“Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands, command Me.” Isaiah 45:11b
“The Spirit also joins in to help us in our weakness, for we do not know for what we should pray as is fitting, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. But He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to God.” Rom. 8:26-27
“And receive…the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints, and for me, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known in boldness the mystery of the gospel.” Eph. 6:17-19
“Persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving.” Col. 4:2
“I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men; on behalf of kings and all who are in high position, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and gravity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of our Savior God, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim. 2:1-4
“But you, beloved, building up yourselves upon your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” Jude 20
A Call to Prayer
From December 1 through 21, 2012, a special three-week prayer time of the local churches in the Lord’s recovery will take place. We urge as many saints as possible to deliberately separate themselves unto the ministry of prayer during that period of time.
The unprecedented hunger of sinners and Christians…, the rapidly declining situation of the world and of religion, the condition of lawlessness and apostasy on the earth, the fierce attack of the evil forces of Satan…, the desperate need…to have the reality of the Body of Christ, and the undeniable signs of the consummation of the age and of the Lord’s imminent return…all require particular prayer that is Satan-defeating, divine-will-fulfilling, and age-turning in power and impact.
We are issuing a call to all the churches and the saints in the Lord’s recovery, both individually and corporately, to awake and arise, to watch and pray, and to fulfill the greatest ministry of the church of God during the first twenty-one days of December, making them days of prevailing petition and intercession.
(This is an excerpt from the co-workers letter, A Call to Prayer in the Lord’s Recovery. The full letter and related material is at http://beseeching.org and http://livingtohim.com.)
Albania
a report from David and Elda Chang who migrated from L.A. to Albania
We [5 adults, 2 HS students] met Lord’s Day, November 25 for an hour. We sang songs that were were translated into Albanian. Everyone’s mouth was open, proclaiming, speaking, and praying. The saints described the time as sweet, organic and what they needed. They look forward to our next meeting.
Japan
A report from Tokyo trainee Yuki Goto, formerly in L.A. Hall 5, is at https://churchinlosangeles.org/prayer. One aspect of this report is gospelizing Japan. In 10 weeks of going out, more than 200 people got baptized and about 50 saints got recovered.
The current burdens among the churches in Japan are mainly to have morning revival with vital companions and to strengthen the small group meetings. Lord, give each saint in Japan a solid church life according to the God-ordained way.
The Tokyo trainees invited college students and working saints to blend with them in December. Trainees will give testimonies of the enjoyment of the training. The number of trainees has been decreasing over the years and many saints are holding back their consecration. Many young people love the Lord, but they are afraid of paying the price to come to the training. Saints, please pray that the Lord will use this time to warm up and encourage the college-age saints in Japan.
Turkey
Two brothers serving with Rhema visited us in November. They told us the Rhema books in Turkish are now available online (http://www.rhemabooks.org/eng/Language). They also met with the local Christian publisher and discussed the publishing and printing of the Rhema sets. We hope that the books could be ready by the end of this year or in the beginning of next year. Please keep praying for this.
Saints keep visiting us. In October and November we had visitors from the U.S., Canada, Taiwan, Singapore, and India.
We began to use acupuncture to open the way for gospel preaching, as Lord Jesus told us to heal the sick, to open the heart of the sick people even if they are Muslims. An experienced acupuncture brother visited Istanbul and helped us with this. During his visit five people got baptized.
The Congo
Goma is an important commercial city in eastern Congo. Recently, in this area there has been a resumption of rebel activity. Ask the Lord to preserve all who are meeting in this area and to advance further in the spread of the gospel and raising up a full church life.
Announcements
- Morning revival: week 2 of Taking the Lead as Elders and Responsible Ones (the spring 2012 ITERO).