As we prepare a page for prayer requests this summer so many things come to mind.  We could make a list of things we need, and we could come back to it from time to time to add new requests and reveal God's glory by showing those that have been answered.  We could ask you to choose one of our mission teams or local churches who will partner with us in bringing the Gospel to our community.  We will have a group of young men and women appointed as counselors who will also need prayer, and of course we will connect with hundreds of children, tourists, and locals as we go about the business of the Kingdom this year.

All of those are prayer needs and of course we give all of the glory to God as He faithfully answers one prayer after another.  Yet, as we think this summer about prayer, what comes most strongly to our heart is to ask you to pray for the Lord to work in your own life.  As we contemplate the reality of salvation, it seems important to ask you to consider what it really means to each of us.  Is it merely a ticket to Heaven, is it just an escape from Hell?  Is that why our Lord sacrificed His only Son in our place for the sins each of us has committed?

We want to encourage you to reflect on your personal relationship with God.  We pray that you recognize the freedom that comes with salvation.  As you live each day and face countless temptations, the devil stands and accuses.  It is Christ who comes to our defense and points at our faith in Him as our righteousness.  Gods accepts our faith and reliance on Jesus as payment in full for our debt of sin.  The result of this incredible sacrifice is that each of us who has placed our trust in Christ are reunited with God the Father.  He has placed us in His care and has given us the Holy Spirit as our guide, and Jesus as our example. 

In 1 Timothy 5:17 we are instructed to pray without ceasing.  That seems like a difficult thing to do; how could we pray without ceasing and get anything else done?  But, imagine a continual fellowship with God!  What it must have been like for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to walk and talk with the Lord daily.  When they were in His presence they surely felt a joy and comfort beyond description.  This is why we ask you to consider your walk with the Lord.  To pray without ceasing means to have communion with God the Father continually.  To see with His eyes, and hear with His ears, and feel with His heart.

So, our prayer request is simply to ask you to pray without ceasing.  Not for our benefit, but for your own. Won't you open your heart up to God and allow Him to bring you joy and comfort?  The things of this world are of little consequence when you walk with the Lord.  There is nothing He doesn't already know about you, why would you hesitate to seek Him?