Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving"
- Colossians 4:2
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Though written almost 2,000 years ago, Paul's words to our brothers and sisters of Colossae should still serve as an encouragement to the Body of Christ today.
First, we must keep in mind that we are in the midst of an enormous spiritual struggle . . . a spiritual war, if you will...and we must remain alert to the lead of the Holy Spirit at all times. Elsewhere, the Apostle reminds his readers to prepare for this war by putting on the full armor of God and to actively engage in prayer (Eph.6:10-18). Prayer is our weapon against the whelming forces of evil. So let us be alert and pray.
Secondly, we are to pray with an attitude of thanksgiving. Both the battle and the victory are His. Therefore, "Rejoice in the Lord always...Let your forebearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is at hand" (Phil.4:4-5).
Now...with an attitude of thanksgiving, being ever alert... join us in praying for the City of Los Angeles:
We recently received an email from a mother asking that we pray for her children. She was anxious because they were moving to a new neighborhood and new schools. But she was also concerned that her children would walk in Jesus' foot steps. As I prayed for her, I couldn't help but wonder how many other mothers scattered throughout Los Angeles had similar concerns for their children. Would they be safe at school? Would they be tempted by drugs or harassed by gangs? Would they stay to the straight and narrow path? Please pray for the children and teenagers of Los Angeles. The pressures on these young people are enormous, and for their sake, let us pray for a Christ-ward movement throughout an entire generation.
And let us not forget the mothers themselves. Pray for peace of mind. Pray for the active involvement of fathers in the raising of their children. Pray for both mothers and children stuck in abusive relationships. May Jesus deliver them and bring peace to their lives. And may He bring healing to all concerned, including those that abuse.
Pray too for the elderly and infirm in our midst. There are countless nursing and retirement homes scattered throughout the City. So many are lonely, simply waiting to die. And they don't yet know the living God! Would you please pray that the Lord of the harvest would send laborers into this particular field...that some might be saved before it's too late.
We are all aware of the conflict in the Middle East, but did you know that the second greatest concentration of Middle Eastern cultures in the world is the City of Los Angeles? Yes...pray for Israel and the Middle East, but please pray as well for the Jewish and Muslim people who live in our very midst. Join us in asking for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all the various cultures residing in our City...that all would come to know Jesus as Lord!
And speaking of the Holy Spirit, I was recently reminded of the time in 1968 when the Holy Spirit fell on a small group of Episcopalians in Van Nuys. From that humble start, a holy "fire" spread that eventually engulfed our entire City. Would you join me in asking the Father to again bless our City with a baptism of His Spirit? Let us beseech the throne with requests that His fire burn so brightly in us that people all over the world would learn of His glory.
Lyle Randles, Director of Prayer Ministry
LIFE CONNECTIONS INTERNATIONAL
www.lifeconnectionsintl.com |
