Prayer and Praise
*Pray for all those who have suffered loss and trauma in recent flood and fire disasters — for their personal emotional and spiritual recovery, as well as for replacement of their losses, where possible. Pray that with the right help and support their shattered lives will find healing and they will be able to re-establish themselves in home and community. Pray especially for those whose grief includes not only loss of property and possessions but also the loss of life. While there are calls for immediate donations, please remember that many people will have significant need in the long term — long after the media has stopped its focus on the disasters.
*Continue to Thank the Lord for Aidan HERMAN’s participation and contribution as a staff member of LOOKOUT/CCG Ministries. Pray that together we can raise adequate support to pay Aidan and keep him employed, both in the immediate and long-term future, and that he will be able to move from the initial three-days part-time to fulltime employment and missionary service during this year (2011).
*Ask the Lord to enable most Christians to have the wisdom NOT to get caught up with speculation (much of it wild and unbiblical) of End-Times dating — with some predicting the end of things in May this year, while others are claiming certainty for the end being around September to December 2012. Such speculations are both unsound and unproductive, often leading to fear and even disastrous consequences.
*Continue to give thanks and pray for our small, faithful team of volunteers, for their health and wellbeing. Pray for all our team members and their health — and especially for energy and strength in the approaching summer months with the heat that seems to sap the strength of many of us.
*Please pray for Adrian’s health, especially as he seeks appropriate treatment for his shoulder pains and problems.
*Pray for teaching and preaching invitations for Adrian in churches, Christian and community groups, schools and other venues. We value your active involvement in promoting such opportunities and also in making others aware of our Ministries and our potential to help individuals, families and churches.
*Continue to ask the Lord for his guidance for our Board as we seek to implement plans for the future, including finding additional Board members and especially for the right persons to be found for the succession of our Director and other staff. We believe the Lord has enabled us to make a good start with the appointment of Aidan Herman as a new staff team member. We need to find others who will be able to join the team as new appropriate persons to help take the Ministry into the future.
*Please pray for the healing, recovery and restoration of those who have been emotionally, spiritually, as well as sexually, manipulated and abused by pastors, priests and supposed spiritual mentors — adults AND children. Many have been victims of such leadership abuse of power, with devastating consequences. Individuals are damaged; congregations are damaged; the cause of Christ generally, is damaged. Cover-ups and denials do NOT bring healing — they only make things worse.
*Pray for direction and sound thinking for pastors and church leaders who seek to be Biblical and balanced in their leadership in the face of temptations to seek personal power and introduce programmes for entertainment and popularity. Pray for your own pastor(s) and other leaders in your church.
*Ask the Lord for help and provision through his people to meet our Ministry needs - enabling us to effectively continue helping individuals and families in their special needs in these difficult times. Pray also for additional financial support to enable us to bring others on to the staff team with basic pay. As we face the future we need additional support for current needs and for future paid staff team members.
*Pray for strength and encouragement for those affected by past involvement in cultic and religious fringe groups - some can stay troubled and traumatised for years after they have left (fully ’coming out’ can take much longer than merely ’leaving’).
*Please continue to pray for Christians being persecuted around the world. Evidence of increased persecution against Christians has been growing in many countries in the past 6-18 months, including, for example, in Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. Many of these countries claim to officially espouse religious freedom and tolerance, but in reality have many people actively seeking the destruction of all faiths other than their own.
*Ask the Lord for guidance for Adrian, Lorrie, Aidan and our team of volunteer researchers, that they may be diligent and thorough as they seek to uncover the truth and find accurate information to help people through a varied and wide range of inquiries and needs.
*Pray that our Director’s 98.5 Sonshine FM radio ’Take a Closer Look’ programme on Monday evenings, 8 pm — will be well received and that Adrian will be able to inform, interest and help others through his teaching presentations. Why not listen to the programme yourself, and encourage others to tune in as well, when you’re able?
*Ask the Lord to guide us as we endeavour to confront problems of deception, emotional abuse, lack of integrity and related issues amongst Christians in leadership — not just the cults or extreme religious fringe groups.
*Pray for direction, guidance and open doors to opportunities as we seek to provide help and support for missionaries and local pastors in developing nations around the Asia-Pacific region - especially in the face of the increased activities and efforts of cultic and religious groups - the ’Baby Snatchers’ - snatching away young growing Christians into the confusion and alienation of such unbiblical religious groups. Pray that we can build up suitable resources, as well as provide teaching, to Christian leaders facing such difficult situations. Ask the Lord to make it clear, and to provide the opportunities, if Adrian is to go to Myanmar (Burma) and/or Cambodia, this year to teach and support local Christian leaders there.
* Pray for those who have been seduced by subtle religious deceptions of cultic groups and ’guru’ leaders. Ask God to help them find their way out of such entanglements — which can often be confusing and destructive.
*Pray for families that have been fractured because of a member’s involvement in a cultic group. Pray that we will be able to help and encourage them.
Please continue to pray that the Lord will lead more people to join our team of volunteers to continue this specialised Ministry to individuals, churches and the community at large.
*Praise God that The Problem of Extreme Christian Fringe Groups, is being well received as it continues to be available for sale in Australia. Pray that interest in this book will continue to increase and that many more people will find it of help and encouragement.
Taken from PIM Dec - Jan 2010 Last updated 13-feb-11