Week Forty-One

For prayer this week:

1. Ask the Lord to pour out his grace on this new prayer initiative, "The ESC Prayer Wall." The "Wall" is simply a way to work out what we feel is a vital and indispensible part of the life of our worshipping community. Ask God to raise in each one of us the urgency to wait before him in prayer. Ask him to move us to prayer individually and together, lifting up to heaven everything the Spirit lays on our hearts.

2. Ask the Lord to renew our vision. This month, the leaders of the ESC need to share a clear message about how we feel the Lord is leading our community. Public opportunities for this to happen will be during the worship service on October 19, and at the "town hall" gathering during Sunday School hour on October 26. Ask the Lord to give our leaders adequate time to pray and decide what to share. Ask the Lord to help all of us to be engaged in developing and living out the vision. Plead with the Lord to move us steadily into being a community that actively cares for and nurtures every person among us, and reaches out to the world around us.

3. Pray for the need for adult leaders for our youth. Ask the Spirit to identify among us youth group counsellors and Sunday School teachers. Ask the Lord to give wisdom to Pastor Clarence and the youth ministry team to discern, equip, and support all our youth workers.

4. Ask the Lord to bring together each person who is in any kind of need with someone(s) who will minister to them by meeting the need. Pray for God to give us a renewed sense of "the priesthood of all believers", that is, we each have a ministry and a vital part of the spiritual life of our community.

5. Please pray for the sick that you are aware of. Ask the Lord to give them a deep sense of his presence with them. Praise God for those who are making progress and/or have recovered from illness. Ask for continued health and a vibrant testimony of the God's goodness.

6. Pray for the followers of Jesus suffering violent persecution in South Asia. Please look up the news available on this issue and bring the situation before the Lord. Please pray for our loved ones who will be returning to South Asia to work.

7. Please pray for the Church Building Project. With ground-breaking expected in the coming spring, many things must happen: spiritual growth even as the facilities expand; steady congregational commitment and cooperation; creative solutions for space shortage during building; God's provision as well as faithful giving and fervent fund-raising; smooth work and anticipation of issues in the building process; etc.

8. Ask for the Lord's guidance and blessing upon our church as we go through our annual process of electing Deacons (every two years) and affirming Ministry Group Members. Ask the Lord to raise up and confirm brothers and sisters to the various leadership capacities in our church family. Our annual meeting will be held on October 19.