MaryBeth Hall – Page 46 – Targeted Global Prayer

Rivers and Lakes

Two days ago, my family had the opportunity to visit our city’s Aquarium. One thing that caught my attention was a large world map showing the small percentage of Earth’s water that is found in freshwater rivers and lakes. My husband and I were talking about this, and he mentioned that even though that percentage is very small, the vast majority of earth’s population lives very close to one of those rivers or lakes. This fact presented a new opportunity to organize prayer for the peoples of the world. For the month of March, TGP will feature a river or lake each day, and we will pray for the various people groups who live along that body of water. The exception to this water series will be on Sundays, when we break away for our Sunday Series of prayer for a category of church workers from the various continents.

Consider these interesting statistics:

Only 1/150th of 1% of earth’s water is found in rivers and lakes.

https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/where-earths-water#:~:text=And%2C%20of%20the%20total%20freshwater,one%20percent%20of%20total%20water

50% of earth’s population lives closer than 1.86 miles to freshwater, and only 10% of people live further than 6.21 miles away from freshwater.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51233091_How_Close_Do_We_Live_to_Water_A_Global_Analysis_of_Population_Distance_to_Freshwater_Bodies#:~:text=Our%20results%20show%20that%20over,administrative%20regions%20and%20climatic%20zones

Consider also this wonderful truth from the Word of God, the theme verse for this water series:

“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” -Revelation 22:1,17

“Thank you for praying, and please ask someone to join our TGP team for this series!

February Pause

TGP will take a break from daily posts for the month of February. Please continue to pray for needs around the world as the Lord brings them to your attention. March 1 is the planned resume date for daily emails. As always, thank you for praying for Jesus to be known to the peoples of the world! John 14:6

Wollongong, Australia

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Wollongong.

Pray for the last family who sat at this picnic table to know and rejoice in the love of Christ.
The Flagstaff Point Lighthouse is a fully automated lighthouse that assists ships sailing into Port Kembia. It flashes a white light for 4.5 seconds, then a red light (warning of reefs/headlands) for 3.6 seconds (lighthouses.org.au). Pray for a local resident to see the Light of the World illuminating the safe way to sail into eternity’s port.
A “Gongster” is a person from Wollongong. Pray for a Gongster who has visited the city’s Buddhist temple Nan Tien and is comparing Buddhism’s teachings to the claims of Christ to choose the only way, truth, and life.

John 14:6

This post was originally published on May 22, 2022.

Sunday Series: Oceanian Discipleship / Sunday School Teachers

1. Oceania includes Australia, New Zealand, and numerous island nations / territories in the South Pacific. TGP also includes in this category prayers for the relatively small transient Antarctic population due to its geographical proximity to Oceania. Pray for discipleship and Sunday School teachers in these countries to have practical goals toward helping their class members memorize passages of Scripture. The Word of God is the best thing a teacher can instill in the hearts of students of any age.

2. Discipleship / Sunday School teachers teacher are sub-shepherds of the church at large, carrying out a pastoral type ministry in the lives of their students. Pray for these leaders to themselves have people who minister to, encourage, and challenge them.

3. Pray for genuine spiritual growth to occur in the lives of many small group attendees this week.

Psalm 122:1

Saturday Morning Recap

Revelation 3:8

“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”

1. Cluj-Napoka, Romania: Pray for the person who speaks the most languages in Cluj-Napoka to also be Biblically literate and heaven bound.

2. Bir Anzerane, Western Sahara: Pray that if a Christian has been seeking to do a work for God in Western Sahara, that the Father would open doors to make that a reality.

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

Swindon, England

Clorinda, Argentina

Skun, Cambodia

North American Church Custodians

Thank you for praying!

Swindon, England

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Swindon.

1. Pictured above is Swindon’s Magic Roundabout, consisting of five small roundabouts joined together. According to Wikipedia, “In 2009, it was voted the fourth-scariest junction in England.” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon)). Pray for a driver on the Magic Roundabout today who feels like life parallels that exhausting schematic to see that following the Maker’s instructions is the only way off the endless cycle of activity without destination.

2. Swindon has several museums, including the Museum of Computing and the Museum of the Great Western Railway. Pray for one worker at each of these two places to realize that he personally must interact with Jesus Christ, and enter that relationship today.

3. Pray for someone living in Swindon who shares your birthday to also learn how to have a spiritual birthday, and be born into God’s family.

2 Corinthians 4:3-7

This post was originally published on March 7, 2023.

Bir Anzerane, Western Sahara

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Bir Anzerane.

1. Western Sahara is a territory on Africa’s Atlantic coast whose occupation and control is disputed by Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The population is close to 600,000, which is a density of about 6 people per square mile. Nowhere in Western Sahara gets more than 2 inches of rain a year. Pray for people whose souls are as parched as the dry ground to have an opportunity to receive the Living Water, that their spiritual thirst may be quenched.

2. Pray for the gospel to transform the lives of the people at the pictured complex.

3. Pray that if a Christian has been seeking to do a work for God in Western Sahara, that the Father would open doors to make that a reality.

Revelation 3:8

SKUN, CAMBODIA

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Skun.

1. Pray for Jesus to shine into the lives of the motorcycle drivers who will use this road today.

2. Skun is known locally as “Spiderville” because of its inescapable 8-legged population. Pray for God’s protection from spider bites, and that residents will recognize His providential hand.

3. Pray for first-year schoolteachers in Skun to meet and come to love the Master Teacher.

1 John 2:15-17

This post was originally published on July 4, 2021.

Clorinda, Argentina

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Clorinda.

1. Clorinda has many dirt roads with potholes and muddy patches. Pray for the next driver whose vehicle gets stuck in such a spot to get “unstuck” quickly, and also be spiritually able to personally testify of the truth of Psalm 40:1-3.

2. Clorinda is located on Argentina’s border with Paraguay. Pray for someone who frequently crosses between the two countries to hear the gospel and be born again, and have opportunities for continuing discipleship.

3. The woman of John 4 was an outcast among outcasts, but Jesus reached out to her with compassion. Pray for the most ostracized person in Clorinda to meet the Savior Who has promised to never cast out anyone who comes to Him.

Psalm 96:12-13

This post was originally published on July 3, 2023.

Sunday Series: North American Church Custodians

1. Pray for the people responsible for the upkeep and cleanliness of God’s houses of worship in North America. Pray that they themselves will have a clean heart before God.

2. The average custodian age (of both secular and religious facilities) is 48. Pray for a child to tell the church custodian “thank you!” today.

3. Pray for a visitor to a Bible preaching church in every North American country to feel welcomed and valued by, among other things, the way the church facilities are kept in order.

Psalm 122:1