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Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2
Transforming the World
Hello everyone, and thank you for stopping by on our Prayers for the Week post. Today we are taking a look at how we can be a force in transforming the world — changing the culture of the world from one of hate to one of love. All week we’ve been bombarded with the worlds hatred towards everyone that doesn’t agree with them on whatever their stance of the day happens to be. There is a very real need to be strong in the Lord these days. If you aren’t, then you run the very real risk of seeing your behavior emulate that of the world system, rather than letting Christ speak through you so you can help in transforming the world.
So how is one supposed to be strong in the Lord? To answer that question, let’s look at the words found in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Ephesians 6:10-20
Over the summer, I’ve been attending a Men’s Bible Study at Cross Point Community Church in Knightdale, NC on Tuesday nights. It’s organized by my brother-in-Christ Kipp, and right now we are looking at a small, six week series by Dr. David Jeremiah called Overcomer: Live a Life of Unstoppable Strength, Unmovable Faith, and Unbelievable Power. We are breaking down these verses, one piece of armor at a time, and it is giving me an insight into what each of these pieces of armor is about. In doing so, God is speaking to me directly, and telling me to be alert for ways that the Devil is working to divide God’s church. It doesn’t take a lot to see that Satan is definitely giving truth to Peter’s warning:
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
Brothers and Sisters-in-Christ, I know that I’ve given you a lot, and we haven’t even gotten to our prayer requests. Please forgive me, but I feel like God is telling me to give you all of this information. I see far too many of my Christian brothers and sisters falling into the traps that the world presents to us — the trap of foul language, the trap of being angry at anything and everything, the trap of trying to change the Church to work more in line with the world system, rather than letting the Light of Christ shine through them. It bothers me, and it has bothered me for a while now, and finally I’m following the guidance that the Lord has laid in front of me, and truly giving it the attention it deserves.
I know that I’m painting with a very broad stroke, and that isn’t fair. I’m sorry about that. My plea for all of us that call ourselves Christians is that we remember the words from the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:2, and that we let that be our guide as we work on transforming the world, one person at a time. The more we do attempt to do that, I believe, the better the world will become. Thank you for letting me ramble, please continue reading and praying with our prayer requests and praises below.
Prayer Requests & Praises
- Please pray for Sherry. She’s having surgery on Thursday. Pray for the skill of the surgical team and for healing for Sherry. Thanks!
- Lori has a prayer request: “The wasps won. I fell back off the step-stool. I split my sternum again and 3 broken ribs.” Please pray for her healing, as well as for God’s Peace, Comfort, Strength, and Love to surround her. Thanks everyone!
- Please pray for our brother Don — he had a medical condition recently, and he’s fine but he’ll be on medication now as a result. Please pray for him and that he doesn’t have any additional occurrences of this.
- Stephanie has a praise and continued prayer request for her grandson James: “James just got out of surgery a couple hours ago. Surgery went really well. He’s in ICU tonight, but if all goes well, he’ll be in a regular room tomorrow. Thank you all so much for the thoughts and prayers!! He’s awake and having a bottle now.”
- Hey everyone keep my brother-in-Christ John and his family and all of Louisiana in your prayers regarding Barry. They’re saying it will hit land as a hurricane. Thanks everyone!
- Prayer request for my friend Susan. She was just laid off from her job today, and is looking for employment. Please pray for her — she’s in Raleigh, NC, so also if anyone local hears of anything, please, pass it along. She’s not on Facebook much. Thanks everyone! Please also include all of those that are looking for jobs as well in your prayers. We don’t know who they are, but God does, so we’ll leave the details to Him.
- Just found out from my brother Kipp that a friend of ours, Matt, had a heart attack. He’s in the hospital and is recovering nicely, but please pray for him. He’s 45 years old and is in good shape so it is definitely a shock. Thanks everyone!
- Please keep praying for my Dad, Joe. He has another biopsy on the 17th and we’re looking at lung surgery on the 24th. Please be in prayer for him, as well as for my Mom, Ellen, my sister Robin and all of our family.
- Lastly, we are starting something new. We’re calling it our Daily Scripture, and if you would like to sign up for a link to a daily Bible Verse, click on this link: https://www.remind.com/join/ahb79h
- Thank you all for your faithful following of our prayer requests. If you wish to join our Facebook Group, click the link and we’ll include you in. Thank you all for praying, now join us in praying the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray.
Our Father, who art in Heaven
The Lord’s Prayer
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, and Power, and Glory
Forever and ever.
Amen.
As always, if you have prayer requests of your own, you can leave them as comments below, or you can join our group and post them there.
