"All your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your saints shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, and talk of Your power, to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations" (Ps 145:10-13). 

The Lord our God is great, and He has all authority and power. He reigns over all peoples and rulers. As His people, we are citizens of His Kingdom and it is to Him alone that we owe our service and our allegiance. We will gather with Him around His throne one day, but until then we are to serve His purposes in our world.

As part of that service, let us join in fervent and sustained prayer this month, for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done throughout the earth, for His praise and glory!

GLOBAL PRAYER EVENTS

1. Jerusalem

Sunday, October 5^th, is the International Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem. Though daily prayer for Israel is appropriate (Ps 122:6), millions of people around the world will unite on October 5^th to pray specifically for this troubled but strategic land, which God calls "His own". These are sobering times in our world - not for passive speculation, but for us to actively pray and minister, doing Kingdom business until He comes (Luke 19:13). Join with fellow believers in praying for God's purposes to come forth in Israel during this critical hour!

2. The Persecuted Church

Begin to make plans now with your church or other fellow believers to join on Sunday, November 9^th, for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. This prayer effort joins believers around the world in prayer for their persecuted brothers and sisters. It is also a time to pray for the salvation of the oppressors, for conviction upon the governments promoting persecution, and to raise the awareness of those who are not already offering prayer and support for the suffering Body of Christ.

Take time this month to arrange special prayer gatherings for November 9!

SPECIFIC GLOBAL CONCERNS

1. Suffering Friend

It is now approaching six months of imprisonment and torture for our very dear friend in a nation whose government opposes Christianity. Falsely accused of crimes simply for faith in Christ, the complete condition and specific whereabouts of our friend remain unknown.

Please pray for continued sustaining grace, courage, strength and boldness in the face of horrific conditions. Pray for a miraculous intervention, and our friend's release. Pray for our friend's family and children, for safety and provision for them. Pray that Jesus Christ will be glorified, and for many to come to know Him through this trial.

2. Orissa, India

Please continue in prayer for Orissa State, India. Though the violence against Christians has diminished somewhat, the homes and property of believers are still being targeted for destruction. The media is being kept out, so complete details are hard to come by. But it is believed that hundreds of churches have been destroyed, more than 70,000 Christians have been forced away from areas which their families have occupied for centuries, and more than 4,000 homes of Christians have been burned.

Imagine for a moment Hindu radicals coming to your home, and marking it for destruction. They give you a very short time-frame in which you must deny your faith in Christ or lose everything you have, potentially even your life. This is the situation facing Christians in Orissa State, India today.

Unwilling to denounce Christ, believers must flee, taking nothing and with nowhere to go. State and local police are supporting the Hindu attacks, so the federal government of India is being asked to help stop this unwarranted persecution. Even in the refugee camps, Christians are being harassed by police in an attempt to drive them back to areas where they will again be attacked.

Please pray for your suffering fellow believers in Orissa, India. Pray for an end to the violence against them. Pray that what the enemy has intended for destruction will be turned to good, including many more people coming to Christ - even the Hindu radicals!

3. Iran

Iran is yet another nation currently considering an apostasy bill, which would mean those "guilty" of converting away from Islam would face the death penalty. There is a growing dissatisfaction among the Iranian people against the current government. It is common for officials in those circumstances to resist even more strongly anything they perceive to be a threat, such as Christianity.

If the proposed apostasy law is ratified, it will mean extreme difficulties for Muslim-background Christians. Believers in Iran covet the prayers of brothers and sisters in Christ, that they might be able to withstand what possibly awaits them.

4. U.S.A.

In the midst of a critical U.S. presidential election, America is also facing severe economic challenge. Many are saying that this crisis has but one source - greed! Since greed is a spiritual problem, not an economic one, it requires a spiritual answer. So we must pray.

In this time of unprecedented uncertainty, America needs God's intervention, His solutions. Pray for God to reveal to the hearts of men an economic plan that could only be according to His purposes. Pray for the leaders of this nation to have wisdom for long-term solutions on how to revamp and reverse the debtor system currently in place, which otherwise will potentially cripple the U.S. economy. Pray for hearts to turn to the Lord in full repentance and submission in this hour of need. And pray for God's will in the upcoming U.S. elections on November 2!

WORLD MAP PRAYER CONCERNS

1. Church Leadership Seminars

We are asking for your concerted prayer this month for the three consecutive equipping seminars for church leaders in Nigeria from November 1-10 (World MAP will partner with Harvest Preparation International). Pray for the teams (including Frank and Don), the translators, the worship leaders - and for the hearts of the attending pastors to be prepared to receive all that God has for them, by the power and Spirit of the Lord. Pray for the Holy Spirit to be poured out in great measure, for the glory of Jesus!

Also, plans continue for three World MAP Spiritual Renewal Seminars for church leaders in India this February 2009. Hundreds of leaders will be impacted at each of these strategic events - thanks for praying as you are led! Pray for the ministry teams, the worship teams, the translators, the coordinators - and especially for the pastors who will be coming. Pray for abundant provision - spiritually and physically - so that every need will be met.

2. Postal Challenge

As you are aware, World MAP prints and mails much of its worldwide training materials in India. Unfortunately, inflation is a serious problem in India right now, as economic pressures mount in this up-and-coming nation.

The direct effect upon World MAP is that postal rates have quadrupled in recent months. So, though it used to cost about $.50 - $1 to mail a copy of The Shepherd's Staff internationally, it will now cost World MAP $3 - $4 per book - just for postage! This staggering change will also, of course, directly affect the costs of mailing World MAP's ACTS Equipping Magazine into more than 120 nations.

Please pray. We know God has abundant resource for His purposes to be fulfilled - but we also want to adjust our methods if necessary, in order to be as economical as possible. Good stewardship has always been a World MAP priority. We need divine direction and wisdom as we research and prayerfully consider our options. Thank you for your prayers.

3. World MAP Publications

a. World MAP translation teams continue work on the newest issue of ACTS Magazine on "Anointing". This in-depth biblical study of this crucial subject promises to be an invaluable study resource to pastors. Pray for speed and godly accuracy in translation, and for God’s provision to print and mail this equipping resource - especially with the quadrupled postal rates we are now facing.

b. Also, thank you for praying for God's covering upon the shipment of Spanish Shepherd's Staffs (10,000 copies) arriving by sea container in Guatemala and Honduras by the last week of October. Please pray for safe delivery, and swift processing through customs.

c. Finally, we are completing the reprints of 5,000 copies of The Shepherd's Staff in both Tamil and Telugu (Indian languages). Pray for God's provision, that we might make the final payments to complete these much-needed training books.

Christ's Kingdom is expanding at a phenomenal rate around the world. More than ever, study materials that will equip church leadership in sound, biblical methods are one of the Church's most pressing needs. Thanks for praying, and for helping as you are led! We praise the Lord for your partnership in the ministry and in prayer. Thank you for your service to Christ and His purposes in this great hour of Church history.

Declaring His glory and power to the nations with you!

BE A PART OF WORLD MAP'S PRAYER CORPS!

If you would like to join in regular prayer for the ministry of World MAP, and receive a monthly E-mail prayer guide like the one above along with urgent prayer bulletins, please send your request and your E-mail address to PrayerCorps@world-map.com, and we will add you to the World MAP Prayer Corps! (If you add our Prayer Corps E-mail address WMAPPrayerCorps@aol.com to your address book, the bulletins will not be filtered out as spam.)

"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly" (James 5:16,17).

Pray the largest prayers. You cannot think a prayer so large that God, in answering it, will not wish you had made it larger. Pray not for crutches but wings. - Phillips Brooks

We thank the Lord for you, and for your willingness to partner with Wendy and me in prayer for the vital and strategic ministry of World MAP.

Frank Parrish, Director