Pat's Ponderings

Well, as a bit of a follow-up from the trip, I just wanted to throw out a few things that need to be prayed over from this side of the ocean. I feel like the Lord really burdened all of us to be praying specifically for our friends from this summer. He brought home the realization that we may be the only people praying for them. Along with that, the Lord has had to work on my mindset a lot to bring me to pray for big things in faith trusting that He will and is completely capable to do those big things, things bigger that we even know (Eph. 3:20-21). Anyway, here are some people that I would love for you to join me in praying over:

• Mike: I'll probably write about this guy later. It's a stinkin' awesome story of how the Lord worked in ways that I absolutely did not expect. Anyway, this guy is a new brother, right at two weeks old. So, he's just beginning to crawl in his faith. It was a sweet thing to watch his desire to know and understand more about the Bible. Pray that our Father would fill that desire and use it in huge ways and that discipleship with one of the long-termers would be really productive. Pray also that Mike would open himself up to being used as God's mouthpiece for spreading the Name of Jesus. Mike talks incessantly, but now he's got something good to talk about. Pray also for general protection from the attacks of the enemy and rapid growth and expansion of the Kingdom through this brother. I can see the Lord doing some sweet work through him.
• LD: The circumstances around how I met this guy are crazy awesome, too. So, I'll probably have to write about that also. He's super-interested and really wants to know a lot more about the Bible. From spending some time in his family's home, I found out that his dad has a Bible and has been to church at least a few times, if not more regularly. Ask that the Spirit would reveal Truth to him, that He would see Jesus as the Living Savior, not just some Western-minded philosopher. Pray that LD would seek Truth with the right motivation, not merely to expand his worldview or knowledge base, but for the redemptive power of Jesus. Pray for his family also that their eyes would be opened to the Light and that they would fully embrace the Lord Jesus for who He is.
• PowerKing & Shu: Yes, his name really is PowerKing, PK for short. Don't ask why. I never did. These two guys became some of my really close friends, which is a bit weird because most of all we ever did together was play basketball, and, if you've ever had to watch me play basketball, you know how insane that is. Anyway, it took a long time to finally get to spiritual conversations, and, when we finally did, they didn't go super deep. I feel like it was more breaking up ground by loving them. Pray that the Spirit would use that and really show them that my love came from Jesus. Pray against the strongholds of Buddhism and Chinese thought, especially for PK. Pray that the Spirit would silence all other voices - friends, sports, materialism, superstition, etc. - and would speak Truth to their spirits. Pray for salvation.

Those are just a few main points. I'm hoping to follow up with things about the city that need to be covered in prayer as well, but that will have to come later. I'd also like to have a collected resource of names to be praying for from the rest of the team. It has become so cliche, and I don't know that we really understand it fully, but don't neglect the power of prayer (James 5:16b).

*Note: I stole this idea from Danielle. So, you should check out her prayer list also...

This post categorized under Personal Thoughts, Missions, and Culture.