Archive for the 'prayer' Category

Stanley Community Church Stanley, Iowa

Philippians 2:5-8

I started thinking about these verses when I heard some of the news reports involving “Black Friday.” I heard the story of one woman who “pepper-sprayed” several others, in her rush to get a good deal. In other locations, several were trampled, many were arrested, and people pushed and shoved to get the bargains they wanted for Christmas.

How could the celebration of Christmas descend to such a low level? How could the spirit of today’s celebration of Christmas be so opposite to the spirit of the first Christmas? Such questions are above me but I do know that the tendency to grasp lies deep within the fabric of my soul.

The One who had every right to supreme glory let go of that right to come to earth. Surrendering true riches, not the sham substitutes that break within a few months, He became poor for our sake (2 Cor. 8:9). I am so glad that He was willing to take “the form of a bond-servant” for us. I am to obey by having that same attitude.

I am so thankful that I have the privilege of serving Village Missionaries that have followed His example. They have followed Jesus to country places, often far away from family and with little in the way of recognition. They have gone to little Bethlehem-like places where they tell people of the One who emptied Himself to come to earth but now is exalted above every name. Through their efforts, many have willingly bowed the knee to Jesus.

I am also thankful for those who willingly pray and even give to advance the cause of Christ in rural communities. You demonstrate that you are ones who do not “grasp” but “empty” in obedience to our Lord.

Thank you for praying! I know that you are praying that God will call many who will surrender the things they enjoy and follow their Master on the downward yet upward path. I know that you are praying that many more will open their hands to give so that others will learn of the Christ of Christmas.

May you have a truly blessed Christmas and New Year!

Picture taken by Village Missionary Kim Kunkle

We are starting to get reports of flooding damage in communities served by Village Missions in the Northeast.  Many of these communities are isolated and lacking in infrastructure.  Often, the topography is such that the damage will be extensive.  Pray for wisdom and strength as the Village Missionaries will often be called upon to minister in a variety of ways. I will try to keep you updated through this blog on the various situations.  You can find maps of locations and pictures of Village Missionaries at http://www.village-missions.org/contact/.  There is also a “zoomable” map of all locations at http://www.village-missions.org/about/map.php.

This note is from Village Missionaries Bill & Karla Allen in Otego, NY

As I write this there are 4 inches of water in the floor of the church basement and we can see and hear more coming in. The sleepy little brook at the bottom of the hill has already spilled over into several pastures. Emergency vehicles have been going up our little country road most of the day.

Bill was on his way to get sand bags for the church but had to turn back because the water is over the bridge. That end of “our road” is closed. Now he is out helping a stranded motorist. They closed the school but did not run the busses . They had parents come and pick up their children if they could get to them. One of our church members is an aid at the school and is stranded there with her children. (This is the First Day of School this year.)

Last week members of our extended church family got out of the town of Schoharie with only their children and their dogs just ahead of rushing water, sludge and sewage that filled their home to the rafters.

We are supposed to have rain and bad weather for 2 more days. Otego and Oneonta have been under a state of emergency all day and roads are open only to necessary travel. We think this will be lifted tonight.

We are OK, but several of our members are “in harms way”. We are helping those we can get to. And personally we are making preparations in case we loose power.

We are concerned for fellow Village Missionaries Dennis & Leslie Burke in Amsterdam, NY and Village Missionaries Mike & Kim Kunkle in Quaker Street, NY.

Chenango, Otsego, Delaware, Schoharie Broome and Tioga Counties are closed to any traffic. At least 90 houses were condemned nearby the Kunkles after Hurricane Irene. With a team from their church Mike and Kim have been helping folks with their houses, clean-up in the area, etc. in the town of Schoharie. Please pray for Mike’s arm. He has cellulitis and it seems to be growing worse.

Because of Hurricane Irene at least 60 houses were condemned near Burkes. Then, this past Monday a tornado hit Pattersonville, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam Junction. Six of the locks on the Mohawk River have been “blown out” because of the debris and falling trees. Burkes phone lines are down. When we were able to reach them by cell phone Dennis & Leslie were on their way to check on “Solitary Place”. (Solitary Place” is a retreat home for Village Missionaries and other pastors). That town was completely closed to traffic after Hurricane Irene. Don’t know what all of this will do to that area.

More storms coming have the very real potential of making things much worse.

We appreciate all of your prayers as we “hold down the fort” and help those around us.

Bill & Karla Allen

Doing our part “Keeping Country Churches Alive” with Village Missions

**********

Please pray: Howard and Nancy Carr (Moxie, PA)

Hi, Please pray for our people, we are experiencing major flooding here. Many roads washed out, bridges are overflowed. We are in Syracuse and can’t get back. The rainbow bridge which we cross to get home is closed and the water which is normally 25-30 feet below is about to overflow across bridge. We just heard they are airlifting people out of Tunchanock (sp) which is west of us. We are praying for other VM’s Thanks Howard & Nancy

The Board of Village Missions met via conference call on March 2 to discuss the elimination of Stonecroft funding for Village Missions resulting in the loss of $40,000 per month to Village Missions.

Although February financial reports are not complete, the Mission’s income continues to do well.  The Board felt it was not necessary to make any changes to this year’s budget, which ends in June.  I praise the Lord for the way He has been moving people to give to Village Missions. 

Anticipating the possibility of a complete cutoff in funds, the Board had appointed a committee at its meeting in November to consider the implications of the loss of all funding from Stonecroft.  This committee had completed much of its work before we received word that funding was indeed being eliminated.  They had developed a “brainstorming list” of cost savings and revenue enhancement that they then presented to the administration for estimates of savings/revenue and reaction to the concepts.  The administration also added some additional possibilities for savings and revenue. 

Each item was discussed during the two-hour long conference call without the pressure of having to make a decision.  Some items were determined to be “worst-case” scenarios that are not needed in light of our current financial position.  The Board did decide to increase the operational service fee for incoming missionaries to $300 per month. 

The Board and administration have three goals in mind:  1) Making any cuts as equitable as possible for everyone (For example, lowering the minimum base salary would only effect missionaries on below minimum base fields and thus would not be equitable), 2) continuing to advance our mission of keeping country churches alive, and 3) keeping the mission financially sound. 

Please continue to be in prayer for Village Missions.  As is always the case, God is as much at work in the adversity He allows as in the prosperity He brings.  Any input you have would be very much appreciated.  I am deeply appreciative of all those who have e-mailed me or posted words of encouragement and prayer!

Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “God’s grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers. Saints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring—that their God will either work a deliverance for them speedily, or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as He is pleased to keep them in it. This patience of the saints proves the power of divine grace.”

Normally we do not look for churches that need our help.  We have a hard time filling the churches that find out about us on their own.  Some churches have waited a long time before receiving a missionary.  How I petition the Lord of the harvest for workers in the mission field of North America!

What difference does it make if the only church in a rural community closes?  I’ll let you decide.

Because of the sensitivity of the information, I’m not going to disclose the name of the community or the missionary.  A couple of years ago I decided to try an experiment in finding churches that needed a pastor.  I was going to be in an area preaching at a church mission’s conference.  I did some research on the web and found some communities that only had one church in the surrounding area.

I visited one of those communities, locating the church.  The church building was well maintained and next door to it was obviously the parsonage.  Some painters were working on the parsonage and there was a “For Rent” sign out front.  Not a good sign!  I asked the painters if they knew who the pastor of the church was.  They didn’t know-another bad sign.

To make a long story short, it took me some time to find anyone who knew anything about the church-the only church in town.  I finally located the church treasurer and learned they had just hired a part-time pastor for two years who lived over fifty miles away.  She took my information and I wondered what would happen.

Two years later the church contacted us.  The church had continued to slide downward with a part-time pastor who lived outside of the community.  You need to know that this community has a vibrant public school that attracts kids from all over the area.  Down to less than ten people, we were their very last hope.

A few months ago, we were able to assign a Village Missionary and family to this field.  Today I received a copy of an e-mail he sent to his congregation.  It speaks for itself:

Dear Church Family,
I have to share some bad news with you.  This morning Mr. _____ didn’t show up for our weight training class.  After knocking on his door with no response, I dismissed the kids and went home.  Two hours later the school called me and said he still hadn’t shown up.  I’m very sad to tell you when I broke thru his door I found he had shot himself.  After interviews with the sheriff, I spent the rest of the day counseling with the kids at school.  These kids and community members need help, they need our urgent prayers.  I want our church doors to be open to them and this is an opportunity for all of us to step up and be God’s agent of healing in whatever way He wants to use us.  I will share some ideas of how we can help with this and other crisis that may come later that I will share in Sunday’s meeting.  I know you all really tried to be a friend to Harry (not his real name) when he came to church.  I hope that when he was in our church he felt the love you showed him.  I will continue the weight training program as usual tomorrow (at the kid’s request) and try to minister to them.  In the meantime, we can all pray and seize any opportunity that may come.
Please pray for me as well.  Harry and I were really starting to develop a friendship and I was unable to make any breakthrough beyond surface level.

Wanted you to hear the news from your pastor before you read about it tomorrow.

In Christ’s love and fellowship,

The Village Missionary

Later today, the Village Missionary e-mailed one of our staff:

I remember Brian’s words at conference.  “Do you know what hangs in the balance?  If churches continue to close…”

What would our town do right now with no gospel witness here?  Guess who they called first when he didn’t show up?  The church!  If Village Missions hadn’t taken on this field, they would be closed today.  Who would be there to help these poor kids and community? 

I say this in humble amazement at God’s plan and how he used Village Missions to meet a huge need and tremendous opportunity God already saw when he sent Brian here two years ago.  I understand a little better now why Brian (and you all) have the heart you do for these fields.  I can’t imagine no one being there to meet these spiritual needs but that is the reality he and the District Representatives face when fields are empty.  Thanks for your prayers, and tell Brian our church is almost full and full of kids and unsaved families who are hearing the gospel each week. 

Please pray for the workers and the finances to serve these churches so close to closing.  What hangs in the balance?  Their souls!

In Ephesians 6:18-20 Paul closes his commands to stand firm and to put on the armor of God with a call to prayer.  Much of what Paul includes in this call to prayer is surprising.  It is causing me to rethink some of my ideas about prayer, especially as it relates to ministry.

We, first, would not expect Paul to call on us to pray as the way to advance in the spiritual battle.  Prayer is important, of course.  We would expect, however, for Paul to write something more about using the shield of faith or the sword of the Spirit.  Instead, clothed with the full armor of God, we engage the battle by prayer.  We often engage in activities other than prayer but for Paul, prayer is the activity.

We also do not expect Paul to have such a concern about praying for others.  We must “be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”  We might expect Paul to command us to pray for ourselves, especially given that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood” (v. 12).  Although he does not rule out prayer for ourselves in the spiritual battle, the main thrust of our praying must be for our fellow soldiers who are also engaged in the battle.  As much as the spiritual armor is individually applied, we never fight the battle alone.  We stand in the evil day only as our brothers and sisters in the faith stand and they stand through our prayers.

Paul is not finished challenging our expectations.  If I were in jail as Paul was, I would pray that God might secure my release.  I would want my freedom most of all.  Also on the top of my prayer list would be safety and comfort while I was in jail.  I would want the guard I was chained to be extremely generous and kind.  “Please, Lord, if you would, provide adequate meals and a warm bed.  Oh-and help me to be strong spiritually in this ordeal!”

Instead, Paul asks that when he proclaims the mystery of the Gospel (not if), that he would have the words to speak (utterance) and that he would do so boldly (used in verses 19 and 20).  His priority, even in chains, is to proclaim the Gospel and to do so without intimidation.  He had prayed for the Ephesians that they would understand and appropriate the Gospel.  See Ephesians 1:15-23 and Ephesians 3:14-19.  As one who has understood and appropriated the Gospel, he asks them to pray that he might make its wonders known without fear.

Why would Paul make such a request for speech rather than for release?  I think it is because he knows that he is an ambassador of the King of Kings.  An ambassador must represent his king in the way the king sees fit.  Paul’s king, Jesus, told him to proclaim the Gospel (Mat 28:18-20; Acts 9:1-19).  Commitment to his job description as ambassador requires him to proclaim the Gospel.  Prayer from others on his behalf will enable him to do so with clarity and conviction.

Are we ambassadors?  2 Corinthians 5:17-21 indicates we are.  Will we be so convinced of our ambassadorship that our main prayer request will be courage and clarity in proclaiming the Gospel?

“I’ll pray for you!”  I sometimes make this promise more to assure a person of my concern than actually to pray.  Sometimes I forget in my busyness or sometimes I just forget.  I do not want to pretend to be a prayer warrior when I am not.  I do not think I am alone in feeling that my prayer life is much less than it should be.

We are emphasizing prayer during our 60^th anniversary, with the theme, “Celebrating Sixty Years: Advancing on Our Knees.”  Our theme verse is Ephesians 6:18.  As I continue to meditate on this verse, it challenges me by what it says about prayer. 

Our advancement on the spiritual battlefield requires prayer.  We are engaged in a spiritual struggle and our times can certainly be characterized as evil days.  We must make sure that we are equipped head to toe with the full armor of God.  But what do we do as a soldier of Christ?  With the full armor, with the shield of faith, and with the sword of the Spirit, we are to pray.

Verse 18 is an unexpected verse.  We might expect further instruction about raising the shield of faith or about wielding the sword of the Spirit.  Our advancement in the battle, however, is by prayer.  Writes Vincent:

In all that precedes we get no intimation of the personal contact of the Christian warrior with his Divine Leader.  This is given us in prayer.  We have the Word of God to the soldier; but in prayer we have the soldier’s word with God, the contact and communion of soldier and general; and it is not without a purpose that the Word of God and prayer are brought together here.  The Word of God gathers up into itself, expounds and interprets Christian truth, hope, faith, righteousness, readiness; but the Word of God becomes a living power, something to strike and to slay with, only through the living contact of the Christian with Christ, and this contact is afforded by prayer only.  (from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.)

I confess that I have been more concerned about having my armor on than by joining the battle with prayer.  Prayer is not one of many things I should be doing but is the thing I should be doing.

This verse has more surprises in store.  The thrust of prayer in the evil day, in the day when we face the spiritual battle, is for others.  Looking to direction and wisdom from the indwelling Holy Spirit (in the Spirit), we are to offer petitions for all the saints.  We do so in a spirit of watchfulness and alertness which, given the context, would speak to our awareness of how others are doing in the battle.  We do so with “all perseverance,” continuing faithfully to bring fellow believers before the throne of grace.

How often I have imagined the scene described in Ephesians 6:10-17 as a soldier (me) standing alone on the battlefield.  That is not the right view at all!  It is a scene of myriads of Christian soldiers all joined together in battle by prayer.  My victory depends upon the victory of others and their victory depends upon my prayers.  I must faithfully pray for others and others must pray for me if I wish to stand in the evil day.  The UBS New Testament Handbook Series quotes Beare:

The unsleeping alertness is to be shown especially in persevering intercession on behalf of all his comrades in the fight.  We are not engaged in single combat with the powers of evil, but are members of an army; and we must be concerned with the welfare of all who fight alongside us.  (from the UBS New Testament Handbook Series.  Copyright © 1961-1997, by United Bible Societies.)

The Navy ingrained this concept of battle into our son Caleb.  After his graduation from boot camp, Carole and I took Caleb out to dinner.  When we returned to base, a group of graduates gathered at the dropping off point.  They were checking each other’s uniforms, especially each other’s backs, to make sure everything was exactly in place.  If one had something misplaced in his uniform, they would all suffer.  I don’t know whether the phrase, “I’ve got your back” comes from this practice but they had each other’s backs and were happy to do so.  They will carry the same watchfulness for each other into battle.

Unfortunately, sometimes it seems that Christians are less apt to have this attitude.  Some are more likely to criticize a pastor than pray for a pastor.  Some pastors are more apt to criticize a church member than pray for a church member.  Do you think our current spiritual battle would progress any differently if we all took our responsibility to pray for one another more seriously?   Based on this verse, R.W. Dale comments on the importance of prayer for the pastor:

You come to listen to me on Sunday, and I have nothing to say that adds vigour to faith, or fervour to love, or that enlarges your knowledge of duty or of God.  It is plain that during the week I have had no clear vision of spiritual truth, or that, if I have, the vision has faded away.  You are naturally disappointed, perhaps discontented.  It is partly my fault.  But is it not possible that the fault is as much yours as mine?  If you had prayed for me with earnestness and faith, might not the vision of God bare come to me, and the revelation of spiritual truth and the baptism of fire?  In the absence of your intercessions, God may have given me truth for myself, but not for you.  (from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.)

The dynamic of a local church would change considerably if every member took this verse seriously.

On a wider scale, this verse has implications for Village Missions as we minister in the country places of North America.  The battle is raging-raging in the country places we serve, raging in finding couples and singles willing to go to country places, raging in finding the financial support necessary to send them, raging in ministry in general.  Clothed in the full armor of God, we must engage the battle with prayer.  And we simply must watch each other’s backs.

To prepare for Village Missions’ celebration of sixty years at staff conferences, Lisa West has been digging through the archives.  She found the first issue of a publication called “Village Missionary,” the forerunner, I believe, of what became Tempo Magazine and now is Country Matters.  This first issue was dated January 1956, only eight years after the beginning of our Mission.

Helen D. Baugh and Mary E. Clark, founders of Stonecroft Ministries and co-founders with Rev. Walter Duff of Village Missions, wrote the lead article, called “A New Year’s Message.”  They began:

Traveling as we do, from coast to coast, we are appalled and alarmed at the complacency and utter unconcern on the part of so many Christians for those who know not the Way of Life.  So general is this attitude, even among spiritually minded people, that it has become a burden on our hearts.

What is their solution to the terrible complacency they have observed across the country?  They call on members of the Stonecroft and Village Missions’ family to pray:

Prayer has always been the most essential part of this ministry.  In this new year of 1956 we are asking the Lord to give us thousands more Christians, both men and women, who are willing to keep a “daily appointment” with the Lord, to join us in this mighty movement of prayer.  Pray is power and “…the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits” (Dan 11:32).

Now in this 60^th anniversary year we are issuing this same call to pray.  We are asking the entire Village Missionary family, Stonecroft Ministries, Village Missionaries, the church congregations we serve, and partners, to pray earnestly for the spiritual needs of this country and Canada and for Village Missions and Stonecroft Ministries to be more effective in meeting those needs.  The theme of this year’s staff conference will be “Celebrating 60 Years: Advancing on our Knees.”  I am convinced that the only way any Christian organization can advance is on its knees.

Helen D. Baugh and Mary E. Clark knew that times of difficulty and crisis call for times of prayer.  Our theme verse for staff conference, Ephesians 6:18, teaches this.  Paul writes this verse after calling on the Ephesian believers to be “strong in the Lord” (Eph 6:10).  They are to “put on the full armor of God” in order that they might “stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Eph 6:11).  Paul then describes the true nature of our struggle.  We face a struggle whether as individuals or as a Mission that is not against the things we observe.  Instead, it is a spiritual struggle against a host of spiritual forces arrayed in battle against us (Eph 6:12).  We will experience an “evil day” in which we must have on the “full armor of God” in order to “resist” and “stand firm” (Eph 6:13). 

Paul then describes all that is involved in wearing the full armor of God.  The picture is of a Roman soldier, fully clothed in armor and with his shield (the shield of faith-Eph 6:16) and his sword (the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God-Eph 6:17).  He is ready for battle and ready to stand firm in the evil day.

But what is this soldier to do?  He is to drop to his knees (my picture of prayer) and pray!  Having all our armor on, we join the battle with prayer.  We will not be strong, we will not stand firm, we will not resist in the evil day without the ongoing prayer that Paul describes in Ephesians 6:18.  It will be prayer that includes all forms of communication with God as well as earnest requests (prayer and petition).  It will be prayer that is part of the warp and woof of daily life (at all times).  It will be prayer that recognizes what it means to be a new creature in Christ (in the Spirit).  It will be prayer that is perceptive (be on the alert with all perseverance and petition).  It will be prayer that extends beyond the boundaries of personal concern (for all the saints).  With the full armor of God, such is the type of praying we must do in the evil day.

Do you have any doubt that we are in an evil day?  I recently read an article in World Magazine titled “Spirits of the age” (Feb. 8).  In this article, Joel Belz describes a conference that considered how spirituality other than Biblical Christianity is replacing secular humanism.  He mentions that the fastest growing religions today in China are Buddhism and Taoism, not Christianity.  He writes:

From Islam came frightening themes.  That religion’s emphasis on “subjugating the enemy”-whether a foreign power or your own wife-seems strangely to be attracting the interest even of non-Muslims around the world.  From Africa comes word of reversion to witchcraft and darkly pagan practices.  If these packages come wrapped with superstition and even violence, so be it.  Conferees heard from a former practicing astrologer who described some of the inroads that field is making even into evangelical churches.  And they heard how pagan spirituality has wormed its way into both modern feminism and the ecological movement.

If we are to advance against the spiritual forces of wickedness in this evil day, we must pray.  Will you pray with us?  You can subscribe to prayer updates from us on our home page.

Village Missionary Bruce Swan wrote, “Another family in our church lost a son, killed in Iraq.  This makes three families in our church.  It was a horrible ordeal for the family to go through; they experienced such a deep loss for their son, their only son.  I was called to be with the family when the military broke the news to the family.”

Jesus once said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13 NASB).”  I am deeply grateful for the men and women who have laid down their lives in the defense of our country against terrorism.  To me, the danger is as great as this country faced in World War II, and young men and women, especially from rural areas, have responded with singular courage.

The area we serve in Springfield, Maine has particularly given of its young heroes and the national media has noticed.  Unfortunately, they have neglected the spiritual side of the story.  Our Village Missionary, Bruce Swan, tells it much better than I can.

In his July report, he wrote,

One of the finest young men in our area was killed in action in Iraq, and I spent many hours with family, waiting for him to come back to the States so we could plan for his funeral.  After his arrival stateside, he had a 24-hour military watch with many Mt. Company soldiers consoling the family.  On July 3^rd we had Joel’s funeral at the Lee Academy Gym; we shared the Gospel to a packed gymnasium and shared how a personal relationship with Jesus changed the House family.  The Governor of Maine and the entire state delegation were present.  Several Major Generals and many other important dignitaries heard clear presentation of the Gospel.  Our service made nationwide news and the front page of several newspapers.  It is our prayer that something good could come of this tragedy.  The family has had several phone calls and letters from people who have rededicated their lives to the Lord.

Then I read in Bruce’s December report,

Another family in our church lost a son, killed in Iraq.  This makes three families in our church.  It was a horrible ordeal for the family to go through; they experienced such a deep loss for their son, their only son.  I was called to be with the family when the military broke the news to the family.  Hours of consoling and comforting were spent with the family.  I was there when they flew him into Bangor and took his casket off the plane, the long motorcade of police, sheriffs, family, and military vehicles making their way up I-95 to Lincoln, where we were met with a great outpouring of support…fire trucks, more police, and the streets lined with people waving American flags and hero banners, veterans snapping to attention and saluting while others covered their hearts, and others wept.  The viewing was one continuous line of people from start to finish.  The funeral was held at the school gym where Blair had played his high school sports.  All the Maine dignitaries were present, and some spoke.  His family received many military awards.  We then went to the cemetery where he received a full military burial and hundreds of carnations and roses were laid on his casket by those who attended.  Something very precious has been taken from these families in our area, and everyone feels it, but these parents and their families continue to experience such a deep loss that words are inadequate to describe what they are going through.  I sensed that the Christmas season and the spirit of joy that normally accompanied the events during December were very different this year.  I pray that God will send His healing to our church and our communities this coming year, and may something good come from these tragedies.  Our church must shine in these dark times, bringing a beacon of hope to the saints and to the lost.  We must be true to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

Will you pray with and for Village Missionaries Bruce and Debra Swan as they minister to a hurting community?  The parades are over but they are there bringing comfort to hurting families.  May the good news of Jesus Christ shine forth in this dark time!  I am so glad that they are there.

To read more about Joel House, the soldier who was killed in June, go to http://www.bangornews.com/news/t/penobscot.aspx?articleid=151429&zoneid=183

You can read more about Blair Emery at:

Honor the Fallen: http://www.militarycity.com/valor/3226684.html

Bangor Daily News: http://bangornews.com/news/t/penobscot.aspx?articleid=157299&zoneid=183

USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-24-smalltowns_N.htm

You Tube Memorial: http://youtube.com/watch?v=r41UEBosqVo

Daniel was a man who marked the passage of time.  As kings and even empires came and went, Daniel tracked the movement of the years.  According to the prophet Jeremiah, Jerusalem would experience seventy years of desolation.  Daniel waited and watched and when those seventy years neared an end, he prayed one of the most remarkable prayers recorded in Scripture (Daniel 9:1-19).  Perhaps he prayed at the start of the New Year-the seventieth year.

Entering the New Year of 2008, Village Missions is also marking the passage of time.  Our Mission began sixty years ago, just ten years short of the seventy years Daniel marked.  Stonecroft, our sister organization, is celebrating seventy years of ministry this year.  Daniel prayed as he approached the seventy years and I would like our Mission family to pray as we enter our sixtieth year.  We will emphasize intercessory prayer on behalf of this Mission and its family of missionaries, on behalf of our two nations, on behalf of the communities we serve, and on behalf of the people who live within them in need of the Savior.  The theme of both this year and especially our 2008 staff conferences will be “Advancing on Our Knees: Celebrating Sixty Years.”

We can learn much about advancing on our knees from Daniel.  As he prayed during that significant and opportune time, he understood completely the desperateness of the situation, a situation of Israel’s own making.  Daniel confesses, “We have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly, and rebelled, even turning aside from Thy commandments and ordinances” (Daniel 9:5).  They had not listened to the prophets.  “Open shame” belonged to all because of their sin and disobedience against God (Daniel 9:8).  Deserved calamity occurred because they refused to obey God (Daniel 9:14).  “We have sinned, we have been wicked” exclaims Daniel in his passionate prayer.  Daniel refuses to minimize the problem or gloss over Israel’s depravity-their behavior deserves the just punishment of God.

As we begin this year of prayer, we also need to be honest about the desperateness of our situation.  We live in two nations that appear to be on the brink or already over the brink of moral collapse.  Rural areas especially are experiencing social, moral, and economic upheaval.  I don’t need to catalog the list of evils here but perhaps we should mention them, as Daniel did, when we pray.  The church appears to be complacent, playing at church while countless souls around her walls hurl headlong toward hell.  We will have to be as honest as Daniel was in confessing the evils of our day.

We will also have to be as compassionate as Daniel was.  Daniel was not like the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14, who thanked God that he was not as bad as other men were and actually was quite good!  Daniel had every right to distinguish himself from the crowd for Daniel did obey and he did not rebel.  He had maintained his righteousness even in an alien and depraved culture.  Yet, he in love and compassion took his place with the worst of Israel’s sinners.  Daniel always prayed “we” and “us,” never once highlighting his personal, holy walk.

As we pray in this coming year, will we have the same compassion and identification with people as Daniel?  As we confess our sins, will it be “we” and “us,” knowing that precious little separates us from the worst of sinners apart from the grace of Jesus Christ?  Will we name our complacency in the face of desperate spiritual need?  Will we mourn for those around us, for our neighbors and community members, who face hell if they do not hear and respond to the good news of Jesus Christ?

Finally, to pray like Daniel we will have to be as sure as Daniel in who God is and what He alone can do in the most desperate of situations.  Believers always seem to face this crucial test during dark times-will we give in to or accommodate the dark times or will we trust God to do what He alone can do?  We need to learn from the prayer of Daniel.  God is the “great and awesome God,” who keeps “His covenant and kindness” (Daniel 9:4).  God is a God of compassion and forgiveness (Daniel 9:9).  He will confirm His Word both to our harm if we deserve it and to our good if He chooses to bring mercy.  We must pay attention to His truth (Daniel 9:13).  We need to petition Him to shine His face on Village Missions, for only if He does so will this Mission advance.

Daniel closes his prayer with a desperate yet, at the same time, confident call upon the Lord to act.  “O Lord, hear!  O Lord, forgive!  O Lord, listen and take action!  For Thine own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name” (Daniel 9:19).

In the sixtieth year of our Mission, may we pray, “O Lord, hear!  O Lord, forgive!  O Lord, listen and take action!  For Thine own sake, O my God, do not delay, because we are Your Son’s blood-bought servants and our nations and country places need to hear about Him!”