God is Stronger!

Praise God for his faithful show of power in one community. A disciple was faced with a close family member seeking to put curse on her and her children leading to death. Whilst initially terrified, she was encouraged by understanding from God’s word that this was a spiritual battle and that God is stronger than Satan! The family member tried two different witchdoctors, and was not able to curse her. She later said that because she belongs to God, she is no longer afraid. May this demonstration of God’s power impact many in her community. Please also join her in praying that this family member will also come to know and follow Jesus.

Courage to Share

Pray for those who are being discipled to share with boldness with their families and neighbours.
Please pray for believers whose spouses are not following Jesus. Please pray that they would have courage to faithfully witness to their spouses and that their lives would demonstrate Jesus’ love.

What shall we do?

‘When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”’ Acts 2:37.
Please pray for the Alagwa, that the Holy Spirit would bring true and life-giving conviction to them and prepare their hearts to receive Him. Pray that as God’s word is shared, many would be cut to the heart and be willing to ask: “What shall we do?”

Husbands to come to Jesus

Please pray for the spouses of married believers to turn to God. Pray particularly for the husbands of a few secret women believers in one community. Lord, may these men have a hunger to know you!

Acknowledge God

Pray for the church leadership, that they would trust in God with all their hearts and not lean on their own understanding. May they acknowledge you, God, in all their ways. Give them boldness as they lead.

Filled with hope

Lord, we pray that the eyes of the heart of Alagwa believers may be enlightened in order that they may know the hope to which you have called them, the riches of your glorious inheritance in your holy people.
May your people amongst the Alagwa be filled with hope in you today. May they know you more.

Filled with Spirit

Please continue to pray for the church in Madebe- that the believers would be continually filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and grow in their passion to share the gospel with their family and neighbours.

leadership training

Please pray for three men who have gone with Petro from our team to attend a leadership training course in Morogoro. Two are Alagwa elders in our local church and the other is a local believer who is also receiving training. Please pray for safe travels and that the training will encourage and build them in their faith and gifting.

Reconciled

“All this is from God who reconciled us to himself in Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” Pray for the believers to passionately abide in God, who has reconciled them to himself. Pray that they would know too that they are ministers of reconciliation in their families and communities and help others also be reconciled to God.

Rise to the challenge

Please pray for the church as the pastor and his wife (AICT) leave next week to lead a team elsewhere. Pray for the evangelist (AICT) as he shoulders many responsibilities and the Alagwa elders of the church to rise to the challenge and continue growing and stepping out in boldness.

Baptism

Please pray for the two believers getting baptised this Saturday. Please pray for another believer who might get baptised too- he is standing firm in Jesus and it would be wonderful to see him take the step of baptism.

Akhwesu

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ez 35, 26-7.
Please keep praying for spiritual breakthrough amongst the Alagwa. Pray for eyes to be open to see that they need to know and rely on the love God has for them; that they need God to give them a heart of flesh. May the Holy Spirit help them to go beyond their world view expectations of religion and find deep ‘akhwesu’ -fellowship- with God.

Hungry to Seek Jesus For Themselves

Please pray for the many people who have bought a memory card or audio player with portions of Scripture and Bible stories in Alagwaisa, as well as Swahili Scriptures. Pray that many people would not just enjoy the stories but be hungry to seek Jesus for themselves.

Continue To Grow In Jesus

Pray for the Alagwa church elders, that they will continue to grow in Jesus and develop especially in the areas of teaching and preaching.

Spiritual Breakthroughs

“For our struggle Is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.” Please pray for spiritual breakthrough amongst the Alagwa. Pray for the many Alagwa who are still bound by evil spirits. Pray for freedom and for many eyes to be opened to the truth of Jesus their Redeemer.

Seeking help in the wrong place

Please pray for a couple that have been studying the word and seeking to follow Jesus for quite some time. Until now, they have not been very open in their community about following Jesus. A crisis has recently occurred as the wife returned to studying at the mosque, having felt a lot of pressure to do so. Shortly after beginning studying, she came under strong demonic attack which was frightening and she has sought help from the local religious “healers” (which has not been effective). Please pray for her to repent and meet Jesus in a deeper way. Please pray that her husband will stand firm for Jesus and not bow to community and family pressures and that he will see the spiritual battle clearly that they are in. Please pray that in all this God’s glory will be revealed and that this couple would trust Jesus and cling to him. Pray that they would be a clear sign of hope and healing in Jesus in their community.

Walked 45 minutes to church!

Praise God for the daughter of a witchdoctor who has seen us worship on a Sunday from afar and felt very drawn by what she saw. On Sunday she walked the 45 mins to join the worship and really enjoyed it. Please pray for a continued desire within her to seek Jesus and also be discipled. Her mother (the witchdoctor) was extremely positive about her going to church and she herself has listened to scripture many times. Please pray that this would be another step towards this whole family coming to Christ.

Hard Times

Please pray for an Alagwa believer whose husband (not a believer) is moving to divorce her. Please join his wife in praying for her husband’s heart to be changed, for him to follow Jesus. Pray too that she would lean on Jesus and continue to trust him. That God would use these hard times to cause growth in her.

One Bold Man

Praise God for the way an Alagwa church elder is growing in his boldness to witness and teach. May God continue to encourage him and give him strength and courage.

Needing to lean in to Jesus

Please pray for one believer in a village who has been rejected by those living around her because she follows Jesus. Pray for her to persevere and really lean into Jesus for his strength and comfort.

Going out to share

Praise God for seeds planted as church members went to share the good news of Jesus door to door in a nearby area two days last week. May there be good soil in people’s hearts for God’s word to take root in. Pray too for the believers who shared their faith; may they grow in boldness and continue to reach out to others.

Opposition

Please pray for an Alagwa man who has started to follow Jesus. He is now encountering opposition, including being physically attacked. Please pray that he keeps following Jesus. Pray also that God will send people to encourage him as he works away from home.

Translating the Book of John

Please pray for the Alagwa translators currently working on the book of John. May those translators who are not believers yet come to trust in Jesus as they work. Please pray for many Alagwa to recognise their need to repent and come to Jesus. May they know Jesus the Truth who can set them free.

To Seek and to Save the Lost

Praise God for two Alagwa ladies who were really impacted by Jesus’ words in Luke 19:10 this week: The Son of God has come to seek and save the lost. They have each committed to share God’s word with one friend a few times a week. Pray that God will prompt them to do that and make those times fruitful.

Feasting on the Word

Thank God for one Alagwa man who taught the word of God to a few people using an audio player last week. Pray that he will continue to teach others and also feast on God’s word himself.

Meeting Weekly

Pray for a group of three or four Alagwa in one area that have started meeting weekly with church members for prayer and teaching. They have also started coming to worship on a Sunday too. They came to Jesus with their need for healing; may they surrender their whole lives to him.

Intense Spiritual Struggle

Please pray for an Alagwa believer who is going through a time of intense spiritual struggle. Please pray for her to fix her eyes on Jesus and see afresh the hope she has in Him. Please pray for a significant breakthrough in the coming days and weeks.

Destroy the charm!

Please pray for F who was prayed for and demons were cast out. Yesterday, she was prayed for again and there was still demonic activity, although less. A long time ago the lady’s husband had placed a Koranic charm at the door frame and is unwilling to get rid of it. It was expensive. Tomorrow, our teammate and some other believers are going back to talk to the husband about destroying the charm. Please pray for his eyes to be opened, that he will destroy the charm. Pray both he and his wife will commit their lives to Jesus.

Resolve

Please pray for a young man who declared his intention to get baptised. Please pray for God to strengthen this man’s resolve to follow Him with all that he is.

Three Disciples

Please pray for three disciples in one village. They have been studying and praying together with one of our team but that team member isn’t currently in that location. Please pray that this will be a great opportunity for these women to organise to meet together and encourage one another without outside impetus. They have also been more stirred recently with the need to tell others about Jesus. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to empower them to be bold and courageous.

Reaching out to a Neighbor

Please pray for a disciple who has started to reach out to his neighbour, serving him and sharing God’s love with him. May God’s Spirit give him wisdom and boldness. May his neighbour turn to Jesus.

Come to Jesus

Please pray for Alagwa women who feel that they cannot follow Jesus until their husbands or children do. May God raise up more women who come to Jesus and faithfully pray for the salvation of their husbands and children. Pray for one woman who has privately said “I am with Jesus” recently. May this be a significant step in her journey of faith, and in her family’s journey of faith.

Turn and Live

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone,
declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live. Ezekiel 18:32
May many Alagwa turn and live! May God’s Spirit cause many Alagwa to turn towards His truth and love and be saved.

Complete Deliverance Needed

Please pray for one lady who has been suffering with many demons for a long time. She was in her field and felt a demonic attack, and for some reason unknown to her the words “Jesus help me” came out of her mouth. Later on, one of our team “got lost” on the way to pray for the lady’s neighbor, ended up at her house instead that evening, and prayed for her. She came to church and was prayed for again the next Sunday. Please keep praying for her as she seeks Jesus and the complete healing she now knows only Jesus can bring.

Clear Presentation

Please pray for the Holy Spirit to continue to work in many hearts in one village where the gospel was shared as part of a Christmas celebration. People were told that Jesus is God’s way for us to be restored to Him. Pray that more people will understand that there is only one path, and that they will choose to follow Christ. Pray for those who have already understood this with their minds, that they will surrender their lives to Jesus.

Seekers seeking

Please pray for some of the young men of one village who are meeting weekly for Bible study. They are mostly seekers. Pray that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully present and that these men would follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

Christmas celebrations

Please pray for the Christmas celebrations. May they be opportunities for Alagwa to hear the gospel clearly and respond.

Local church partnership

Please pray for the local church, that Jesus would strengthen and encourage his body. May there be unity in reaching out to the community with the love of Christ.

Man of peace

Please pray for a prominent religious leader in one area who for many years has been a “man of peace” and encouraged many to hear God’s word although he has not yet become a believer. Recently he again was excited to study God’s word and agreed with what he read. He was hungry to study more and more. He himself pinpointed the barrier within himself which is stopping him come to Christ. May God break down all barriers! May this man meet God, who is worth everything, and worth losing everything for.