Prayer Diary

‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message…’ (Colossians 4: 2,3)

Striving for the Vision - 30/11/2008

Proclaiming Jesus, inspiring leaders, equipping Christians, enabling growth. These eight words emphasise the priorities for growth in evangelism and discipleship among children and young people, and for enabling God’s people to know him better through prayer and using the Bible. They flow from a vision that touches every Christian in every church serving every community.

Studying the Bible

Sunday 30: Focus for today and throughout the week

Psalm 78: 4 – ‘We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power and the wonders he has done.’ Join the psalmist today in praising God and asking for his empowering to play our role in enabling the next generation to hear and respond to Jesus Christ. Many have yet to encounter him.

Monday 1 December

Proclaiming Jesus: GIVE THANKS for the positive response to the launch of the SchoolsLive website in September (see The Life, pages 8-9). Within the first month almost 600 groups with more than 13,000 members had formed. PRAY: A promotional package to help develop Lifepath around the country is due for release soon. The Methodist Church has shown interest in a proposal to develop a Lifepath on the Wesleys.

Tuesday 2

Inspiring leaders: GIVE THANKS for positive early responses to the new-look Light resources for October to December 2008. PRAY: A downloadable Survival Skills for Christian Parents training programme is ready for piloting in six churches. Talks are going on to see how we might make resources and training more accessible to Fresh Expressions churches.

Wednesday 3

Equipping Christians: GIVE THANKS for the strong response to a campaign to encourage churches in personal Bible use, which was launched in October. It’s hoped this will enthuse Christians in local churches to become Scripture Union Bible Enthusiasts to promote Bible use throughout the year. PRAY: A small working group is preparing proposals for a major thrust across the movement on work with boys in 2010.

Thursday 4

Enabling growth: GIVE THANKS for a good response to Scripture Union’s first management development programme. Work is continuing on developing a second phase. PRAY: Regional prayer days in September gave opportunities for volunteers, supporters and staff to pray for the mission of the movement. We long that these will develop strongly.

Friday 5

Prayer is a vital support for Scripture Union’s mission within a nation that is losing its moral and spiritual compass. Pause today and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in focusing on a particular area of ministry, perhaps from the past four days. Be encouraged that our God is able to do more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3: 20-21).

Saturday: International Focus

Nigeria: Central Africa Republic: GIVE THANKS for a new Scripture Union national committee in Bangui and for their new member of staff, Francis Belle. They face the challenge of growth and for the resources to carry out the ministry.