Praying for God’s Will to Be Done on Earth
“Therefore we…do not cease praying and asking on your behalf that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” (Col. 1:9)
“Thus says Jehovah,…concerning the work of My hands, command Me.” (Isa. 45:11)
“Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.” (Matt. 6:10)
After we know God’s will, we can say to Him, “God, we want You to do this. We are determined that You should do this. God, You must do this.” We can utter such strong and powerful prayers before God. We have to ask God to open our eyes to see the kind of work He is doing in this age. In this age all His work is based on this position. Heaven may want to accomplish something, but heaven will not do it alone; heaven waits for the earth to do it first, and then heaven does it.…The earth must move before heaven will move. God wants the earth to move heaven. (WN, The Prayer Ministry of the Church, ch. 1)
Unceasingly Pray: 21 Days of Global Prayer
In light of the current global pandemic, the co-workers in the Lord’s recovery feel that now is the time to call on the saints in every place to pray in one accord as the one new man for the Lord’s interests on the earth. (21 Days of Prayer, Letter of Introduction, https://churchinlosangeles.org/prayer)
Too often we think of prayer as something we do only when we are aware of a particular spiritual or practical need or when we want to accomplish something for the Lord in a way of service, whether personally, with others, or as the church. Prayer for these things is legitimate and even necessary, but the highest and deepest prayers in the New Testament are, first and foremost, for God’s work in the saints and for His move on the earth (Phil. 1:9-11; Eph. 1:15-23; 3:14-21; Acts 4:24-31; Eph. 6:18-20; Col. 4:2-4). Intercessory prayer is a matter of co-laboring with Christ in His heavenly ministry. Such prayer is the pinnacle of the church’s service to Christ. He as the heavenly Intercessor needs His people on the earth to echo His desire. (“A Call for Global Prayer,” http://unceasinglypray.org/letter)
Many matters require the church’s prayer. Here is a summary of items mentioned this past week:
- For the Father’s name to be sanctified, His kingdom to come; and His will to be done on the earth (Matt. 6:9-10).
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For God’s good pleasure to be fulfilled, His purpose to be accomplished, and His economy to be carried out (Eph. 1:9-10).
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For God in Christ to rule over all world affairs (Dan. 4:17; Rev. 1:5), to turn the hearts of kings to do His will (Prov. 21:1), and to raise up and put down leaders as He sees fit (Dan. 2:21).
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For those in authority to have the wisdom to discharge their responsibilities and govern righteously according to God so that the church may go on in peace (1 Tim. 2:2).
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For the pandemic to be stopped, the Lord to guide all those working toward that end, and for Him to uphold all those who are rendering aid to the afflicted (Num. 16:46-48; 2 Sam. 24:25).
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For the white horse of the gospel to run and for God to lead men to repent and believe the gospel according to His desire that all men be saved (Rev. 6:1-2; 1 Tim. 2:4a).
Don’t wait; don’t moan about missing the first days. Have a new beginning with the Lord! Sign up at http://unceasinglypray.org, which suggests verses and prayer burdens for each day of April 1 to 21. English, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish are available on this site. Join more than 13,500 individuals and small groups in every inhabited time zone around the world in intercessory prayer.
Let us pray that the prayers of the saints in all the churches will be anointed by the Lord and pave the way for Him to carry out His economy in the midst of the current situation.
Prayer for Healthcare Professionals
We remind all the saints to pray for the healthcare professionals in our country, and for the more than 35 in the church in LA, some of whom are working close to very sick people, especially during these peak weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak. Pray for the Lord to uphold and protect all those who are rendering aid to the afflicted (Num. 16:46-48; 2 Sam. 24:25) and to protect their families as they return home from work each day.
Los Angeles Young People
This is the third week of the SCYP Spring Pursuit on “Being Watchful in Life and Faithful in Service.” It has live sessions, pre-recorded messages, group times, and special fellowships for young people across SoCal. Please pray for all our YP in LA who are participating in this virtual conference.
The YP in LA are also gathering weekly for online fellowship via Zoom on Monday and Wednesdays. We ask all the saints and the parents to pray strongly for these gatherings that the young ones would be encouraged, supplied, and helped practically by them.
Ministry and Blending
Many conferences and blending times around the earth have been cancelled or replaced by online events. Pray for the blending and for the release and digestion of the ministry to continue strongly.
To help spread the ministry, LSM has reduced the monthly webcast subscription cost to $4.95 a month for April, May, and June. This special rate saves 50% off the regular subscription and ends on June 30. For $4.95 a month, subscribers are able to watch an unlimited number of videos from LSM Webcast’s vast video collection of conferences and trainings. Current webcast subscribers do not need to do anything. Those who wish to subscribe, please register at http://www.lsmwebcast.com.
Lord’s Move to Asia
The March 2020 newsletter contains reports and photos from the United Arab Emirates and India:
http://lmasia.org/temp/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/E-2020-03.pdf (English)
http://lmasia.org/temp/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Asia-2020-03.pdf (Chinese)
Announcements
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Morning Revival: Crystallization-study of Deuteronomy, week 7.
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Giving to the church at this time, see https://churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.
Online Resources
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The Church in Los Angeles website has frequent updates on resources and fellowship related to our church life in the present situation. https://churchinlosangeles.org/covid19
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The Bible Tells Me So is posting daily videos from Monday to Friday. The purpose is to foster a “Family Time” in each household. http://www.thebibletellsmeso.com/familytime
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LSM Webcast is offering access to all video content at a reduced subscription rate until June 30. http://www.lsmwebcast.com
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LSM Christian Radio broadcasts hymns and messages of the ministry 24 hours each day. http://www.lsmchristianradio.com
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GTCA has a redesigned website to present ongoing burdens and updates about the ten target cities for migration this year. Participate by praying, giving, or going! http://www.gtca.us
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Living to Him provides a forum for dialogue, study, and prayerful exploration with a goal of helping young working saints to practically enter into a vital living for the building up of the Body of Christ. http://www.livingtohim.com.