Things To Pray For In August
In John Piper’s book ‘Let the Nations Be Glad!’, he writes, “Not only has God made the accomplishment of his purposes hang on the preaching of the Word; He has also made the success of that preaching hang on prayer”… And oh my, how true that is. This is why the Apostle Paul said in Col 4.3, “And pray for us too, that God may open a door for the Gospel”.
We so need those “open doors” too my friends, as we seek to do what we can to take the Gospel to the Nations, both those that are easy to arrive in, and those that are not. And so, here's how you can be praying for us in the month ahead...
Please pray the SG Australia Planters & Pastors Academy students, as we begin their assessments over these next two weeks to consider ‘what’s next’ for each of them as we head into 2023. Please pray for much grace, wisdom and insight for everyone involved in this process, and that each one of these men may be deployed well for the glorious name of Jesus.
Please pray for Carlos Contreras and all those involved in this year’s Fieles Conference in Juarez, Mexico, August 10-12th. Please pray that all 400 of those coming along will be encouraged, equipped and empowered in their ministry. There are pastors coming from 23 different Mexican states, representing around 110 churches and, of those, there are 16 new churches who have just in the last year requested formal relationship with SGC. In addition, there are around 20 folks coming from Costa Rica, Bolivia and Colombia. Please pray that God will be glorified, His purposes advanced and His Church edified by everything that takes place at this conference.
Please pray for me (Dave Taylor) and Riley Spring (Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Parramatta, Australia) as we head to Ethiopia, August 19-26th, to teach at our SG Pastors College there. We’ll be teaching on ‘Planting & Building Sovereign Grace Churches & Nations’... Please pray that we have a great time with the students and equip them well for what lies ahead.
Please continue to pray for the dear folk of Ukraine as the Russian invasion enters its sixth month. Please pray in particular for Michael Ostanin and the brothers and sisters in Ark Church, Dnipro. In the last month their town has been bombed, yet they continue to seek to be the hands of feet of Jesus to the needy in their town. Please pray that the light and hope of the gospel would shine even more brightly in the midst of darkness and suffering, and that the manifold wisdom of God be revealed through His church.
Please pray for the pastors and wives in Belarus that we are good friends with, in Sovereign Grace. The government in Belarus has stepped up intensity of action against any form of dissent and to that end officials have been combing through social media posts of photos of anyone who attended the massive 2020 demonstrations. This led to soldiers breaking into one pastor’s home during the night and arresting him and his wife as “traitors to the motherland and enemies of the people”. The pastor sought to explain that they were only at the demonstration to pray with people, give out Bibles and invite them to Church. He was released, but his wife remains in prison and is being threatened with a 2-5 year imprisonment charge. We praise God for the ongoing testimony of abiding faith this couple has shown even in these frightening circumstances, they are an amazing couple. Yet we ask you to please pray with us for her release, for gospel comfort for her husband, and for their gospel witness to bear much fruit in and through it all.
... It’s so good to know that God is on His throne! And so please pray to Him, that His grace, mercy and hope may abound to us all.