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The Pattern of Prayer in Matthew 6

“You then pray in this way: Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matt. 6:9-13)

After the rebellion of Satan, the earth fell into his usurping hand. Thus, the will of God could not be done on earth as in heaven. Hence, God created man with the intention of recovering the earth for Himself. After the fall of man, Christ came to bring the heavenly rule to earth so that the earth could be recovered for God’s interest, so that the will of God could be done on earth as in heaven. This is why the new King established the kingdom of the heavens with His followers. The kingdom people must pray for this until the earth is fully recovered for God’s will in the coming kingdom age.

[The prayer in Matthew 6], as a pattern, cares first for God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will, and second, for our need. This prayer, as a pattern, cares, third, for the kingdom people’s failures before God and for their relationship with others. The kingdom people should ask the Father to forgive their debts, their failures, their trespasses, as they forgive their debtors to maintain peace. This prayer, as a pattern, cares, fourth, for the kingdom people’s deliverance from the evil one and from evil things. The kingdom people should ask the Father not to bring them into temptation but to deliver them from the evil one, the devil, and from the evil that is out of him. (Footnotes 101, 111, 121, 132 in Matt. 6)

2023 North America College Training

Registration for the 2023 North America College Training is now open! The subject is “Love Prevails,” and it will be held July 16 to 22 in Champaign, Illinois. Thousands of college saints who have participated in previous college trainings received extensive and lasting spiritual benefits, especially the graduating high school seniors. Our expectation is that the Lord would use this special time to freshly gain this generation, to constitute them with the vision of the age and equip them with the truth for His eternal purpose.

Our hope for this time is that the Lord could gather at least 3,500 saints to attend, and to reach that number many college students need to decide early on to set this week apart unto the Lord, regardless of their summer plans. To encourage such a momentous registration, a substantial discount for those who register in the month of January is being offered. However, the real benefit of early registration is that those who commit early can testify to their peers and those in the churches around them of their decision. In so doing, they can be factors to encourage hundreds more to follow them to the NACT this summer!

We need to pray for many to be patterns among this generation who, like Nehemiah, do not seek their own interests but seek the Lord with a pure heart and do not leave the things of God’s move to others but participate in them themselves. In the same way as the writer of Hebrews encouraged the readers of his epistle to “come forward” to the place where he was, we pray for many who will take the lead to come forward and register early, during January! Therefore, during this month, we desperately need the fighting prayers of all the saints:

  1. Pray for the stirring up of at least 1,400 throughout North America to register and pay in the month of January, boldly registering in faith and giving the Lord the first place in their summer plans!
  2. Pray that the serving and shepherding saints could render the proper fellowship to all those considering the NACT and that all impediments for those who would like to go would be completely removed.
  3. Pray that the Lord stir up the students not only to register but also to pray for this time and encourage others around them to “Come forward!” to the NACT without delay!

May the Lord continue to raise up a generation of young people for His will and purpose to end this age!

Hall 4 Retreat

This weekend, January 20 to 22, about 85 saints, students, young people, and children from Hall 4 will gather at Oak Glen to begin 2023 together. Please pray for:

  1. All the saints to be washed in the water of the Lord’s fresh speaking!
  2. Saints of all ages and stages to be strengthened and encouraged to consecrate themselves to pursue the Lord in an atmosphere of love this year!
  3. Our love for one another to increase so that we can be a testimony of oneness to all those around us!

FTTA Gospel Trips

From January 6 to February 11, gospel trip teams are going out to 20 countries in Europe, as well as the US and Canada, to join with the local saints for the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. Please pray that:

  • The Lord will blend and build the saints involved so that He will have the free way to fully bless the trips.
  • The sanctifying Spirit will go before the saints to prepare the hearts of those the Lord has chosen.
  • The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom will be prevailing and reach all those the Lord desires to save.
  • Fruit, even remaining fruit, will be borne in each place visited, and the Lord will add to the churches as His testimony in each of these nations.
  • The Lord will fully cover the travel, safety, security, and health of all those involved.

Central & Eastern Europe and the Balkans

A video report is available from the countries encompassed in the geographical area of Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. It also introduces and speaks concerning the dear saints from Ukraine who are scattered in many of the localities in these countries. Go to https://churchesceeb.org/2022-reports-en.

May the Lord continue to bless His recovery of this part of the earth!

Ukraine

Please continue to pray that:

  • The Lord will keep all the saints in the involved countries open to Him for their experience of the divine dispensing in all the situations of their daily living.
  • The Lord will meet all the practical needs of the saints as the cold weather of winter settles in.
  • The brothers who are fighting in the war will be preserved by the Lord in their tripartite being.
  • The Lord will shepherd the refugees and establish them in the church life.
  • The local saints, serving ones, and trainees will be blended with the refugees by being through the cross and by the Spirit to minister Christ to one another for the building up of the Body.
  • The saints in the involved countries involved will be kept in the oneness of the Body and the reality of the new man.
  • The tripartite being of saints in besieged cities will be protected and preserved for the Lord’s interests.
  • The Lord will comfort and sustain those who have lost loved ones in the war.
  • The enemy will be bound in his attack on the Lord’s interests in Russia, Ukraine, and Europe.

Announcements

  1. Morning Revival: Week 1 of our guided reading through the Gospel of Matthew.

  2. SAVE THE DATE: The 2023 International Chinese-speaking Blending Conference will be held February 17 to 19 in Anaheim, with translation into English, Korean and Spanish. All saints welcome!

  3. Bibles for America‘s latest post is available to read and share at https://blog.biblesforamerica.org.

  4. FTTA and FTTA-XB graduation videos may be viewed for a limited time at https://www.ftta.org.

  5. Living to Him has a podcast series particularly helpful to working saints, available on all major podcasting services at https://livingtohim.com/the-living-to-him-podcast.

  6. A Timely Speaking of Supply: Enjoy a free weekly video from messages given by Brother Lee at https://lsm.org/timely-speaking.html.

  7. Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at https://www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.