Confessions and How You Can Pray

Growing Together

This summer, we’re focusing on Growing Together at Forbid Them Not. Last week, I shared a short video with you that lays out some of our goals for this season of growing. (If you missed it, that’s okay, I’ll share it again at the end of this post.) In the video, I challenged you to join us in growing a group of people with a heart to see the fatherless come to Christ. This week, I’d like to challenge you to grow with us in the area of prayer.

Over the last year, I’ve been learning that I’m not very good about voicing to others the things that are on my heart. I’m a natural listener, and that is good for what we do here because if you do not hear, it is almost impossible to respond based on the Word or with discernment. But this strength comes with an inherent weakness—the failure to speak.

Most missionaries struggle with finding the right balance in prayer letters and blogs. What do I share? People want to hear what will encourage them. They want to hear that their investment in our ministry is paying off. But what about the struggles, the stark realities, the needs?

Some would say that if a missionary is truly walking by faith they will NEVER share the needs they are facing because they should be able to trust God alone to meet that need. God should be enough. And He SHOULD be enough, but what about the balancing principle that we are to bear one another’s burdens? How can you pray if I never tell you about the need? How can you comprehend the full depth and breadth of the answer, if I have never told you the full depth and breadth of the need?

So today, I’m going to speak. I’m going to be open, honest, and maybe a little blunt. I’m going to share with you how you can be praying for us, and I’m going to challenge you to COMMIT to pray with and for us.
Here are 8 ways you can pray for us:

1. That God would be magnified through this ministry.
   We want to operate in a way that allows Him to reveal that in HIM the fatherless find mercy. (Hosea 14:3)
2. That our hearts and minds would be attuned to the leadership of the Lord.
   It’s easy to get caught up in all that needs to be done and suddenly realize you haven’t stopped to listen to the most important Voice. This ministry can be draining emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Pray that we will be aware of the need to spend extra time with the Lord and TAKE it. Running on fumes helps no one.
3. That fatherless children, single moms, other guardians, and members of our community would come to the Lord through this ministry.
4. That churches both in our community and in other communities would be strengthened through this ministry.
   Pray that we will have wisdom as we share with others what God has taught us about ministry to the fatherless and single moms and how they can apply it in their own communities.
5. For wisdom and boldness as we reach into heartbreaking situations. Imagine this…
   You’re sitting face-to-face with a fourteen year old who, with tears streaming down her cheeks, says, “I’ve been a burden since I was seven years old. My mom kicked me out to please her boyfriend. He’s abusing her.” How do you answer her?A frantic phone call comes in from a single mom whose parents are telling lies about her and have pulled her into a custody battle with the state. What resources do you offer her?  A fourteen-year-old boy wants to be a man and lead in his home, but can’t seem to resolve the anger and hurt caused by the rejection of his father looking him in the face and saying, “I don’t want you in my life.” How do you guide him to forgiveness?
   You receive a late-night text message from a single mom who has lost her children, “Is it wrong for me to hate the man who abused my children for the things he did to them?” What hope do you offer her?
   We need your prayer.
6. For financial partners.
   We are currently operating on approximately 8.5% of what we estimate we need to be fully operational. This must cover our operational costs as well as our ministry costs. We have seen God do AMAZING things in our poverty, and we don’t ever want to come to a place where we are not relying on Him. But we also know that in order for us to minister effectively, we need partners who will consistently invest in this ministry. Our prayer is that God will raise up partners who have a heart for both the fatherless and this ministry.
7. For volunteers
   We can’t do the work alone. It’s too big. 31% of the children in our county are growing up in single-parent homes, and 48% of the children in the next county! Laborers are needed. Over the summer, this will be one of our main areas of focus. Please pray with us that even now God would be stirring hearts to join us in projects, in mentoring and discipleship, in teaching classes, in providing transportation, in offering whatever talents the Lord has given them to be used to touch the lives of the fatherless around them.
8. For wisdom in balancing time and priorities.
   Right now, we have a staff of two. We both have other work, are active in our churches, and want to be involved with family as much as possible. Sometimes balancing everything can be a bit like juggling knives. Please pray that, as Hudson Taylor said, God would be our one great circumstance, and that we would follow His direction and leadership. He has already provided and led in amazing ways.

So there it is. My heart. Our need. Prayer is something we often take for granted. It’s something anyone can do. It’s something we assume others are doing. Sometimes it’s something we commit to do and then forget about—sadly. It can become routine. But it shouldn’t. Prayer is powerful.

Will you commit to pray with us about these things, maybe not every day, but at least once a week? If so, please let us know by simply leaving  note in the comments. We covet your prayers.

In Case You Missed It, Here’s Last Week’s Video:

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