Prayer

Area Prayer and Ending Bible Poverty Update

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In October, 2015 YWAM launched The Invitation with a call to pray to end Bible poverty. This was selected as the inaugural topic due to YWAM founder Loren Cunningham’s passionate plea to YWAMers everywhere to pledge to End Bible Poverty. While there are still 180 million people with no scripture in their native language, 1,875 people have now pledged to end Bible poverty. We are bringing some of their stories to you through The Invitation. For March we suggest that you pray into areas where there is Bible poverty.

A village in the Himalayas receiving Bibles. Source: YWAM Kona, Hawaii.
A village in the Himalayas receiving Bibles. Source: YWAM Kona, Hawaii.

Preparation for Prayer:

  • Please review the Ending Bible Poverty updates and prayer requests from specific YWAM locations that follow.
  • Seek God for how He would have you pray.
  • As a YWAM team, pray for God to show you how He is calling you to partner to end Bible poverty through prayer, fundraising and/or side-by-side involvement.
  • Pray for any other area in which God is leading your YWAM community to pioneer new work.

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you … Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:11,105, ESV

Updates and Suggested Prayer Points:

Scripture in the Chichewa language. Source: YWAM Blantyre, Malawi
Scripture in the Chichewa language. Source: YWAM Blantyre, Malawi. (Scripture available at: http://www.biblemw.com)

YWAM Blantyre, Malawi was so gripped by Loren’s message to end Bible poverty that while they were preparing to work with a tribe with no written scripture they realized there is Bible poverty all around them in Malawi. While there is a full Bible written in the native Chichewa language its cost is equivalent to one third of a month’s wage which is a significant barrier for people. God has given YWAM Blantyre a vision to have a copy of scripture in all three million homes in Malawi and thus, they have begun printing the Gospel of Mark and have purchased hundreds of audio Bibles to distribute to people who can’t read.

Watch this short video to learn more about YWAM Blantyre’s Bible plan:

Pray for:

  • Funds for YWAM Blantyre and other locations to purchase Bibles for the visions God has made known.
  • Effective evangelism campaigns and Bible studies to accompany Bible distribution.
  • Revival that brings in the harvest and prepares Malawi and the rest of the earth for the return of Jesus.

YWAM Chiang Rai Thailand

YWAM Chiang Rai, Thailand received two teams in January – one from Brazil and one from Kona, Hawaii. Together with the local YWAMers the teams handed out 1,000 Bibles. The local YWAMers have taken responsibility to distribute Bibles in a village which includes 345 homes, 2 schools and 3 Buddhist temples (which happily received the Bibles). The teams witnessed healing of several people for whom they prayed and they also visited a home where they had distributed a Bible several months earlier. This family reported that since they had received the Bible their home was filled with joy and they requested more Bibles for family members.

Watch this video about the Bible distribution in Thailand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3M961_hNno

Pray for:

  • People to read the Bibles that were distributed in January and for them to develop a true hunger for the Word of God so they will produce good fruit, seeking Jesus and leading others to Christ.
  • Provision for a Bible to be given to every home, to every student and to every temple in the province of Chiang Rai (approximately 600,000 Bibles, $1.2 million US dollars).
  • For YWAMers, churches and other organizations to partner together to end Bible poverty in Chiang Rai, Thailand and other Bible-less areas.
Man listening to an audio Bible in his own language for the first time. YWAM Kona, Hawaii
Man listening to an audio Bible in his own language for the first time. YWAM Kona, Hawaii

YWAM Kona, Hawaii has sent 15 outreach teams to 14 countries and has delivered over 1,700 audio Bibles in 25 different languages. Their work in the Himalayas included:

  • Adoption of three districts that together consists of 43,000 homes in the high Himalayas. YWAM Kona partners with the local network of churches and is helping the churches go village to village bringing audio and printed Bibles. They are also implementing a survey process so they can track where the Bibles have gone and where they still need to go. Initially expected to take multiple years to complete this work, one district is almost finished!
  • Assisting a local man to in completing an oral to oral translation of the book of Matthew in a Bible-less language.

Pray for:

  • Favor with the Bible Society, the government, and wisdom on how to expand what is happening in Kona.
  • Other organizations to partner with YWAM so there can be adequate funding, translation, and distribution efforts to end Bible poverty.

Praise God for:

  • Providing partners for funding major Bible projects in the Himalayas.
  • Providing Bibles for all 195 people in a village and for the elder who was the first to receive Christ from that village.
  • The 150 people from another village who were shown the Jesus film and came back the next day to receive a Bible and to be taught a Bible study.
  • The man of peace who was a Hindu believer and received Christ along with his family of ten after three days of fellowship and teaching with the team.
Loren Cunningham with YWAM Blantyre’s Daniel, Suzy, Ben and Beth Dugmore
Loren Cunningham with YWAM Blantyre’s Daniel, Suzy, Ben and Beth Dugmore

After hearing Loren speak about making Bible poverty history we realized that this is an apostolic call for this generation that we must be part of.

Daniel Dugmore, YWAM Blantyre, Malawi 

Take Action:

  • If you haven’t already:
    • Heard Loren speak about Ending Bible Poverty, please watch this video (in English, with Spanish subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PLIT6XNTlo
    • Signed the covenant to end Bible poverty worldwide, please do so now: http://endbiblepovertynow.com/
  • Contact the YWAM Kona Bible Team: konabibleteam@gmail.com to share stories of what you are doing to end Bible poverty.
  • Pursue opportunities to end Bible poverty within YWAM. Here is one example: http://www.generationhero.org/opportunities.php
  • Share how God spoke to you.
    • Share on facebook.com/youthwithamission, find the post for March 10, and add a comment about how you prayed.
    • Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture.
    • Share with other YWAMers in person or through other channels.
Praying to end Bible poverty. YWAM, Blantyre, Malawi.
Praying to end Bible poverty. YWAM, Blantyre, Malawi.

How We Prayed:

February 2016 – Local – Governments

  • YWAM Quebec, Canada prayed for reconciliation between English and French Canada, Christians who curse the government and a federal bill regarding assisted suicide for patients. YWAMers were led to wash the feet of one another, specifically, English Canadians washed the feet of the French Canadians and vice versa as an act of reconciliation that they expect will affect the government through the Holy Spirit.
  • Y360 Colorado Springs, United States prayed that local government leaders would view the four YWAM locations in Colorado Springs as an organization with relevant answers and solutions. They specifically prayed for their mayor and city council members.

Praying for Local Government Leaders Y360

  • A former DTS student encouraged the continued focus on operating in every sphere of society.
  • Prayer requests were received for the governments and people of Tasmania, Uganda and Pakistan.
  • An individual from Jamaica reported the he prayed for the elections in Jamaica that were to happen at the end of February and that God would be present in the plans and people leading the government.

Upcoming topics for The Invitation:

  • April 14, 2016 – Global Topic
  • May 12, 2016 – Praying for Local Concerns (Location and Community)

The second Thursday is just a suggestion. Feel free to pray close to that date at a time that works well for your location’s schedule.

Don’t Miss The Invitation

  • Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
  • Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation. (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, or request other languages.)
  • Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook post on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hash tag #praywithywam.
  • If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.

Save The Date:

Loren Cunningham Invites You to Kansas City:

Invitation Banner to Kansas City 2016

The gathering together at YWAM KC September 4th-10th will be unlike any that we have had before. We are inviting not only our YWAM family from around the world, but our alumni, many of whom are working in the spheres.

These 5 days will help move us into the next wave of what God has for us. Please get the word out! Tens of thousands have been in YWAM and we don’t have a way to communicate with them. So we need you to let them know they are invited to this historic event.

For more information, go to the website www.ywamkc2016.org.

Darlene and I will be looking for you to join us in September.

Blessings to you,

Loren

Script for Ending Bible Poverty in Malawi Video:

After hearing Loren speak about making Bible poverty history we realized that this is an apostolic call for this generation that we must be part of. We have started to plan to make an audio translation where there is no scripture at all. But we wanted to make a difference in Malawi now. As we looked for Bible poverty in our nation in Africa we saw that we have Bibles in Chichewa and New Testaments, but these Bibles are so expensive that the poor cannot afford to buy them and there are no portions of scripture in print here. So we edited a new public-domain translation of Mark’s gospel in our language, Chichewa. On the back we put a salvation tract and together with local churches we printed the first Mark’s gospel at just 20 cents each. We have begun implementing a strategy to distribute the first 12,000 copies. We asked for a vision that needs a miracle from God to accomplish, so our vision is to have scripture in every home in Malawi. We only need 3 million copies for every home to have one. For those who cannot read we are distributing these audio Bibles. Please pray that the distribution of the Word of God will be effective. Please join us in intercession as we pray each day in our prayer house before going door to door. Please pray that the evangelism and Bible studies we are doing alongside the distribution will be effective. We will see a revival here that brings in the harvest and prepares for the return of Jesus.

Related posts:

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Prayer

Praying for Local Governments

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Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God. He is inviting you!

European-ParliamentEuropean Parliament. Source: Jeff Fountain

In YWAM “we desire to see God’s transformation in every sphere of society”. The spheres of influence are: family, government, economics (science, technology and business), religion, education, media, and celebration (arts, entertainment and sports). This month, as you pray for your YWAM location and local concerns, we invite you to pray for your local government sphere.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

1 Timothy 2:1-2, ESV

Suggested Preparation for Prayer:

  • Spend time with the Lord listening to what He has to say to you about your location.
    • What are the key prayer concerns for your location/your community/your city?
    • How can you pray for your students?
  • Think about your city government. What are the current issues? Is there unrest or stability? Is there volatility when leaders change? Are Christians being persecuted by the government?
  • Read “Praying for Local Governments.” You can find the article at: ywam.org/about-us/praying-for-local-governments/. This explanation was written for The Invitation by Jeff Fountain, formerly the leader of YWAM Europe. Many of the prayer points this month have been taken from this article.
  • Identify and list key local government leaders. Be mindful how God views those in authority. “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” (Proverbs 21:1)

Malaysia CourtHigh Court of Malaysia. Source: Hakan Uragard (Flickr)

Suggested Prayer Points:

  • Pray for peace and stability.
    • If you are located in an area of peace and stability, thank God that you benefit from the influence of biblical ideas in the formation of your government.
    • If you are located in an area where unrest is common, where leadership changes often bring violence, where Christians are persecuted or where peace and stability does not exist pray for a revival of people and leaders to know the truth and to live for God’s glory.
  • Ask God to show you how to be the salt and light the world needs.
  • Pray for the local government leaders identified during your time of preparation, even for those with whom you don’t agree:
    • For wisdom to execute justice well for the common good (Romans 13:3-4 and Jeremiah 29:7)
    • For wise decisions for future generations
    • For open minds and listening ears
    • For discernment regarding religious issues and for healthy attitudes toward Christians
    • For effective stewardship of public resources
  • Pray that God will use unbelieving leaders to accomplish His purpose in your city
  • Pray for your YWAM location, that relations with local government leaders would be strengthened and that the government leaders would view YWAM as an organization with relevant answers and solutions
  • Share how God spoke to you.
    • Share on facebook.com/youthwithamission, find the post for February 11, and add a comment about how you prayed.
    • Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture.
    • Share with other YWAMers in person or through other channels.

“We may disagree with the judgement and policies of our political leaders and wish for greater character in them as persons.  But, we are still exhorted to pray for them.”

Jeff Fountain, Director of Schuman Centre for European Studies

Take Action:

  • Identify a specific local government agency and/or leader
    • Become more intentional about praying for them.
    • Partner with them to be a resource with solid solutions to problems.
  • Identify a local situation where there are social tensions. Seek God for how your location could bring about social cohesion. Involve your church.
  • Reflect on 1 Peter 2:13-14, 16-17. What does it look like to be subject to every human institution? Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. . . Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honour everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the emperor. 
  • Reflect on God’s sovereignty over cities/nations:
    • Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. . . All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. . . It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. (Isaiah 40:15, 17, 22)
    • The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men. (Daniel 4:17)
  • Learn more about spheres of influence:

How We Prayed:

YWAM DurgapurYWAM Durgapur

December 2015 – Horn of Africa and Where YWAM is Not

  • YWAM Dunham (Quebec, CN) brought staff and students together to pray. They also submitted a report sharing that they prayed for God to remove sinful thoughts from the hearts of men and that God would send more workers to this region.
  • YWAM Durgapur (West Bengal, India) prayed and also submitted a report. They prayed for Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and Yemen as well as; Maldives, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
  • YWAM’s East Africa Leadership Team prayed and reached out to YWAM Horn of Africa.

January 2016 – God’s Grace Flowing to the Muslim World (video). Over 10,000 people have viewed the Facebook post/video.

  • YWAM Grimerud, Norway prayed that God would enlarge the place for Muslims in their hearts.
  • YWAM Townsville, Australia prayed that the church’s fear toward Muslims would be diminished.
  • YWAM Rostrevor, Northern Ireland prayed for teams ministering to refugees in Europe and the Middle East.
  • Y 360 in Colorado Springs, United States prayed to let the grace of God flow into the Muslim world by proclaiming scripture and writing Grace on leaves and releasing them into the stream.

Grace LeafSource: Jolanda Blevins-Karelse

  • YWAM Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, was led to repent for the sins of
    fear and hatred regarding Muslims.
  • YWAM Harbour City, China tweeted that they prayed for breakthrough in the Muslim world.
  • YWAM Seamill, Scotland tweeted that they prayed for the Muslim world.
  • Leaders from the Western Area Circle Team of North America were gathered in Mexico and prayed on YWAM’s global prayer day.
  • YWAM Zion, New Zealand fasted and prayed.

Upcoming topics for The Invitation:

  • March 10, 2016 – Praying for Areas and Where YWAM Is Not
  • April 14, 2016 – Global Topic
  • May 12, 2016 – Praying for Local Concerns (Location and Community)

The second Thursday is just a suggestion. Feel free to pray close to that date at a time that works well for your location’s schedule.

Don’t Miss The Invitation:

  • Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
  • Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation. (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, or request other languages.)
  • Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook post on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hash tag #praywithywam.
  • If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.

Save The Date

Loren Cunningham Invites You to Kansas City

Kansas-City-2016-banner

The gathering together at YWAM KC September 4th-10th will be unlike any that we have had before. We are inviting not only our YWAM family from around the world, but our alumni, many of whom are working in the spheres.

These 5 days will help move us into the next wave of what God has for us. Please get the word out! Tens of thousands have been in YWAM and we don’t have a way to communicate with them. So we need you to let them know they are invited to this historic event.

For more information, go to the website www.ywamkc2016.org.

Darlene and I will be looking for you to join us in September.

Blessings to you,

Loren

 

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Prayer

God’s Grace Flowing to the Muslim World

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Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God. He is inviting you!

water splashing over small water falls

And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. (Ezekiel 47:9)

This month we invite you to pray for Muslims. Instead of giving you specific prayer suggestions, we ask that you watch a video, then seek God for direction about how to pray.

Suggestions for How to Pray:

  • In preparation for this time of prayer:
    • Watch this powerful video entitled God’s Grace Flowing to the Muslim World about a vision God gave to one of YWAM’s Middle East leaders. This video has been created specifically for The Invitation this month. We have included a transcript at the end of this document. Although the video is only available in English the transcript has been translated into the other languages of The Invitation.

  • Review relevant statistics below regarding Muslims coming to Christ.

large lake and dam

  • Enter into quiet time with God. Be silent while waiting on God and listen to what He is speaking to you regarding this video.
  • Record and report any impressions you received from God.
  • Pray accordingly, based on what you received from God.
  • Converse with God, asking questions such as:
    • What is still hindering the flow of your grace?
    • How could your grace bring even greater results?
    • How would you have me/my location respond to this video?
    • Lord, how do you want me/us to pray for Muslims?
    • Lord, is there a Muslim that you want me to befriend?
    • Is there a ministry involving Muslims for our location?
  • Be aware of what action He is leading you to take.
  • Share how God spoke to you.
    • Share on facebook.com/youthwithamission, find the post for January 14, and add a comment about how you prayed.
    • Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture.
    • Share with other YWAMers in person or through other channels.

building in the Middle East - Mosque

Relevant Statistics:

In his book A Wind In The House Of Islam, David Garrison reports research that shows a dramatic increase in the number of movements of Muslims to Christ in this century compared with previous centuries. He defines a movement of Muslims to Christ as “at least 100 new church starts or 1,000 baptisms that occur over a two-decade period”:

  • 7th – 18th centuries (the first 12 centuries of the Islam religion): no movements of Muslims to Christ
  • 19th century: 2 movements of Muslims to Christ
  • 20th century: 11 movements of Muslims to Christ
  • First 12 years of 21st century: 69 movements of Muslims to Christ (which is 84% of the total number)

“Prayer has been the first and primary strategy for virtually every new initiative into the Muslim world. It is the great unseen force…”
David Garrison, A Wind In The House of Islam

Take Action:

picture of kids holding up hands

How We Prayed:

November 2015

  • YWAM Iquitos, Peru joined The Invitation to intercede for refugees in the West. After conducting dramatized activities to make them more aware of the living reality for refugees they committed to pray for refugees on an ongoing basis.

December 2015

  • YWAM Newcastle, Australia and YWAM Athi River, Kenya shared that they joined The Invitation and prayed for the unreached and for workers in the Horn of Africa.
  • YWAM Heidebeek, The Netherlands was led to pray from Psalm 24. The Lord impressed upon them that the people of the Horn of Africa “belong to the Lord” and that Ethiopia will be key to opening the nation of Yemen.
  • YWAM Boise, USA reported that they also minister to Eritreans in their city and invited other YWAMers to join them (www.ywamboise.org).
  • YWAM Phnom Penh, Cambodia focused on Revelation 3:7-8 (open doors). Open doors included chatting over coffee. The Lord led them to pray for the workers in the Horn. God impressed upon them that workers must be willing to lay down their life, but when they do, lost people will run to them to hear the Gospel.
  • YWAM Caracas and Puerto LaCruz, Venezuela thanked God for giving them time to pray for the team in Africa.They prayed Isaiah 41:9 and noted that God is revealing himself to Muslims and that for God there are no impossibilities.
  • An individual prayed for an unraveling and unlocking of the locks and chains holding Africa and for an opening of eyes and softening of hearts for the people of Africa so that they can see Jesus in all of His Glory.
  • Another individual from Canada prayed for provision for the teams in Africa and that the hearts of people from Canada would burn for these teams. The Lord also showed her a releasing of the power, courage and strength of Himself, as well as a new awareness of God in an Arab area.
  • We heard from two people regarding elections and leaders in their areas.Please pray for godly leaders, fair elections and for people to lose their fears through accepting Christ.

 

Upcoming topics for The Invitation:

    • February 11, 2016 – Praying for Local Concerns (Location and Community)
    • March 10, 2016 – Praying for Areas, and Where YWAM Is Not
    • April 14, 2016 – Global Topic

May 12, 2016 – Praying for Local Concerns (Location and Community)

The second Thursday is just a suggestion. Feel free to pray close to that date at a time that works well for your location’s schedule.

Don’t Miss The Invitation:

  • Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
  • Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation. (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, or request other languages.)
  • Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook post on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hash tag #praywithywam.
  • If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.

Save The Date:

The 2016 YWAM family gathering in Kansas City will be completely different! If you feel you are part of the YWAM family, though you might be working in business or education or public service—or any of the spheres of influence—you are welcome.

Please plan to come: September 4-10, 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri; USA.

Video Transcript

God’s Grace Flowing to the Muslim World”

Twenty years ago as I was walking next to a river in Indonesia I felt the Lord asked me a question “Son, how big a dam would you need to totally stop the flow of this river?” I thought a minute and answered “Well, it doesn’t matter how big a dam you build, the water will keep piling up behind it. Eventually it will come over the top, go round the sides or break through the wall itself”. God responded “Exactly, and that’s my grace flowing to the Muslim world.”

God was preparing me to spend the next two decades of my life in the Middle East. For most of this time relatively few people from Muslim background responded to Christ. Even though we were sharing the good news and living lives of sacrificial love, it was as if the flow of grace to these people was dammed up behind a wall of cultural and religious control.

In 1976 engineers in the USA were filling a major new dam. One morning, as it was almost reaching full capacity, they noticed a wet spot in the face of the dam. Soon it became a small leak, so they sent bulldozers to try to patch it up. Then whole sections of the dam face caved in swallowing up the dozers. Suddenly, only four hours after noticing the first leak, the whole dam collapsed sending millions of tons of water down the valley. Something that had taken years to build and seemed so solid and immovable was suddenly gone.

Looking at the Middle East from a distance right now it might look like the dam holding back the message of Christ is strong, and may be getting even stronger. We can be concerned that Christianity will be wiped out of the Middle East. Many are fearful that Islam will overrun many of our western cities and nations.

But come closer, and the picture is very different. Twenty years ago in many countries it was very rare for a Muslim person to become a follower of Jesus. In other countries it seemed the dam had totally sealed off the flow of God’s grace and there were virtually no known believers. But God called us to pray. YWAM started the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim world. And we began to see a great flow of God’s grace to the Muslim world. The dam has been filling; the pressure has been building. And now we are seeing significant leaks through the dam. In many parts of the Middle East and across the world more Muslim people are becoming followers of Jesus than ever before in history. The built up pressure of grace behind the dam is beginning to rush through the leaks. The dam holding back God’s grace is beginning to crumble before our eyes. This doesn’t mean that Islam will cease to exist but that its power to hold its people from the gospel is collapsing.

Now Is The Time (Sub-title on video)

Many Muslims are disillusioned, searching for life and truth. Now is the time to let the compassion of God move us to reach out to Muslim people wherever they are.

Now Is The Time (Sub-title on video)

In Muslim nations across the world, the devil is taking every opportunity to steal, kill, and destroy. Now is the time to stand in prayer for Muslim communities to limit his destructive power and see God’s healing flow.

In recent years, many Muslim communities have been touched with the gospel, but in other communities the love of Christ is still unknown. Now is the time for every Muslim – even in remote and difficult corners of the world to know that they are loved.

Now is the time for Muslims to come home.

YWAM Leader in the Middle East

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Prayer

The Invitation – Where YWAM Is Not!

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Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God.  He is inviting you!

This month you are invited to pray for areas where YWAM is not, areas where people groups have not yet heard the Gospel. You may want to pray about this specifically related to your location. What countries or cities or people groups has God put on your heart? Prayer suggestions have also been provided for a YWAM pioneering effort in The Horn of Africa where YWAMers are establishing a training and sending center.

Please consider one of YWAM’s foundational values as you pray: Hear God’s voice. “YWAM is committed to creating with God through listening to Him, praying His prayers and obeying His commands in matters, great and small. We are dependent upon hearing His voice as individuals, together in team contexts and in larger corporate gatherings as an integral part of our process for decision making.”

Suggestions for Prayer:

  • Where YWAM is not
    • Pray for your location’s pioneering efforts. Pray for your teams, for more workers, for courage, for provision, for the Holy Spirit to use your efforts for breakthroughs spiritually, for any way the Lord is leading you to pray.
    • Listen for God’s leading regarding new areas, people groups, or ministries that God may be calling you to.
    • Pray for fresh, intentional strategies of multiplication in YWAM related to reaching the unreached.
  • YWAM pioneering in the Horn of Africa
    Africa-Woman-ChildIn 2014 the Lord spoke to a small team of YWAMers to establish a central training and sending location to reach the unreached in and around the Horn of Africa. A team of YWAMers is now working in the Horn with a vision to reach the local community and to raise up believers who will go to the other nations. The nations of focus are: Somalia, Yemen, Djibouti and Eritrea. The YWAM team is currently working with Somali, Yemeni and Afar people who are all less than 2% Christian.

    • Pray for the Lord of the Harvest to send forth workers and to multiply teams in His timing.
    • Pray for people of peace!
    • Please lift up one Somali woman who has recently gone from seeker to believer.
    • Pray for new Yemeni brother who is considering doing a DTS. Pray for wisdom, direction, provision, and favor!
    • Pray for the unity and boldness for local believers and for them to catch and take ownership of their call and destiny.  Pray for the workers to love, empower, and champion them.
    • Pray for sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and the obedience and boldness to share and sow generously.
    • “Pray that through intercession, together, we would tear down strongholds of the enemy in this land. Declare that the spirit of peace would come, wiping out the spirit of violence and that the spirit of love and adoption would come wiping out the orphan spirit.”
    • Pray for encounters within the local terrorist and radical groups. Pray that from there would come “Paul’s,” great apostles for the Kingdom of God.
    • Pray for language learning for the team.
  • Yemen
    • 99.92% Muslim, .08% Christian
    • One of the world’s least evangelized countries
    • 14 languages, only one of which has Scripture
  • Eritrea
    • 50.26% Muslim, 47.31% Christian, 1.87%  non-religious
    •  Literacy rate 56.7%
    •  Four recognized religions:  Sunni Islam, Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran – all other religious groups have been persecuted with increasing intensity since 2002
    • Several decades of conflict with Ethiopia
  • Djibouti
    • 97.03% Muslim, 1.75 % Christian
    • 10 languages; less than half with Scriptures
    • Unemployment rates of 50 – 80%
    • Interest in conversion brings risk of intense persecution
  • Somalia
    • 99.67% Muslim, .33% Christian
    • Murder of Christians and converts is increasingly common
    • Chaos has led to smugglers, terrorists, pirates, etc.

Take Action:
“The greatest time of gospel proclamation lies before us requiring a new measure of commitment, zeal and passion, embracing fresh innovations and technologies to reach them all.” (From Call2All Website)

  • Mobilize and Go:
    • If you are called or being called to Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea, or Djibouti, pray and consider joining the team in the Horn of Africa. Visitors are welcome. Email the team at: n.elizabeth@highrange.org.
  • Learn more about Where YWAM is not.
  • Get practical help and coaching in taking the next steps:
    • Take advantage of YWAM coaches and field workers who will help you plan and begin work in unreached areas. Go to bridgestothelost.com
  • Tell YWAMers what you sensed in prayer:
    Go to facebook.com/youthwithamission, find the post for December 10, and add a comment about how you prayed.  Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture.

Follow-Up From Last Month:

YWAM locations prayed for their own communities and specifically for immigrants in their area. YWAMers on Facebook asked for prayers for all of the refugee centers in Athens and that YWAM Sweden would be able to increase its ministry to immigrants and refugees. One YWAMer sensed that God is saying: YWAM is the epicenter for change that will create ripples of hope wherever our locations are.

Upcoming topics for The Invitation:
January 14, 2016 – Global Topic:  A Picture of a Breakthrough in the Muslim World

February 11, 2016 – Praying for Local Concerns (Location and Community).

March 10, 2016 – Praying for Areas, and Where YWAM Is Not

April 14, 2016 – Global Topic

The second Thursday is just a suggestion. Feel free to pray close to that date at a time that works well for your location’s schedule.

Don’t Miss The Invitation:

  • Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
  • Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation.  (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, or request other languages.)
  • Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook post on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hash tag #praywithywam.
  • If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.

The Invitation

Save The Date:

Next year’s YWAM family gathering in Kansas City will be completely different! If you feel you are part of the YWAM family, though you might be working in business or education or public service—or any of the spheres of influence—you are welcome.

Please plan to come: September 4-11, 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri; USA.

Related posts:

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Pray for Immigrants

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The Invitation November 12, 2015: Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God.  He is inviting you . . .

“The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you;
you shall love the alien as yourself….”
Leviticus 19:34 NRSV

Refugees-WalkWe invite you to pray this month for your YWAM location and your community.  Take time to hear from God regarding how He would want you to pray for local concerns.

This month, as you pray for your own local community and YWAM ministry, we suggest that you include some prayer for immigrants around you. Due to the ongoing and increasingly urgent refugee situation in Europe and other areas of the world, your local area might have a new influx of people from other countries.

“The flow of migrants worldwide is changing the demographics for missions…. We are finding the unreached more and more in our own backyard.”
– Tim Svoboda, YWAM San Francisco

The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself….
– Leviticus 19:34 NRSV

Refugees-fence

Suggestions for Prayer

General

  • Spend time with the Lord listening to what He has to say to you about your location.
  • Make a list of things for your location to celebrate!  Praise God for each.
  • Pray for DTS students at your location, that they would be able to focus on learning and ministry.  Pray also for strength and blessings for their family members.

Immigrants in Your Area

  • Watch this video to see how YWAM San Francisco is meeting needs in their city:

  • Pray for the Lord to give wisdom to your location regarding opportunities to reach local immigrants, refugees, or international students. Consider prayer walking or mapping your city (see below) to assist you in your prayer.
  • Pray for churches in your area to befriend the immigrants or ethnic groups around them.
  • Pray for mobilization of workers from your location to serve immigrants, refugees, or international students locally or maybe even in an area where YWAM does not have a presence.

Take Action

  • Prayer walk: Go to significant spots in your city and pray while you are walking in groups of 2 or more.  Think of places where there is tension, where there are immigrants, where there may be several international students, etc.  Report back to your location how God spoke to you.
  • Map your City: Hang up a map at your location.  Identify people groups in your city and the languages they speak.  Circle areas on the map where these people live and work.  Listen as God speaks to you about these people groups and what you can do.
  • Dig deeper: Read Tim Svoboda’s emails entitled “The Strategic Nature of Cities” and his series of articles entitled “The Urban Challenge”.  Conduct relevant research regarding your city.  Make plans for your city based on what you are hearing from God. http://www.ywamsanfrancisco.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/TheStrategicNatureofCities-3.html. See alsowww.ywamcity.org.
  • Reach out to refugees in Europe and the Middle East.
  • Tell YWAMers what you sensed in prayer:
    Go to facebook.com/youthwithamission, find the post for November 12, and add a comment about how you prayed.  Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture.
  • Tell us about your location:
    During a future month, we would like to  include in The Invitation a description of the variety of cultural ways that YWAMers pray.  Please help us by sending an email to prayer@ywam.orgwith one of more of the following:

    • Cultural traditions of your location that you incorporate into prayer. Please describe what that looks like.
    • Prayer methods from other cultures that you have tried in prayer.  How did that go? Please describe that for us.
    • Unique aspects of your prayer time.
    • Pictures/videos/other multi-media components that depict the uniqueness of the prayer times at your location. Send us something in your local language.  A video, flyer, prayer list, etc.

Follow-Up From Last Month

  • On October 8, YWAM launched The Invitation with the global prayer topic of Ending Bible Poverty Now.  Thanks for praying!  We had a great response from many of you . . .
  • YWAM Bangkok requested prayer via email for funds to distribute another 20,000 Bibles.
  • YWAM Borgen posted “Pray AND work, it gives good results.”  on Facebook.  (They prayed AND gave out over 9,000 Bible in the area around their base.)

Bible-Borgen

  • YWAM Seychelles requested prayer via email for completion of a seven year project to make an audio copy of the Four Gospels in Creole.
  • YWAM Guatemala City reported on Facebook that staff members that speak indigenous languages were challenged during the prayer time to help more in this area.
  • YWAM Wales tweeted and posted a picture showing their commitment to end Bible poverty.

Bible-Wales

  • University of Nations Bali prayed specifically to end Bible poverty amongst the nine people groups they have adopted and also signed a commitment statement on canvas that hangs on the wall as a daily reminder.
  • YWAM African Bible Safari requested prayer for resources and equipment needed to train the trainers for Bible translation for the eight hundred Bibleless languages in Africa.
  • YWAM Brisbane prayed that those who are translating the Bible will find the specific and culturally relevant words.

Upcoming topics for The Invitation

December 10, 2015 – Praying for Areas, and Where YWAM Is Not

January 14, 2016 – Global Topic:  A Picture of a Breakthrough in the Muslim World

February 11, 2016 – Praying for Local Concerns (Location and Community).

March 10, 2016 – Praying for Areas, and Where YWAM Is Not

The second Thursday is just a suggestion. Feel free to pray close to that date at a time that works well for your location’s schedule.

Don’t Miss The Invitation

  • Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
  • Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation.  (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, or request other languages.)
  • Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook post on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hash tag #praywithywam.
  • If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us:  prayer@ywam.org.

The Invitation

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