MaryBeth Hall – Page 10 – Targeted Global Prayer

Jesus Saves!

1 We have heard the joyful sound:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Spread the tidings all around:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Bear the news to ev’ry land,
Climb the steeps and cross the waves;
Onward! ’tis our Lord’s command;
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

2 Waft it on the rolling tide:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Tell to sinners far and wide:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Sing, ye islands of the sea;
Echo back, ye ocean caves;
Earth shall keep her jubilee:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

3 Sing above the battle strife:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
By His death and endless life:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Sing it softly through the gloom,
When the heart for mercy craves;
Sing in triumph o’er the tomb:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

4 Give the winds a mighty voice:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Let the nations now rejoice:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Shout salvation full and free,
Highest hills and deepest caves;
This our song of victory:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

In the “Onward!” attitude highlighted above, Targeted Global Prayer is back. Thank you for understanding as I took a break for a few weeks to have extra time in seeking God with my husband. The Lord has led him to accept an invitation to the pastorate of Open Bible Baptist Church in Cambridge, New York. Our family is in the process of relocating there as soon as possible.

I had considered continuing to pause TGP until the transition to OBBC was complete, but have decided to restart now in a scaled back fashion. As you know, normally each post includes a picture and background information in addition to the three prayer requests. To give more time to tasks related to our move, for the next couple months posts will consist of only the city name, prayer requests, and weekly Scripture reference.

Thank you for understanding, and thank you – as always – for praying! I pray for each of you to find joy and encouragement today in the words of the hymn above; Jesus really does still save and rescue, and we can live unapologetically under that banner of truth. Jesus Saves!

You can listen to and sing along with “Jesus Saves!”, written by Priscilla Owens, by following this link:

https://youtu.be/cxnFr-NLeLU?si=lBnnYVVBhpe-5aCF

Series Summation

Immutability. Holiness. Chesed. Wisdom. Sovereignty. Omnipresence. Righteousness. Justice. Fatherhood. Joy. Omniscience. Love. Eternality. Omnipotence.

All of these attributes and many more are characteristics of our great God. No human study can ever fully grasp all that He is. While this series was originally planned to last the entire month of June, due to the need to focus personal prayer time on an in-person ministry opportunity, TGP will be taking a two week break. Thank you for praying through this mini-series with us!

God’s Omnipotence & Los Cristianos (on Tenerife, Canary Islands), Spain

Luke 1:37

“For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

Isaiah 40:25-26

“‘To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?’ says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see Who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing.”

God has both authority and power over everything. The focus of His omnipotence is the reality that He can do anything He wants to do. He is limited by no one and nothing. Psalm 104 beautifully describes His power using many examples from creation. In the New Testament, the Incarnate Son continues to demonstrate all-encompassing power; indeed, all things are literally held together by Him. He is the Mighty God.

One of the ways the kindness of our God is seen is that He uses His power for our benefit. Psalm 107 illustrates this, calling us to praise Him for the coupling of omnipotence with goodness. Just three verses down from Isaiah’s words (see the above), we read that “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.” The God Who can do anything graciously lends His power to us. Let us – the inadequate but enabled – go forth today in His strength.

1. Pray for the omnipotent Lord to interject Himself into the life/thoughts of someone who will pick up mail from one of these PO boxes today.

2. Due to their role in being a stopping-off port in the exploration of the New World, the Canary Islands became an important link between Africa, Europe, North America, and South America. Pray for the One Who is omnipotent over all four of these continents to be honored as so in the life of an individual from each of these four continents who currently resides on Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands.

3. Los Cristianos (‘the Christians’) has a Spanish Catholic background. Interestingly, the city is now the headquarters for the Islamic Federation of the Canary Islands. Pray for two families, one steeped in each of these religions, to be reached with the gospel of the God Who is so powerful that He can even facilitate change in long-held belief systems.

God’s Eternality & Paradera, Aruba

Psalm 90:2

“LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”

Revelation 1:8

“‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty.'”

From eternity past to eternity future, Yahweh is. As a ladybug can not understand the concept of a light year, time-bound humans can not fully fathom eternity. However, as Ecclesiastes 3:11 states, “…He has put eternity in their hearts…” We know, even from creation itself, that God is and is eternally powerful (Rom. 1:20). He has always been and will always be, extending forever in both directions, as a line in mathematics does.

It is an amazing thing that this eternal God chose to create and reveal Himself to mankind. He breathed His life into us, thereby making living souls who, as a ray in mathematics, have a starting point but no ending point. Our greatest joy is therefore the reality of being in the presence of the I Am forever and ever. The eternal God is our refuge, and underneath are His everlasting arms (Deut. 33:27).

1. Pray for a person passing these statutes today to realize that the only person Who should be prayed to is the eternal God Who offers Himself as a refuge.

2. Aruba is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Pray for someone who will fly from Aruba to Amsterdam this week to, while flying in the sky’s expanse, consider God’s eternality and yield to His claims on that individual’s life.

3. Pray for Christians around the world who have lost a child in the last 24 hours to be comforted by the fact that the eternal God can carry them through even this dark valley, and will forever reunite all believers at the rapture.

God’s Love & Minot, USA

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“

Ephesians 3:17-19

“…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

God’s agape love is perhaps the attribute that most often draws fallen men to Him, yet is also often misunderstood to be a feel-good “everything and everyone is okay” concept. A key to understanding His love is the word “so” in John 3:16. The Greek definition for “so” is “in this manner/way.”* The way God loves the world is through the gift of His Son. It is not through a general laissez-faire overlooking of sin and one’s opinions regarding how salvation may be obtained. Therefore, an individual who rejects the Biblical gospel has no claim to the love of God.

God’s love continues throughout the believer’s life. Jesus said in John 15:9, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” Paul prayed that the Ephesians would be rooted (like a plant), grounded (have the foundation of), comprehend (seize tightly) the four dimensions of, and know (personally understand) the love of Christ. And yet, no matter how long a believer has walked with God, His love still “passes knowledge.” May Paul’s prayer find resonance in each of our lives today.

1. Pray for every member of this church to know the love of Christ today, and be filled with all the fullness of God.

2. Minot, North Dakota, is home to an important US Air Force Base. Pray for all the master sergeants and their families to begin or grow in their interaction with and understanding of the love of God.

3. Pray for a single mom in Minot who has memorized John 3:16 but never personally believed in Jesus to do so this week.

* Though “so” is commonly thought of in the sense of “Wow, it’s amazing His love went to this extent,” this is not what John 3:16 is referencing. That is an authentic reaction to God’s love, but other verses better describe that concept. (Thanks to Bill Hall for explaining this word/idea.)

Saturday Morning Recap

Isaiah 45:5

“I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me…”

1. God’s Omnipresence & Koror, Palau: Pray for a worker at the Blue Palau Gift Shop to hear about God’s omnipresence, and come to know that in a personal way through receiving the gift of salvation.

2. God’s Righteousness & Xidajiao, China: Jesus said in John 16 that one of the Holy Spirit’s jobs would be to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Pray for a student in Xidajiao who is studying traditional Chinese characters to ponder the meaning of the character for “righteous,” and to pay attention to the Holy Spirit’s conviction in her heart. Pray for the Lord to provide that student with the complete gospel message of how to obtain personal righteousness through faith in the Lamb of God.

3. Your Choice: Please pray for a request you remember from the other cities featured this week:

God’s Justice & Osana, Namibia

God’s Joy & Cambridge, USA

God’s Omniscience & Fenua Fala, Tokelau

God’s Fatherhood & Banja, Serbia

Thank you for praying!

God’s Omniscience & Fenua Fala, Tokelau

Acts 15:18

“Known to God from eternity are all His works.”

Psalm 139:1

“O LORD, You have searched me and known me.”

Psalm 147:5

“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.”

God’s omniscience is at once both vast and minute. He has always intuitively known everything about everything. The breadth and depth of His knowledge are forever beyond human attainment. The Bible says He has named each star, yet He also knows every time a sparrow falls (Ps. 147:4, Matt. 10:29-31). He thinks about each of us more times than there are grains of sand (Ps. 139). His omniscience even extends to the realm of “what if” possibilities (Matt. 11:20-24).

Though we single them out for study, God’s attributes combine in a beautiful kaleidoscope that brings Him great glory. Think of a child holding up a kaleidoscope to the light and catching his breath at how the colored pieces of glass are arranged and reflected in intricate patterns. In the same way, adoration is the appropriate response when, by the light of Scripture, we see God’s omniscience, wisdom, omnipotence, and benevolence forming beautiful combinations in history, creation, and our own lives. What vastness is His Whose understanding is infinite, yet what love He possesses to know every time we sit down and stand up!

1. Fenua Fala is one of two settled areas on the atoll of Fakaofo, whose total population is around five hundred people. Fakaofo was TGP’s featured location on February 19, 2023, and can be referenced for interesting facts. Pray for the Lord to bring a copy of Psalm 139 to the attention of a worker at St. Joseph’s Hospital, and for that person to respond in faith and worship.

2. Pray for an individual at The University of the South Pacific to not be so caught up in human knowledge that he thinks he doesn’t need to know the omniscient God. Pray for the Spirit to work in that person’s life to draw him to salvation.

3. Pray for someone at the Fakaofo Wharf today to remember any gospel witness he has received, and respond in obedience and faith. If that person is already a Christian, pray for him to marvel at and be encouraged by his Lord’s omniscience.

God’s Joy & Cambridge, USA

Psalm 45:6-7, Heb. 1:8-9

“But to the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions.'”

Jude 1:24-25

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”

Triumphant joy is an often overlooked characteristic of our great God. The word used here for gladness/joy means “exuberant, extreme joy, ecstatic delight.” And the Father anointed the Son to be the most joyful Person there is!

Notice His two specific causes of joy mentioned in these verses: the triumph of His eternal throne of righteousness, and the triumph of His presenting us faultless to the Father. He wins! When all is said and done, He wins. This can be a great source of joy to us as well when we are contemplating past and current world events: He wins! As to the second reason, it is almost unbelievable that we should bring joy to the Son, but this and other verses declare it so to be. This is an amazing reality: He wants to be with us and His work in us will succeed. What a glorious and gracious God is ours!

1. Pray for the Lord to encourage believers at this church with the truths regarding His joy, thus increasing their own joy today.

2. Pray for God’s eternal kingdom of righteousness to gain another citizen this week from Cambridge, New York, through that individual’s salvation.

3. Pray for the Son to have great joy as He looks at the lives of His children in Cambridge, seeing the Spirit’s transforming sanctification.

God’s Fatherhood & Banja, Serbia

Psalm 103:13

“As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him;”

John 16:9

“For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me [Jesus], and have believed that I came forth from God.”

God is our Father in two senses – Creator (Acts 17:28 describes this connection) and Redeemer (Rom. 8:14-16 describes the adoptive conditions under which we may call Him Father).

As with all of His attributes, there is no way that all the aspects of God’s fatherhood can be addressed here, so today’s thoughts will focus on the definition/wonderment of three words from the above verses:

Pities – to have compassion, the desire to meet the needs of another

LORD – YHWH or Yahweh, The One Who Is

Loves – phileo – to like, the affectionate friendship kind of love

It is an amazing thing that YHWH – whose name we can’t even fully grasp – in all of His splendor and eternality has said that we can know Him as Father. He looks on us with compassion, and meets our needs. He feels affection for us; He likes us. As He told Israel in Isaiah 46:3-4, He carries us from conception to old age. “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)

1. Pray for each person pictured to have the opportunity to be adopted into God’s family, that each one may know him as Father.

2. Jesus said that the Father seeks worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and truth. Pray for the Father to find many such believers in Banja.

3. Pray for someone at the Banja Monastery to understand and rest in the Biblical truth that the Father bestows His affection on those who simply believe and like His Son; His love cannot be earned, but is a gracious gift.

God’s Justice & Osana, Namibia

Galatians 6:7

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”

Psalm 103:6

“The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.”

In a world where people seem to get away with wrongs ranging from snide comments to great atrocities, it is good to know that there is a just Judge Who will rectify all. His hands are the best place to leave everything regarding vengeance, for only He is wise and capable enough for the job.

The greatest wrong that could ever be committed is sin against that Holy God. He is at once both the Just One and the Justifier of those who humbly receive the gift of His salvation (Rom. 3:26). Accepting the fact that the Son took sin’s punishment on their behalf is the only means by which the condemned guilty may be declared righteous.

1. An interesting fact to notice from this photo is that both the road markings and side of the road that drivers use are different from the USA. Pray that a driver traveling this highway today will choose the narrow spiritual road that leads to life, coming to the Just One alone for justification.

2. Pray for the Lord to execute righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed in Osana, and for them to recognize His hand in that.

3. Pray for any Christians in Osana to imitate their just Father by seeking to be impartial in their day to day decisions, basing those judgment calls on objective truth.