prayer coach

As a father of two wonderful daughters, the issues of sex trade is especially devastating to me. Daughters of Cambodia has created several opportunities for girls to leave the sex trade by allowing them to see value in themselves. They give the girls job opportunities, training and education, social skills, place to live if needed, etc. I have attached a video about them below. If you are short on time, skip ahead to the 7:00 minute mark to hear the testimony of a girl rescued.

There are many ways you can get involved in the work of Daughters of Cambodia:

• Partner with them in business – buy their products wholesale or retail
• They need the assistance of business consultants overseas to help us develop small businesses
• Sponsor a girl ($70 a month to sponsor one girls’ entire salary each month)
• Fundraising
• Pray – email them for updated prayer requests
• Partner with them financially by making a donation by PayPal (go to the bottom of page)

If you would like to receive the Daughters of Cambodia newsletter, please email them at newsletter.daughters@gmail.com.

Stats Regarding the Current Sex Trade

List courtesy of Nefarious Documentary

• A child is trafficked every 30 seconds. – UNICEF
• The average age of entry into commercial sex slavery in the United States is 13 years old. – United States Department of Justice
• Human Trafficking occurs in 161 out of 192 countries. – The United Nations
• Pornography is a 96 billion dollar per year industry. – The Internet Filter Review
• Up to 96% of women in prostitution want to escape but feel they can’t. – United Labor Organization
• Human Trafficking is a 32 billion dollar per year industry. The United Nations
• In some countries it is estimated that 70% of men purchase sex. – Victor Malarek; The Johns

Much has been in the news regarding Israel lately as eyes have turned to see President Obama’s response to renewed calls to recognize Palestine as an occupied state. As Christians we are to be concerned with what is going on in Israel and actively praying for it. Whatever our views of end-times or current political decisions, God is still in love with Israel as children of Abraham. His promise to bless those that bless them and curse those that curse them does not seemed to have been removed over time (Genesis 12:3).

Here are some things that can help you pray for Israel. Some of these may seem impossible, but remember from whom you are asking help.

1. Leadership: President – Shimon Peres, Prime Minister – Binyamin Netanyahu, and Knesset Speaker – Reuven Rivlin

• supernatural wisdom to know what to do
• protection from political and physical attacks
• honor and love for enemies
• unity with others in leadership

2. Peace:

• protection from those seeking to destroy Israel
• end of violence from terrorist within their borders
• removal of all fear and replace it with love

3. Political Ties:

• wisdom to know who to trust
• favor from those who can give them aid
• strong ties with the U.S.

4. Impact:

• God to bless them to such a degree that other nations may be blessed – this was the promise to Abraham
• they chose to value others in love, even those who hate them

5. Move of God:

• like Joshua: a generation of those who walk in faith, courage, and authentic relationship with God
• like Elijah: a generation of those who stand against others’ opinions to hold on to God for what is right

I wish I was on this one sooner. Jerel and Susan Law are friends of mine from college and have been an item as long as I have known them. They have been always sweet and encouraging and love the Lord. Jerel recommended me for a leadership position in our campus ministry although I had to decline as I was changing schools.

Susan has late stages of breast cancer. She is way too young to be going through such trauma, yet this battle has been on-going since March 2008. They thought they had it under control when in March of this year the doctors noticed a local recurrence. Currently Susan has spent the last 18 days in the hospital and looks like doctors are moving to pain management.

Please pray for the healing of this lovely person. Ask God first for her complete healing. Intercede for them to continue to have hope. Also pray for the family.

May the God of comfort, comfort them in the midst of their trials. May the Creator God recreate Susan’s body with no signs of the cancer.

You can follow her progress on her blog: SusanLaw.wordpress.com.

Susan’s husband, Jerel, is pastor of a church plant in the Charlotte area, and they have 3 young children.

In 1996 Dr. Bill Bright started yearly 40-day fasts for revival in our nation. His commitment to this discipline helped many like myself to consider partaking in this valuable gift of the faith. As I have mentioned before, I have completely bought into the benefits of the 40-day fast. I have not always done them with the commitment of national revival, but it always has the element of my own personal revival. This past Sunday I became aware of Chuck Colson and Jim Garlow’s call to fast and pray for our nation. It reawakened the desires that Dr. Bright embedded in me and reminded me of the similar call issued in 200. After a brief discussion with my wife, we agreed that it would be good for me to enter in.

I am under a personal belief that God has more for me. I have been extremely blessed with a loving, supportive, incredible wife, two amazing kids, a stimulating job, and a wonderful vision for my life. I could have never dreamed all this was possible, but it is here. At the same time, I don’t think God is through yet – with me or this nation. Fasting is a tool that has been given to us to ask, seek, and know for the more that God desires to give.

This fast has been called for September 20th – October 30th, 2010 in order to press God over the issues of the sanctity of human life, the sacredness of marriage and the preservation of religious liberty. I believe this nation is ready for the next great awakening and spiritual revival. The fast is a call to ask for it. Here is some of the wording on the prayandact.org website:

image courtesy of the The Call

This coming weekend thousands are joining in California’s capitol to pray for our nation. For the last 10 years The Call has been gathering people to pray and fast for our nation. Go to their site at thecall.com and see how you can join with other in prayer. Below are two videos encouraging you to participate: one from the co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, Mrs. Vonette Bright; the other is the Call’s promotional video. Whether you decide to join or not, please continue to pray for God’s blessings on this nation.

Last night at 1am the Democratic Senators quickly moved forward with their 60 votes to pass the long-discussed health care bill. The bill now most face two more votes before a final passing on Christmas Eve. I was burdened about this bill last night and early this morning after hearing that the 60 votes had been obtained. I have also been burdened as I have thought about Jonah. Jonah was called to speak out against the wickedness of Nineveh, but Jonah disobeyed God because of lack of love for the Ninevites. He wanted to see them perish (Jonah 3:10 – 4:2). I am becoming convicted that when I stay silent I am running from my own Nineveh.

I do not hint at knowing God’s intentions about pending judgment, but I do know that God is the father to the fatherless. He comes to the aid of those who cannot help themselves. And, if our country passes a bill that federally funds the disposal for those considered a burden on society, I believe we are asking God for His judgment. We, like Jonah, must speak out. We must speak in love and compassion, but we also must defend those who cannot defend themselves (Psalm 82: 3-4).

We also must speak out to hopefully spare people from judgment. I have usually hesitated speaking out because of the belief that people are going to do what they want. But out of a deep love for people, I must speak out so to maybe win some away from judgment. Below is a letter to my senators. I encourage you to also contact your congress representative.

The bill seems very likely done, but nothing is impossible for God. There are still two more votes. Please write to your Senators and Representatives and pray that something will change. If we do not believe God can do the impossible, then we do not believe He raised Jesus from the dead.

image courtesy of desiringgod.org

For those who have yet to hear, the Village Church pastor, Matt Chandler, has gone into surgery this morning to have some of his right frontal lobe removed. Please continue in prayer for him and his family.

I wanted to forward on the link to his last post before going into surgery. He has provided some clear thoughts that can give hope to others going through adversity.  Please check out his post: My Heart is full…I am Thankful.

I came across a blog post today by Bob Thune called, “Perplexed By Prayer“. Bob is the lead pastor at Coram Deo, a church in Nebraska. I wanted to put up the link to this post because I felt it was an honest evaluation of what is going on inside the mind of a pastor or intercessor who desires to call others to pray. If God has His hand on you to gather people to pray, this post will be a great encouragement for you to press on.

Bob, if you find your way to this blog, thank you for your post. I enjoyed it very much.