MaryBeth Hall – Page 8 – Targeted Global Prayer

Reading & Listening to Audiobooks

*Photo from theecofeed.com* *on 10-2-22*

Today’s featured hobby was sent in by a TGP team member from Tennessee. Thank you to everyone who has submitted hobbies for our summer series so far!

Both the ability and opportunity to read are gifts from God! From learning to enjoyment, there are many reasons people read. Audio books are a great way for busy adults to read on the go, because they provide the opportunity to obtain the benefits of books while other tasks (housework, exercise, drive time, etc.) are being performed.

Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press around 1440, and the Bible was the first book ever printed. Truly, being able to read a copy of God’s Word for oneself is the best reason to learn to read. Of the 180 copies he printed in that first edition, 49 are still in existence today (21 complete Bibles, parts of 29 others).

It is estimated that there are currently around 170,000,000 different books in the world today (source link below). The earliest libraries were in ancient Mesopotamia, and Benjamin Franklin started America’s first library in 1731. What is your favorite book?

1. Libraries across the United States hold summer reading programs for children. Pray for a child with the same name as yours who will participate in a summer reading program to discover the greatest Book of all time, and understand and believe its message of Jesus’ love.

2. Pray for the person who made the Christmas tree book display picture above to read and believe the true Christmas story from Luke 2.

3. Pray for a Christian living in your county to grow in his walk with God today through the encouragement received from a Christian book or audiobook.

Matthew 28:20b

https://love-books-review.com/facts-and-figures-about-literature/general-literature-stats/how-many-books-are-in-the-world/#:~:text=As%20of%202024%2C%20it%20is,books%20are%20published%20each%20year.

Continuing Prayer for Ukraine

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

*Photo from Maria Kotik’s* *Facebook page*

It has been awhile since TGP featured the Ukraine, asking for prayer in relation to the Russian invasion. The following is an excerpt from Maria Kotik’s Facebook post, who along with her husband Dima are missionaries in the Ukraine. They were in the States in the early months of the Russian invasion, but have since returned to the Ukraine and are living in Kiev.

Here’s what Maria wrote yesterday:

“Last night was difficult. A drone hit an apartment building not far from us. This was one of several direct hits. 14 civilians have been murdered. Many more are wounded.
I am asking you to pray for Ukraine…”

There are many current crises around the world which need our prayers. Let us lift up the Ukraine today.

1. Pray for the Father to give protection and hope to His children across the Ukraine.

2. Pray for God to step in and stop the Russian invasion forces.

3. Pray for the Lord to bless the efforts of Ukrainian churches who are trying to reach the lost during this very difficult time.

Matthew 28:20b

Card Making

*Photo from djssundries:* *https://www.facebook.com/share/19UbeNBoPm/*

The second hobby in our TGP Summer 2025 Tuesday / Thursday series was submitted by a team member from Virginia. (Any team members are welcome to send in their own hobbies / interests for inclusion in the series.)

Over 7,000,000,000 greeting cards are sent annually in the United States. Although most of these are mass produced, there are an estimated 3,500 small business creators that make greeting cards, and that number is increasing all the time. Handmade cards are appealing to send because of their personal touch, high quality, beauty, and simple yet profound wording. They account for an estimated 20% of the card industry.

Besides the business advantage, card making offers many benefits as an enjoyable hobby, from creative expression to stress reduction. Handmade cards are as varied as the people who make them, with a plethora of materials and techniques available – the sky’s the limit! Another draw to card making is that people with varying ability and experience levels are able to make cards.

1. Card making is a ministry of encouragement. Some churches have ladies groups that make cards. Pray for the Lord Himself to encourage Christian card makers today as they have encouraged others.

2. Pray for someone living in your state who is lost, and will receive a handmade greeting card from a believer this week, to think about and accept the gospel.

3. Pray for older saints in nursing homes across the country who will glance at previously received cards in their rooms today to be ministered to by the Holy Spirit, as He reminds them of His ever faithful presence.

Matthew 28:20b

Prayer List for the Lost

Earlier this year, TGP started a new prayer outreach for specific lost individuals with whom our team members have interacted. We currently have around 55 first names on the list. Each month there’s an opportunity to send in updates or additional names. A new one page PDF document is then emailed to all participants, so that it can be printed / posted in a location that facilitates frequent viewing and prayer.

The list is emailed the 20th of each month. If you would like to participate, please email

targetedglobalprayer@gmail.com

Thank you!

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Pray for the Lord to send out workers to the harvestfield of Ho Chi Minh City.

Pray for the Lord to look down with compassion on this city of nine million people, once again interjecting Himself into their lives and drawing them to salvation.
Pray for increased distribution of the Scripture among city residents.
Pray for a Christian working at a restaurant to meet another believer today, and for both of them to be encouraged by the Lord’s goodness.

Hebrews 13:3, 2 Timothy 2:9

This post was originally published on July 18, 2022.

Saturday Morning Recap

James 5:16b

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

1. Israel: Pray for God’s protection and wisdom for Israel’s leaders and people.

2. Special services in Boston: Pray for God’s protection over the tent meeting next week, and for many people to be saved.

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

Sousse, Tunisia

Sinnamary, French Guiana

Nature Walking

Thank you for praying!

Sousse, Tunisia

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

1. Pray for the six pedestrians in the middle of the picture to hear the gospel this summer, and believe.

2. Tunisia is at the top of Africa, directly southwest of Italy across the Mediterranean Sea. It is estimated that only 5,000 of the country’s 12,200,000 citizens profess Christianity of any variety ( https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/tunisia ). Pray for the Lord to do a mighty work to change this sad fact.

3. To the right of the picture above is a large red billboard advertising a radio station. Pray for a DJ of the station to trust Christ as his Savior, for his family to follow in faith, and for them to be a light for Jesus in their community.

James 5:16b

Special Meetings in Boston

Next Monday through Thursday a special gospel preaching tent meeting is planned for Harvard Square in Boston. One of our TGP team members and her teenage grandson are there to help (her sister and brother-in-law have a ministry in Boston and are doing the tent meeting).

She has asked for prayer for God’s protection over the event. The tent they are borrowing says “We Love Israel,” and Massachusetts has had a high level of anti-Semitic activity. Additionally, Boston has had protesting in conjunction with the LA riots.

Three meetings are planned for each day: 10:30, 1:30, and 6:30 (Eastern time). If you have the opportunity, consider setting your phone alarm for those three times, that as many of us as possible may uplift our brothers and sisters before the Father’s throne.

1. Pray for God to protect the tent meeting throughout the week in every way.

2. Pray for many lost people to come and hear the gospel, and believe.

3. Pray for there to be many Christians helping facilitate the meetings, and for the Lord to give them strength day by day.

James 5:16b

Nature Walking

*Photo from Google Earth:*
*view from Signal Mountain, TN*

The first hobby in the TGP Summer 2025 Tuesday / Thursday series is nature walking. It was sent in by one of our team members from Tennessee.

Nature walking is similar to hiking, although it is considered less strenuous. Enjoying the beauty of God’s creation is a huge benefit of a nature walk, with exercise and educational benefits present as well. Most cities have parks or trails that provide opportunities for residents to go on a nature walk without having to travel far.

1. Genesis 3:8 seems to indicate that the Lord God went on late afternoon nature walks with His created children Adam and Eve. Imagine what it must have been like to take a walk with the Creator Himself! It was a sad day indeed when the guilt / shame of their sin caused Adam and Eve to hide from this time of fellowship with the Lord. Pray that Christians throughout the world who routinely take nature walks will always enjoy fellowship with their Father, and keep short accounts with Him in regards to sin.

2. People who do not know God seek peace in a variety of ways, including being out in nature. Pray for an unsaved individual in your state who will be taking a nature walk today to be struck anew with the sense of the Lord’s eternal power and godhead that nature provides (Rom. 1), and respond in faith to any gospel invitation previously received.

3. Thank God that although this world is greatly damaged by the Fall, there is still so much beauty in our Father’s world that draws our hearts to Him.

Psalm 95:1-7

Thank You

Each morning part of the opening exercises for our school classroom includes reading a couple poems. Last week one of the selections from the current book we are reading reminded me of TGP’s faithful prayer partners. I do not know who wrote the poem, but wanted to share it with you all, in the hopes that it will be an encouragement. Thank you for each prayer you pray on behalf of both Christians and the lost around the world! May Jesus be known / loved more and more because of this ministry.

Taken from Poems for Memorization (Crockett: Rod and Staff Publishers, Inc., 1988).

James 5:16b