“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Luke 22:42
Dear Praying Friends,
As we prepare for Easter this Sunday, I can’t help but think of the “what ifs.”
What if Jesus in His humanity had denied His Father and chosen a different path? What if He decided He didn’t want to go to the cross?
During this journey with Jesus this holy week to the cross, may we keep in mind as followers of Christ that He followed His Father’s will and went to Him in suffering and in prayer.
The gospels give us different perspectives on Jesus’ time praying in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He was betrayed. We know from Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22 of His agony as He was sorrowful and troubled; and He asked His disciples to keep watch with Him. Three times He went and prayed. And each time they fell asleep!
One of my favorite passages in Scripture is John 17 where we get a deeper insight into Jesus’ prayers that night. He not only prays for Himself, but also for His disciples, as well as for future believers… that’s us. He even prays for those who don’t yet know Him!
As He is one with the Father, He wants to be one with us. Let’s not be asleep, but keep watch, and keep praying!
Luis and the Palau team want to proclaim Jesus’ words from John 17:26 – “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that myself may be in them.”
Let’s stay awake. Let’s watch and pray with the Palau team for His future believers! He defeated death and the devil. He won! That’s what we celebrate this weekend. Hallelujah!
Rejoicing in prayer,
Gail Stockamp
Praise
- Guatemala | In March, 35,000 people attended the festival at the central plaza, with tens of thousands more watching on international television through Enlace TV. At the festival alone there were more than 1,000 confessions of faith in Jesus!
- Fresno, CA | Churches united in tremendous ways. Through more than 50 various events over a 6 month time period, 45,000 individuals (from prisoners to business leaders and all walks of life) heard the Good News and were encouraged by God’s Word! Overall, more than 3,000 people made public confessions of faith in Jesus as a result of the campaign!
Pray
- Guatemala | Before the festival in Guatemala last month, a fire broke out at a shelter for young girls, killing 40 children. Pray that what satan means for harm, God will use for good and literally take the ashes and make something beautiful from the pain of this tragedy.
- Nepal | Please pray for the collaborative campaign coming up this week (April 16th)
- Portland, OR | Pray for the ongoing City Gospel Movement taking place in Portland, that it would not only continue to bless the city, but also be used to inspire other cities to go and do likewise. As part of that vision, the Palau team is excited to host a Portland Tour, May 8-9, for leaders from around the nation to come and learn about what God is doing in Portland.
- Colombia | Local leaders have felt a clear calling from the Lord to delay the major festival in Bogota until Fall of 2018. Although we were excited to be with the local leaders this year, we are trusting the Lord’s timing in this effort.
Regional Reports
We’re happy to announce a new regional leader on our prayer team, Dana Iverson! She has been a faithful friend and prayer warrior for LPA and will be co-leading our prayers for Africa. Welcome Dana!
Please open the following reports for our regional prayer requests:
- Africa | Gita Santangelo & Dana Iverson | Report
- Asia | Connie Luebke & Gail Link | Report
- North America | Vicky Burgess & Michelle Palau | Report
- Europe | Caryn Ogle & Kim Grimberg | Report
- Central & South America | Kheri Schaar & Janet Cabascango | Report
- Caribbean | Debbie Jamison & Glenda Kraus | Report
Share
Please forward this email to your praying friends and invite them to join us. They can sign up at www.nationalprayerteam.org to receive future emails and prayer requests. If it helps, print out the requests and keep them in a spot where you’ll remember to pray. (It helps me!)
Join Us on April 25th
Our quarterly prayer conference call is Tuesday, April 25th, and YOU are invited to participate! The call will be about one hour long and will start at 1:00pm (Pacific Time), 2:00pm (Mountain Time), 3:00pm (Central Time), and 4:00pm (Eastern Time). Watch your email for call details as the date gets closer!
Thank You
Thank you for praying for Luis and Andrew and the team as they make Jesus Christ’s love known to the people of the world, that He may be in them, and live with Him for eternity because…
HE IS RISEN!
HE IS RISEN INDEED!