POINTERS for PRAYER and THANKSGIVING
SEPTEMBER 2020
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SEPTEMBER 2020
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**THIS MONTH WE CELEBRATE
ETHIOPIAN NEW YEAR 2013
Jesus Christ - the same yesterday and today and forever!
Happy New Year
or for our Ethiopian friends
መልካም አዲስ አመት
(Melkam Addis Amet)
Let us thank God that amid all the changing years and all the doom and gloom so often reported in the media,
there is still some amazing good news around.
How wonderful that - whether it's 2012EC or 2013EC or whatever calendar we use - Jesus is still the same. He is the Saviour who proved that God really does love us - even when we mess up. Because of his death and resurrection, when we come to him in repentance, we can be forgiven - totally forgiven! God will deliberately not remember any of that mess - it's gone!
This is good news for prisoners and for everybody else. There is hope! Yes – real hope! Eternal hope!
**According to the Ethiopian Calendar New Year's Day 2013 is the same day as 11 September 2020 Gregorian Calendar
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PRAYER POINTERS
ETHIOPIAN NEW YEAR 2013
Jesus Christ - the same yesterday and today and forever!
Happy New Year
or for our Ethiopian friends
መልካም አዲስ አመት
(Melkam Addis Amet)
Let us thank God that amid all the changing years and all the doom and gloom so often reported in the media,
there is still some amazing good news around.
How wonderful that - whether it's 2012EC or 2013EC or whatever calendar we use - Jesus is still the same. He is the Saviour who proved that God really does love us - even when we mess up. Because of his death and resurrection, when we come to him in repentance, we can be forgiven - totally forgiven! God will deliberately not remember any of that mess - it's gone!
This is good news for prisoners and for everybody else. There is hope! Yes – real hope! Eternal hope!
**According to the Ethiopian Calendar New Year's Day 2013 is the same day as 11 September 2020 Gregorian Calendar
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PRAYER POINTERS
1. Pray that the changing regulations and advice concerning what can and what can't be done during this covid-19 pandemic will be clear as they affects prisons..
2. Pray for the women and their children in Ethiopian prisons and efforts to improve poverty related conditions. 3. Pray for the leadership team in JFA-PFE and give thanks for the way this work has been recognised by the authorities. 4. Pray for the Ethiopian Christian volunteer medical teams visiting prisons as part of the Prisons Medical Project. 5. Pray for those unjustly or inappropriately in prison in many places throughout the world – some denied a fair trial or even any trial at all. 6. SUNDAY Pray and give thanks for prison chaplains many of whom have found imaginative ways to provide pastoral support and Bible teaching during these difficult times. 7. Pray for the families of prisoners, so often suffering on account of their loved one’s behaviour 8. Pray for children in prison with their mothers, including Twinkle of Hope in Ethiopia and that appropriate focused support can be possible in these difficult days. 9. Pray for prisoners who do not have any support from family or friends on the outside. This can be for many reasons including court orders and not just from family squabbles. 10. Pray that the new Christian believers in Ethiopian and UK prisons may be able to have their own personal Bible. 11. Ethiopian New Years Day 2013. Happy New Year – Melkam Addis Amet. Pray that opportunities to meet needs and reflect the love of Jesus may continue in Ethiopia’s prisons this new year. 12. Give thanks for all those former prisoners who having come to faith in Jesus are now serving the Lord in so many different ways. 13. SUNDAY Pray that as and when covid-19 restrictions begin to be relaxed and prisoners are able to attend services again that they will be able to cope with the new "normal" including in UK possibly no singing 14. Give thanks for churches ready to welcome ex-offenders on release from prison with their different needs and associated risks. 15. Pray for chaplains in UK prisons working to bring hope into the lives of people who may be struggling with bereavement, serious illness of a close relative or other deep emotional issues on top of the restrictions and uncertainties caused by the covid-19 virus, |
16. Pray for prisoners who feel so without hope that they may be at risk of self harming or attempting suicide.
17. Pray & give thanks for churches that care for those affected by imprisonment and who support the prisons ministry in many ways. 18. Pray for "listeners" – these are prisoners in the UK selected and then trained by the Samaritans to support fellow prisoners in crisis. 19. Pray and give thanks for the Bible Study Courses and group study material provided free in prisons by Emmaus Bible School. 20. SUNDAY Give thanks for the opportunities in many Ethiopian prisons to share the good news of Jesus with all the prisoners and for the thousands who have responded to the gospel message. 21. Pray for Ashley Crampton and his prisons related ministry in New Zealand and in recent months also in Fiji. 22 . Pray for prisoners who feel threatened by drugs barons and other "tough" bullies that they may feel able to report this and that appropriate help may be available for them. 23. Those responsible for making political decisions that affect prisoners both in the UK and in Ethiopia 24. Pray for restorative justice and the various initiatives to help prisoners to address their offending behaviour and potentially reduce re-offending. 25. Pray for foreign nationals in UK prisons, that efforts may be made to identify and address their and their families’ needs and concerns. 26.Pray for our Trustees that they may be sensitive to the Lord's leading in all their decision making in times of change. 27 SUNDAY Pray also for newly appointed Christian chaplains that they will be able to minister effectively amongst a community with so many needs and yet often with such potential. 28 Pray that during next month's Prisons Week of Prayer in England and Wales that many churches will take part and that there may be an ongoing commitment to all the various prisons' ministry needs and opportunities 29. Pray for Community Chaplains, Resettlement co-ordinators and mentoring schemes helping ex-offenders live more ordered lives 30. Pray for those sharing biblical truth in prisons. Lives are being changed forever as eyes are opened to God's great salvation plan. |
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PRISONS WEEK OF PRAYER
This year, the Prisons Week of Prayer in England and Wales runs from 11th to 17th October.
This is an opportunity for focused prayer.
To download leaflet for more information click here
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We praise Thee, we bless Thee, our Saviour Divine,
All power and dominion for ever be Thine!
We sing of Thy mercy with joyful acclaim,
For Thou hast redeemed us: all praise to Thy name!
From a hymn by Fanny Crosby:
PRISONS WEEK OF PRAYER
This year, the Prisons Week of Prayer in England and Wales runs from 11th to 17th October.
This is an opportunity for focused prayer.
To download leaflet for more information click here
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We praise Thee, we bless Thee, our Saviour Divine,
All power and dominion for ever be Thine!
We sing of Thy mercy with joyful acclaim,
For Thou hast redeemed us: all praise to Thy name!
From a hymn by Fanny Crosby: