercession for the lost. It keeps us on-target, and we begin to think the very thoughts of God.

  “The promises and blessings of God’s Word are conditional. What God has done before, He will do again under the same climate and by the same standards. It is for this reason that intercession must be solidly built upon and directed by the Word. This means that the intercessor must know and quote the Word. This is not so the devil can hear but because a case must be made before the Lord… God is committed to His Word and the fulfilling of it.”

Fast and Pray. Fasting is a key to a powerful prayer life. Fasting together with prayer will help you to tap into heaven’s riches and strategy in a way nothing else can. It quiets your outer man so that your inner man can hear the heartbeat of heaven.

Posted on May 15th, 2012 by bbyrd
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Intro: Reaching the unreached is a monumental task. There just aren’t enough individuals to get the word out to everyone. TV and radio can be incredibly powerful mediums for communicating the gospel, because they can penetrate areas where Christian workers may not be able to go.

Scripture: It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. -Romans 15:20

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for all the unique cultures and languages You have created. You know and understand all of them. Thank You that even in places we cannot go, You are there. There is no person that is hidden from Your sight, and no place You cannot reach.

Posted on May 15th, 2012 by bbyrd
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Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. May Gods Holy Spirit fill you and your household with revelations to understand His great love for you.

Posted on May 15th, 2012 by bbyrd
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Luke 24:5b-6a “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!”

The Lord has risen! Can anyone else make such a claim except Jesus, the Risen Christ? No one has ever risen from the dead except from the command of God Himself. Today we are reading about Hindus who celebrate a festival that deals with an epic battle between spiritual forces of good and evil. They believe that the goddess Durga was victorious in that battle, and that she is now invincible. But how can any spirit being be as powerful as the One raised from the dead by the God of Creation?

Pray that Hindu Bengalis will put Durga and all other spirit beings aside when they hear of the matchless power and holiness of Jesus, the Risen Christ.

Today’s People Group

KER-SPLASH! The crowd by the banks of the Thames River caught their breath, as they watched the elephant statue of Ganesh topple off its stand and into the river.
Bengali Hindus annually celebrate the Durga Puja Festival, a time when they venerate large decorated statues of the goddess Durga. London’s Durga Puja Festival is among the grandest anywhere.
Hindus know Durga as a protector deity. They believe that many years ago the gods joined forces to fight an epic battle against evil. The combined energy created Durga as “the Invincible One.” The festival also honors the gods who created her, such as Ganesh and Laxmi.
On October 20 of this year Hindus will celebrate Durga through a festival. The Hindu Bengalis of London will be especially active in that festival. They will be dressed in party attire dancing, singing, attending parades, and offering worship at temples.
Bengali Hindus represent 40 percent of the population of Bengalis living outside of Bangladesh and northern India. London is home to thousands of them. London’s “Brick Lane” area features restaurant after restaurant of Bangladeshi food, run by Bengalis. Many Hindu Bengalis work in the management of these eating establishments in what is known as London’s Indian food district.

Pray that God will reveal to the Bengali Hindus that Jesus is the true invincible one, and that He proved this when He rose from the grave Easter morning.

Learn more at Joshua Project.

Posted on May 15th, 2012 by bbyrd
Filed under: General | No Comments »