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

Category: Please Pray (Page 6 of 10)

Update on Ministry of Todd & Angela Owen

Please Pray — 24 October 2013

Thank You for Praying

Many of you prayed along with our family through 40 Days to Freedom. I can’t thank you enough for the commitment, the kindness, and the impact you made in making that sacrificial journey with us. Since returning to the States I’ve taken time to process and reflect on the lessons learned and to thank God for his kindness in taking me on that journey with Him. He helped renew many things, one of which was joy, the kind that is born of purpose and in walking consistently with the way He made me. This rediscovered joy has ignited fresh passion and vision for God and his Kingdom.

The 40 day season of prayer has come and gone. (For an audio update, click here .)  Now it is time to do the harder work of asking God for power to complete the passion, to drive the vision, to bring us once again to Papua New Guinea for service. Would you pray with us regularly toward this end? If you pray for us regularly or would like to do so, would you drop me a line at prayer@shakethegates.org ? In the mean time, would you lift these things heavenward?

Ask God

  • Ask God to provide many, many opportunities for us to share the story, invite others to join the team, and to encourage the saints.
  • Ask God to raise up partners for Bible translation among the Somau Garia people of Papua New Guinea.
  • Ask God to ignite our passion, empower our spirits, and catalyze our actions in order that we might get to the field as soon as possible.
  • Ask God to provide for our physical, social, spiritual, and financial needs.

Thank God

  • Thank God for going ahead of us in all things.
  • Thank God for providing each month for our needs.
  • Thank God for his provision of righteousness through Jesus Christ, without whom we would have no opportunity to be reconciled to God.

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Epilogue

Thank you for praying with us during the last 40 days. Please pray the next few days as you remember; my travel won’t conclude until late Sunday night. Pray also, friends, that we’ll be able to tell the story well when Todd gets back from Papua New Guinea. Blessings!

Be watching for photos and updates in the coming days. It’ll take a few weeks to get things organized (after some significant sleep) and get the stuff up on the site. Thank you and blessings!

 

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 40

September 19 (Day 40) — Two days until return travel. Pray for safety in transit, for travel mercy, for much to be learned and gained through this brief foray back into Melanesia. Pray that our family will have a clearer idea of how to proceed from this point forward. Pray for the Father to move in our hearts that we will have the courage and resolve to re-engage this challenging call. Pray for a clearer vision to grip our imaginations about the coming days.

 

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 39

September 18 (Day 39) — Pray that Todd’s stamina will hold out. Ask God to give him wisdom as he finalizes details and has final conversations regarding a return to PNG with the family in 2014, the sorting out of the mission station at Uria, the translation work, checking, etc. to be done in the intervening months. Pray that Todd will have wisdom in choosing what to bring back to the U.S. and what to leave. Pray that there will also be lasting blessing for the Somau Garia left in the wake of Todd’s visit.

 

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 38

September 17 (Day 38) — Tuesday. Heading into Madang, God willing, today to rest and prepare for the journey home. Much has been accomplished. Pray today that Todd will have good conversations with the missionaries he has yet to get acquainted with, with old friends, and with co-workers. Pray that Todd will have strength, clarity, and ability to wrap up responsibilities in Madang before leaving on Saturday. Pray for God’s grace and mercy to rest on each word, each conversation, each encounter, that Todd will be a blessing and encouragement to all that he encounters. Pray for the Aruamu today, that the experiences of the crusade—the workshops, celebration, worship, and preaching will leave a lasting imprint on the heart of each attendee. Pray for a powerful move of the Spirit in each life.

 

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 37

September 16 (Day 37) — Today is Independence Day for Papua New Guinea. This is an afterglow day, really. Many attending the crusade will be walking home or catching a PMV back to Madang or elsewhere. Pray that the blessing that began here will accompany each person wherever they go. Pray that this will be but a beginning of much good to come. Pray for thanksgiving to ring out from this place. Pray for sustained power in the preaching, in the testimonies, in the casual conversations, in the story telling, in Proclaimer sessions . . . Pray for God to do something remarkable here.

 

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 36

September 15 (Day 36) — Today is the final day of the crusade, with preaching morning and evening and general Sunday afternoon activities—naps, soccer games, story-telling, etc. Pray for renewed energy for all involved. Pray for a tidal wave of spiritual renewal and revival to roll across the Aruamu today. Pray for an outpouring of God’s Spirit today. Pray for healing for the sick. Pray for freedom for the prisoners. Pray that blind eyes will be opened. Pray for the proclamation of the Word, the year of the Lord’s favor, the victory of the Savior, the life of Jesus. Pray that this day will begin an ongoing and sweeping revival, a gurgling fountain of God’s life flowing into many streams out of Tiap and into the lives and communities wherever the believers who go out from here return to.

 

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 35

September 14 (Day 35) — The crusade has been going for a few days now. People continue to arrive. At writing, it is expected that there will be as many as 800 in attendance at the crusade. Today is women’s day and there are all sorts of workshops and events for Aruamu women to participate in. Todd is continuing today with leadership workshops and discussions. Pray for God’s hand to be on Todd’s mind and heart as he interacts with the Aruamu leadership. Pray for opportunities to show God’s unique power and the power of the cross in the daily life and leadership of each leader in attendance. Pray for the preaching of the Word this evening. The theme for this week is Free in Christ (English translation). Pray that as Todd preaches this evening, many will follow in the triumphal procession of Jesus from death to life, from bondage to freedom in Christ. Pray for breakthrough in the hearts of those who are attending, that they will know what it is to have Jesus shepherd their hearts, heal broken relationships, bring children home from wandering in sin, establish households as sanctuaries of peace and God’s Spirit.

 

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 33

September 13 (Day 34) — It’s Friday. But Sunday’s coming. Todd will be involved in leadership training workshops today. Our other team mates will be holding special events for the children today. Pray that the kids will have ears to hear and hearts to obey the invitation that the Father is extending them today. Pray that God will give Todd specific and supernatural insight and wisdom into the leadership issues that need to be addressed with Aruamu leaders. Pray also that God will give the right words, idioms, illustrations, and phrases to communicate clearly and deeply with the Aruamu leaders. Pray also that God will grant power during the preaching hour tonight. Pray that God will arrest the attention of those whom he is calling this evening. Ask God to move in the midst of the worship, the preaching, even the times of celebration this evening.

 

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 33

September 12 (Day 33) — Today the crusade begins. Pray for all involved in the events of the day. Today is the dedication for the Aruamu New Testament in recorded digital audio format (.mp3). This is a landmark day for those Aruamu who cannot read or write, for children, for mothers who want their children to hide God’s Word in their hearts. The New Testaments will be available on mini-SD cards that fit cell-phones sold in PNG and on a specialty device called a Proclaimer (http://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/proclaimer) that is powered by solar panel, hand crank, rechargeable batteries, or AC power adapter (talk about versatile!). Pray today that many will be compelled to listen, to buy an SD card, or to join a listening group gathered around a Proclaimer. Pray that this will be a watershed event in the lives of many Aruamu. Pray also for Todd as he preaches the first message of the crusade this evening. Pray that his preaching will be anointed and that the Holy Spirit will cut the listeners to the heart. Pray that many will pass from death into life in Jesus tonight.

 

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