"I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!"- Mt. 16:18

Category: Please Pray (Page 10 of 10)

Update on Ministry of Todd & Angela Owen

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 2

August 12 (Day 2)  — Monday. The Owen family (except for Andrew) is on the road today, heading north to take Samuel to Ozark Christian College for his first year of Bible college. This is the inaugural act in breaking the sweet fellowship we’ve known for 19 of our 22 years of marriage. Pray for Samuel as he lives away from home for the first time, as he learns new things about the Bible, the Christian life, and himself. Pray for all of us as we manage feelings of loss and as we grieve (and celebrate) this monumental change. Ask God to bless Andrew at home, working and attending classes at Edison State College where he is a student. Ask God to bless our journey and to keep our SUV running for the trip.

 

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 1

August 11 (Day 1)  — Sunday morning always brings with it a bit of anticipation. What will God do in our midst today? What will He show us through the Word and the Spirit to help us grow up in Him? Today marks the beginning of a season of prayer during which we are going to call on the name of the Lord, asking him to break through strongholds in heavenly places, shake the foundations of cultures, arrest the attention of people needing to walk with Him. Put on your spiritual armor today as you pray for the Aruamu people. Ask God to prepare hearts for the coming crusade. Ask God to turn their hearts toward Him in anticipation of this special time. Ask God to allow these people to acutely feel their deep, spiritual need.

 

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Prologue

In a few short hours Day 1 of the “40 Days to Freedom” prayer campaign will be posted. In focus are three groups of people: The Somau Garia people of southern Madang Province (Papua New Guinea), the Aruamu people of the middle-Ramu district of Madang Province, and the missionaries serving with these folks (including my family and me who are connected to the Somau Garia people).

Why forty days? Why now? Prayer is foundational to transformation, to real spiritual impact. Todd will be preaching a series of gospel meetings to celebrate the availability of the Aruamu New Testament in digital audio. This will be a tremendous resource for transformation in the Aruamu communities. Todd will also be spending significant time reconnecting with the Somau Garia team–his brothers in the work of translation, to encourage them, renew relationships, and prepare for a return to ministry with them in the coming months.

Ahead are forty opportunities to bless, encourage, protect and change through prayer. Forty days, forty prayers, forty moments of connection with God, with the Owen family, and with the Aruamu and Somau Garia groups of people. Join us in forty days of dedicated intercession, that these precious ones might gain freedom from fear, despair, and hopelessness and in so doing, the Kingdom of God might be established in a powerful way in them.

Thanks for joining us!

 

Please Pray — 8 August 2013

In a few days’ time our family will be experiencing something we’ve never known. Andrew will be in Florida, Samuel in Missouri, Angela and girls in South Dakota, and Todd winging his way to the South Pacific. Transition. Adjustment. Tears. Joy. Jesus right in the middle of it all. The sweet fellowship our family has known all these years is breaking and we are being scattered across the world.

Please pray that as the boys settle into classes, Andrew for his second year and Samuel for his first, that the Father will give them clarity and creativity, will grant them insight and wisdom beyond their years, and will imbue them with a winsome humility that serves as a witness to Jesus’ life in them and encourages those around them.

Please pray that as Angela and girls spend a month in South Dakota, visiting ministry partners and family, that sweet and lasting memories will be made, hearts will be touched, and believers inspired. Pray that the strength and mercy of the Father will be showered upon them as they adjust to having all the men in the household scattered across the earth, which is to say not present with them.

Please pray that as Todd makes his way to Papua New Guinea, the Holy Spirit work deeply in Todd’s spirit to prepare him for preaching, for one-on-one ministry, for moments of remembrance and renewed relationships, for blessing to the missionaries, the national co-workers, the Aruamu, and the Somau Garia. Pray fervently for the Spirit to go out ahead, the work in the moments given Todd to share, and in the afterglow of the preaching and the trip in general.

Thank God for his kindness in providing for this unique opportunity, in preparing all involved for what He has ordained for this time, and for the purposes that are already being accomplished in it. Thank God for the transformation that He is bringing in our family’s life through the challenge and opportunities emerging from this season. Thank God for the Body of Christ, across the great span of the earth, of time itself, and across cultures.

As you pray, stop by www.shakethegates.org/resources and download a copy of 40 Days to Freedom, a prayer guide for a prayer campaign that begins in a few days’ time–August 11.

My prayer today for each of you is that God will give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that you may know him better. Blessings!

July 25, 2013

If you have ever asked yourself whether or not God answers prayer today or cares to hear the cries of our heart, jump into something world-changing, do it in such a way that only He can get credit, get on your knees and pray, and watch what happens. It is definitely a tough row to hoe, but if you have the grit, you might just find yourself slack-jawed in amazement at His creativity and timing.

We’ve certainly found ourselves in that very condition lately! The last few months, all things considered, have looked rather financially impossible. Todd is due to travel to Papua New Guinea end of August for a month-long stay. We are taking our son, Samuel, 1,400 miles north (and west) to Bible college in mid-August, and we’ve just had the lowest salary we’ve had on record. (I mean l o w). The hand of God is not too weak to do the impossible!

Thank God:

  • for timely and generous provision for finances for the coming needs
  • for carrying us through trying, faith-stretching months
  • for showing Himself faithful

Ask God:

  • To grant much wisdom and discernment as we prepare to travel for the next few months, both overseas and domestically
  • To bless our vehicle for travel from Florida north into the Midwest
  • Prepare the ground for the coming  September ministry in Papua New Guinea

 

Newer posts »