For the prayer meeting, we suggest taking the following verses from HWMR of Vital Factors for the Recovery of the Church Life:
Week 8, Day 2: Rev. 3:8 I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.
Rev. 3:10 Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial, which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth.
Matt. 18:20 For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.
Hymns, # 1275 | Reading Portion: The Prayer Ministry of the Church
Prayer Request from The Church in Durban, South Africa
The Church in Durban would like to open our situation in fellowship for the prayer of the Body. Since the week beginning July 5th, there has been ongoing unrest in our province and city. Things escalated over this past weekend with the burning of trucks on the national highway, followed by widespread looting and violence from Sunday night (July 11th) in our city. In the neighborhood where most of the saints live, the mobs have vandalized and emptied every store. We have endured days of hearing gunshots in our neighborhood and have been concerned for the safety of the saints and of our families. Within the city and the province, we expect that food security is going to be an issue. Food and fuel, where available, are already being rationed. We believe it is no coincidence that there is a battle for possession of this land. The country’s infrastructure has been disrupted as major highways are blockaded. The military has been called in to protect key points, such as the airport, the harbor, the law courts, the hospitals, and the fuel refineries, but they are not doing much in the way of protecting the population. The police are understaffed, and armed civilians are now patrolling their own neighborhoods. Similar incidents, but not on the same scale, have also been occurring in Johannesburg and other areas in the Gauteng province. The churches in South Africa have been praying for 9 years for Durban, and the saints started meeting on the ground here in 2018. For the past couple of years, the saints in South Africa have also been praying strongly for the Lord to strengthen His testimony in 3 cities, these being Durban, Johannesburg, and Cape Town.
We would ask the saints to fight for this situation. These occurrences will affect the whole country and will have lasting socio-economic repercussions during a time when COVID-19 and rampant corruption have already devastated the economy. We are at a crossroads and need the saints to pray for Durban.
Please pray with us to:
Stand against the powers and principalities in the air over this city
Release the gospel
Preserve life in this city
Strengthen the testimony
Cover the saints in this province
2021 National College Training (Wednesday, July 21 - Lord's Day, July 25)
The topic of the training will be, "Rise Up and Build" and is based upon the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Haggai. All of the messages will be given virtually via Zoom, but most of the students registered will be watching in small, in-person groups throughout the country. We are expecting a large number of new students at this training. Please pray:
For the Lord to bless every message and small group time with His particular speaking to the college students. May the Lord cause them to hear His call for a remnant to be reconstituted with His Word and then go out to "bring wood to build the house" (Haggai 1:8).
For a special portion of grace to all the new ones attending and any students who are having to take the training without an in-person group.
For the Lord's covering on all the technology, logistics, and practical arrangements.
Nordic-Baltic online conference (July 23-26)
We pray and expect the Lord’s rich blessing for this time of fellowship, and hope that many saints, not only from the Nordic countries and Baltic States but also from other Russian and English speaking churches, will be able to participate in this online conference and join the blending fellowship for the building up of the Body of Christ. May the Lord bless this wonderful opportunity not only to get into the messages and enjoy the riches in the word, but also for the Russian-speaking and English-speaking saints to be blended in fellowship.
North America Chinese-speaking Saints Perfecting Training (July 24-31)
Please continue to pray for all the Chinese-speaking saints (not only the students and scholars) to enroll in this training and be trained and perfected under the vision of the ministry of the age.