|
Wednesday, August 10 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.’” (Isaiah 44:6–8 ESV) God of all the earth, there is no one like you. You are the first and the last; besides you there is no god. We thank you for the great privilege of knowing you. We thank you that when we had fallen into sin, you sent your Son to redeem us. We thank you that we may trust in you and be free of fear. But Lord, all around us are people who worship other gods. Taiwan is full of temples. It is full of people who are seeking guidance, protection, wealth, or success, and who think they can find these things by worshipping the temple gods. But this is not true. You alone are God. Have mercy on the people around us who are trapped by false religions. Free their minds to know you and their hearts to receive you. Let the people of Taiwan turn to the one true God. We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for people we know who are still worshiping idols: In Jesus’ name, amen. |
|
Thursday, August 11 “But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.’ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” (Jude 1:17–23 ESV) God of Truth, you want your people to be firm and strong in faith. You never change, and your promises never fail. You want us to respond to you with confident trust. Your goal is that we should “no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:14 ESV) Instead, we are to grow up into Christ (Eph. 4:15). At the same time, you have also called us to have mercy on those who doubt. You know our frailty. Even Job wondered whether his suffering was compatible with your goodness. The authors of the Psalms often cried out, “How, long, O Lord?” Living in a world that is in rebellion against you, it is normal for us to experience doubts in our faith. We pray today for those who are struggling against doubt. They want to believe in your love, but they have difficulty seeing or feeling it. They want to believe in the deity of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the reality of heaven and hell; but at times these things seem to them like mere myths. Sustain their faith, O Lord. Let our church be filled with good teaching, so that people’s questions about you may find good answers. Let our church be filled with love, so that the truth of the gospel may be seen. Let our church be filled with faith. We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for those who are suffering from doubt of God’s goodness or the truth of the gospel: In Jesus’ name, amen. |
|
Friday, August 12 “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:3-14) Our Father, today is the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar year. It is a day when many in Taiwan experience great fear of the supernatural. It is thought that ghosts haunt the world throughout this month. People offer incense and food to the spirits to keep them away. We are grateful that we do not need to live in fear. You have already delivered us from the realm of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of your beloved Son (Col. 1:13). In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We do not need to fear your anger, for you have made us your own children. We do not need to fear other spirits, because you are greater than all. Thank you for our security and peace in Christ. We pray for the people around us who still live in fear. We have seen them on the streets, burning paper money. We know of people who feel that in this month they may not have surgery, buy cars, swim, or marry. Although foreigners may think of these customs as colorful and harmless, we know that they hold people in bondage. We pray that this bondage may be broken through the spread of the gospel. We pray that you may strengthen churches in every part of Taiwan. We pray that we and all other Christians may be quick to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Give each of us an opportunity to speak to another person about Christ this weekend. We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for those trapped in error and fear. In Jesus’ name, amen. |
|
Saturday, August 13 “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob’; ‘and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’” (Romans 11:25–27 ESV) God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we praise you for your wise plan for the salvation of the world. You chose Abraham and from him made a great nation. In the fullness of time, you sent your Son into the world. Through him, you are bringing salvation to people of all nations. We thank you that your salvation has reached even to us. Today we want to pray especially for the Jews. They are your original covenant people. They have a special place in your heart and play a unique role in salvation history. Although most are now in rebellion against you, you have not given them up. In your own time, you will bring millions of Jews to faith in Jesus. We pray that that day may come soon. Have mercy on the Jewish people, wherever they may be found. Protect them from those who would persecute them. Open their hearts to receive Jesus as their Messiah. Grant them eternal life. We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for the Jews: In Jesus’ name, amen. |
|
Sunday, August 14 “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 ESV) Lord of Hosts, you are a God of peace, but also a God of war. You defend your people against the attacks of the Evil One; that is why we know that neither angels nor rulers can separate us from your love (Romans 8:38). You have ordained disaster for the devil and for all who follow him. You will not allow evil to exist forever; you will bring it to a final end. You have also called us to the work of spiritual warfare. We recognize that we are surrounded by invisible powers that hate you and hate us. We recognize that these powers wish to attack our health, undermine our marriages and families, sow discord in our church, and destroy our faith. Teach us to stand firm in Christ. Let us take up the full armor of God. Let us be filled with faith. Let us be faithful in prayer. Teach us to resist the devil, that he may flee from us. We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for our awareness of the reality of spiritual warfare and the importance of prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen. |
|
Monday, August 15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15 ESV) Our compassionate God, this verse is short, but it is full of meaning and challenge. Your church can be compared to a school, in which we learn to follow Christ. It can be compared to an army, in which we learn to do spiritual warfare. But it can also be compared to a hospital, where we help one another recover from the wounds inflicted by our own sins and the sins of others. In the church, we need to rejoice with those who rejoice. We need your help to overcome our own selfish concerns, so that we can be genuinely happy about the blessings you have given to others. We also need to weep with those who weep. We need to learn to make the sorrows of other people our own sorrows, to sit patiently with them when they are in pain. We pray that you bless the caring ministry of our church. Let our fellowships and small groups be places of caring, places where we learn to minister to one another. Bless the prayer team that prays for individuals at the end of worship services; give them wisdom and love. Bless also the Caring Ministry Team that meets on Mondays. Give them wisdom to guide our whole church to become a more loving place. We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for those who are engaged in caring for others: In Jesus’ name, amen. |
|
Tuesday, August 16 “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.” (Psalm 104:14–15 ESV) “Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty.”(Psalm 104:1 ESV) Lord, we thank you today that you display your majesty in nature. You have stretched out the heavens as a tent (Ps. 104:2); you have set the earth on its foundations (v. 5); and you have caused the land to bring forth the things we human beings need. You give us grass for livestock, plants that we may cultivate, food for our tables. We humbly thank you for these things. Forgive us, Lord, that we often forget that they are from you. Lord, today we pray for the economy of the entire world, especially as it has been disrupted by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. We ask that poor countries may have the resources, the laws, and the freedom they need to develop and become wealthy. We ask that international trade may benefit all partners. We ask that each nation may share its skills with the rest of the world. And we ask that this global development may occur without causing undue harm to the environment. Let all people have the benefits of modern medicine, modern transportation, electricity, and abundant food. Man does not live by bread alone, but bread is important to us. We ask for an end to poverty and famine. We continue lifting up our own prayers, especially for countries struggling to develop, In Jesus’ name, amen. |