Territorial Prayer Resources

Greetings
The Ordination and Commissioning of officers is often referred to as the “Springtime of the Army.” How grateful we are as a movement for God’s faithfulness in calling and covenanting with persons down through the years to carry on his work among his people. Pray for the “Friends of Christ Session” as each prepare for his/her first appointment. Remember to pray Matthew 9: 38; there is still a great need for more officers and lay persons to answer the call.

World Wide Prayer Meeting
The territory continues its support of the World Wide Prayer Meeting in soldarity with Salvationists around the world. Individuals and groups are engaged in prayer every Thursday, praying around the theme of the General’s Vision Plan, “One Army, One Mission, One Message”. Resources have been made available by the ICO which include PDFs and PowerPoint slides. These will be updated during each session of the ICO, and will include relevant Bible verses and insight from a truly international perspective. Follow our website link or Twitter @TSA_WWPM.

Time to Reflect
The Speck Inspector – Matthew 7: 1-7 Last night I downloaded the Bible onto my e-reader. Now we all know it’s the same words and it’s just a little thing but because it’s not nice leather bound book with very thin pages and small type, it doesn’t look like a Bible. I guess I am just being a speck inspector.

Have you met or worked with or worked for a speck inspector? Working for a speck inspector tends to leave a person routinely on edge, fearful of not living up to the boss’s expectations. And sometimes the speck inspector is not even the boss they act like they are. Those under the gaze of speck inspectors spend more days sensing disapproval then acceptance. We all know the speck inspector has a problem but to paraphrase the Bible…the speck inspector is so focused on the small issues of others that they fail to see their own faults.

None of us is perfect…and none of the clients and ministry units we work with is perfect either. We all have speck and spots that sometimes are very obvious to others but not to ourselves. In the midst of all that we are working toward the idea of a safe healthy work environment that encourages people to get out of their comfort zone, take risks and try new things.

Avoid becoming a speck inspector by eliminating unrealistic expectations, don’t sweat the small stuff, laugh with people not at people and if we really have to sort out a situation, remember to speak the truth in love.
In this month’s Prayer Guide
Week one - June 1-2 – Personnel on International Service
Week two - June 3-9 – National Recycling Operations
Week three - June 10-16- The General’s Vision Plan –Deepen Our Spiritual Life
Week four - June 17-23 – Ontario Great Lakes Division
Week five - June 24-30 – Partners in Mission – Zimbabwe Territory

Other Prayer Opportunities: For – officers and their families as they change appointments, personnel in the various units involved with the change of officers, families, marriages, newly weds, souls, those who preach and teach God’s Word and for the elderly especially those who live in abusive situations.

Visit the sites below for prayer resources:
www.saglobal247.org - One Army, One Mission, One Vision

Thank God for the faithful, caring fathers and bless them on Father’s Day June 17, 2012. Many thanks to the Prayer Coordinators for the leadership they have given to advance the prayer ministry. We acknowledge with thanks this month’s reflection contributed by Major Karen Ingram. Last but by no means least I thank you Prayer Partners for your faithfulness in praying, your words of encouragement and insight which you have shared. I have not met the majority of you, however we have the assurance that we will meet in heaven.

In a few days my husband and I will be returning to the Caribbean Territory, thankful to God for the opportunity he gave us to serve alongside you in this territory. It is my hope and prayer that every Salvationist in this territory will heed the call to pray. Prayer for the believer is not an option but a necessity for spiritual vitality.

At the beginning of the year as I asked the Lord for his direction for the prayer ministry; He gave me two words, repentance based on Revelation 2: 1-7 and perseverance (persistence, patience, longsuffering) based on Luke 18:1-7 and Galatians 5:22. These words do not roll off our tongues easily but if they are practised individually and corporately as a part of our prayer discipline I believe we will see the “greater things for which we pray.” (see Song 769 - SASB). The two words above with the leading of the Holy Spirit continue to guide me as I daily wait upon the Lord in my spiritual journey. Allow me to share a small portion of a revival story with you and believe with me that God can and wants to do again. Are we ready?

The Welsh Revival of 1904-05 – Oliver W. Price
“During the spring of 1904 a young Welshman named Evan Roberts was repeatedly awakened at 1:00 a.m. He met with God until 5:00 a.m. The Welsh revival followed. Churches were packed for prayer meetings. In a prayer meeting for young people, Pastor Joseph Jenkins asked for testimonies. A young girl name Florrie Evans, who had only been a believer a few days, rose and with a trembling said “I love Jesus with all my heart.” The other young people’s hearts were melted. A powerful spiritual awakening that brought 100,000 people to Christ was under way. (What if Evan Roberts had taken some sleeping pills, read a book, or counted sheep instead of praying? My own input)

The Salvation Army set apart January 19th, 1905 for a day of confession, humiliation and prayer throughout England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. All day prayer meetings were held in many of the principal cities of the British Isles, according to the London Times. The meeting was marked by “fervent prayer and anyone who felt called upon to pray.” Fires of spiritual revival and moral recovery were spreading.” (Retrieved electronically from http://www.openheaven.com/library/history/wales.htm - 3/14/2012).

May I invite you to pray with me song 204. I believe with all my heart God is waiting for us to line up with his strategic plan for the Army and it is all in keeping with the General’s call to world wide prayer. May God give us the grace to be obedient to his voice.

Benediction
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honour come from you, you reign over all. In your hand is power and might; in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name, (based on 1 Chronicles 29: 11-13).

Yours in Christ Jesus,

Winsome Mason (Lt.-Colonel)
Territorial Secretary for Spiritual Life Development        

If you would like to receive fresh new prayer ideas to use in Ministry in your email - visit http://waymakers.org/pray/freshprayer/ and sign up!

FREE DOWNLOADS:
A variety of program ideas are available on www.MinistryHelps.ca.  Resources have been divided by age appropriateness: Children, Youth, and Multi-Age. These programs include ideas for prayer walks, prayer rooms, prayer breakfasts, ways to teach prayer, prayer activities, and much more.
Documents on MinistryHelps are free, but you must register at MinistryHelps.ca to access resources.


Here is a sampling of what you will find:

CHILDREN
Answers to Prayer - A children's game teaching truths about how God answers prayer.
Encouraging Children to Pray at Home - A guide for teachers with ways to teach children about the importance of private prayer.

YOUTH
Delicious Prayer Walk - A prayer walk for youth using our tastes to teach different aspects of prayer.

MULTI-AGE
A Time To Listen - A women's prayer walk idea.
How Deep The Father's Love - A prayer brunch

Every Thursday, The Salvation Army holds a 30-minute worldwide prayer meeting. I invite you to personally take the time to participate.

You can select a 30-minute period between 5.00am and 8.00am. Because The Salvation Army serves in so many different time zones it means that for all, or most, of Thursday the Army is at prayer. I encourage you to sign up now using the form below. International Headquarters will be praying from 7.30am until 8.00am.

Our prayer focus will be on the international mission priorities. From time to time I will be providing specific prayer letters of an international nature. If you sign up here these will be sent to your email address. I hope you will be praying with us, in groups or individually.

You can register your comments about the Worldwide Prayer Meeting through our feedback page.

Often prayer rooms are centered around a theme, and it can help your thinking and planning to consider what elements might go well together for participants using a prayer room. For example, if you took the theme of “Life” for your prayer stations, you could focus on the following:

Life is a Gift.
Use Psalm 139:13-16 as your focus. Include a symbol such as a partially knitted garment to help people reflect on how God “knit us together in our mother’s womb.” Offer opportunity to give thanks for this gift in some tangible way—such as a written prayer attached to a clothesline.

Life is a Journey.
For a visual symbol and take-away reminder, provide cross sections of a tree, about 3” in diameter with a hole drilled in the top. Instruct participants to take a pen and write on the tree ring words that describe significant points of his or her spiritual journey. In the act of writing and remembering, they can thank God for his presence in those times.

Life has Anxiety.
Have Matthew 6:25-34 written out for people to meditate on. Provide a two-foot length of string or wool per person and invite participants to put a loose knot in the string for each anxiety or burden they are experiencing. Then invite them to spend time in prayer, and as they feel each knot in the string, to untie it and understand that the burdens are not theirs to carry, but the Lord’s. Provide a Bible, cards and pens for people to write out Matthew 11:28-30 to take with them and carry as a reminder of the rest Jesus promises his followers.

The Life Christ Offers is Eternal.
Invite participants to reflect on Romans 6:15-23 (MSG) where it says in verse 23, “Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.” To express thanks for this gift, suggest that participants sign a card you’ve prepared called a “spiritual birth certificate” with the promise “..the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You will think of other ideas once the idea of a theme presents itself. The main thing is to keep each station simple, meaningful, and to provide something tactile for participants to experience.

Find a number of Prayer Room ideas available for download free from: www.MinistryHelps.ca (Search: Prayer)