March 2016 Prayer Connection Devotion Read the March Prayer Devotional. Prayer of Preparation (Optional Read /Handout) If including this section, one idea would be to print and divide each of the two prayers. Ask two different attendees to read during this section. Pray for Your Community! Women can pray together during this part of the prayer time in a large group or in small groups of two to four. Be sure to remind participants that if desired, they may pray silently. Closing Prayer 1
March Prayer Devotion by Lorraine Kalal, President/CEO Stonecroft Ministries My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed cut off from Christ! if that would save them. Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. Romans 9:2-3 and 10:1, NLT Prayer precedes and accompanies revival. And revival is a movement of God that enlivens the hearts of believers and awakens the hearts of nonbelievers. Let us spend the year praying for revival! One sign of revival is an increased burden on the part of Christians to share the Gospel, a broken heart for those who don t have a relationship with Jesus. The apostle Paul despaired over the spiritual fate of his fellow Jews to the point that he would accept living in hell in order for them to find the way to heaven. Can you imagine? Paul would allow himself to be cut off from the love of his life, Jesus, if it would help others find the love of their lives in Jesus. Paul had a broken, sorrowful, grieving heart! Let s pray for ourselves that our hearts would also break for women in our communities who look for love in all the wrong places who restlessly search for the true and perfect love they can find only in a relationship with the God of the Universe. Paul didn t just long for his fellow Jews to find the salvation Jesus offers. No, he put his longing into words. He prayed. He prayed for the people of Israel to be saved. Prayer precedes revival. If we want to see thousands upon thousands of women respond to the Gospel we share, we must pray. So, let s pray for revival! How shall we pray this year? First, pray that our hearts will break for women in our communities who don t yet have a relationship with Jesus. Then, let us pray for avenues by which to share the Gospel with these women. Finally, pray that they respond to the Gospel we share. Pray that we ll have the inestimable privilege of watching women s lives transformed before our eyes as they begin a relationship with the God of the Universe through His Son Jesus Christ. See also Philippians 1:18 and 1 Thessalonians 2:8-9 2
Prayer of Preparation (optional) When the leader stops praying aloud, women can take a moment to pray silently, speak single words or phrases of praise or confession, or perhaps write out their prayers whatever is comfortable for the group. Jesus Thank you for your abundant goodness to us. Because of your great love, you bring seasons of revival, times when Christians hunger to be closer to you and thirst to see others know you. During these times, thousands of people have put their trust in you. We long for revival to come and we ask you to bring it now. You laid down your life so people can be made right in God s sight. Because of you we are a chosen people royal priests, a holy nation, God s very own possession (1 Peter 2:9). Because of your steadfast, sacrificial love, we can know you now, share you, and live with you for all eternity. Thank you for calling us to be your people. Thank you for allowing us to spread the Message of hope so that others can experience the new life we have found in you! (30 second for praise) Amen. Jesus We are awed by Paul s love for his people and moved by his bitter sorrow and unending grief for them. Paul was willing to be cut off from you severed from his greatest love and treasure if it would bring his Jewish brothers and sisters into your kingdom. When we compare his love and sorrow to our own concern for unbelievers, it compels us to pray for revival: revival that begins with us and spreads to our community, state, nation, and world. We ask you to break our hearts for those who don t know you. Call us to increased prayer for unbelievers, and show us new avenues for reaching out to women. Open our mouths to speak the Good News, open the hearts of unbelievers, and give us the wonderful joy that comes from watching you transform lives. (30 seconds for confession) Amen. 3
Pray for Your Community Read the Following Scriptures: Romans 9:2-3 and 10:1; Philippians 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 2:8-9 These passages express how much Paul desired to have the Gospel spread and how much he cared for those with whom he shared the Gospel. Questions: 1. What kind of revival do you think God needs to bring to your heart? 2. For whom does your heart break because they need to hear the Gospel? In what ways would you like God to help you care more about sharing the Gospel? We continue to include Scripture prayers for you. Consider the following as examples; please pray as God leads you. Pray for the Program Coordinator. Ask God to bless her as she serves as the liaison between her local Group and individuals who will provide features and/or music at events. Pray for her: Lord, please direct the Program Coordinator to feature guests who have a need for you. As the Program Coordinator interacts with feature guests and potential feature guests, let her conversation be non-threatening, gracious and attractive so that they will be drawn to Christ. (Colossians 4:6) Pray for first-timers, that their hearts would be open and receptive to the Gospel message. Pray for her: Lord, please let the first-time guest who doesn t yet know you receive the Message of salvation. Prompt her to openly declare that Jesus is Lord, and believe in her heart that you raised Him from the dead. In doing so, she shall be saved. (Romans 10:9) Pray for the Regional Speaker Trainer. Ask God to bless her as she initiates training for current and potential Speakers, conducts training seminars, updates the Speaker Reference Lists, and reviews and approves Speakers. Pray for her: Father, the Regional Speaker Trainer has much work to do and interacts with many different people and personalities. Please help her to train herself and others for godliness, which results in benefits in this life and in the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:8b) Sharing Your Faith This month, as we remember the brutal death and victorious resurrection of our Savior, please pray for our leaders and teachers, especially pastors. o Lord, give pastors your appointed shepherds your heart so they will guide your people with knowledge and understanding. Help them to proclaim the truth without wavering to guard themselves and your people. Help them to feed and shepherd your flock your church, purchased with your own blood. (Jeremiah 3:15; Acts 20:28) 4
Pray for opportunities to share the Gospel Message, especially during this Easter season. o Father, help us to understand our responsibility to you and to work hard to persuade others. Help us to do the work of reconciling people to you, through the wonderful message of reconciliation that you gave to us. Help us to serve as your ambassadors as you speak through us urging unbelievers to come back to you. (2 Cor. 5:11a, 18b-20) Pray for Stonecroft Pray for Doris Thompson, Vice President of Outreach for Stonecroft. Pray for Doris as she and her team create evangelism programs and tools that support our new (younger and diverse) volunteers. Also pray for Doris and her pastor husband, Pat, as they serve their church and community. Pray for Pauletta Staley, National Director of Military for Stonecroft. Pray for her as she leads Stonecroft Military working in partnership with chapel-based ministries to equip and encourage women whether they are active duty military personnel or military wives. Pray that Pauletta will find favor with chaplains, that she will know what engagements to accept, and that she will remain healthy in spite of her busy schedule. Stonecroft Staff Amy Bamaca Rodriguez Doris Thompson Lorraine Potter Kalal Rachel Lohman Anne Schneider Helaine Parish Maddison Berciunas Robyne Baker Brenda Monroe Jessica Fick Melissa Lobozzo Scott Wright Cheryl Davis Joan Johnson Michelle Cartwright Serena Boyles David Bickley Kathy White Mike Cole Tammy Aswell David Earle Kimberly Schiller Nancy Sprowls Dawn Venneberg Laura Muckerman Pauletta Staley Deborah Horne Linda Johnson Rachel Fou Stonecroft Board of Directors Belinda Cashwell Lorraine Myrholm Beth Fitch Marie Eddy Char Kellogg Pam Schram Diane Sparks Star Paterson Emily Firnstahl Teresa Bourgeois Janice Mathers Vera Velk Janis Price Stonecroft International Partners Antigua Canada Hungary Malaysia Romania Trinidad and Tobago Bangladesh Congo India Martinique Senegal United Kingdom Barbados France Italy Mexico South Africa Zambia Belgium Germany Japan Myanmar Switzerland Zimbabwe Bulgaria Guadeloupe Kenya Nigeria Tanzania Cameroon Honduras Malawi Philippines Togo 5
Closing Prayer Jesus We know that prayer both precedes and accompanies revival. We dedicate ourselves to frequent, fervent prayer in 2016. All of the world s honors, privileges, and pleasures pale in comparison to one moment of knowing you. And those who put their trust in you will know you for all eternity. We cannot sit by and simply watch as women seek salvation in recognition, possessions, positions, power, and relationships. We must act and we must speak. Show us how to share the Gospel and fill us with holy love and boldness. Amen. 6