March 17, 2010 Prayer Guide
March 17, 2010
Dear Praying Friend,
In Daniel 2:18, Daniel and his cohorts – Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah – were facing death. Troubled by his God-breathed dream, King Nebuchadnezzar had threatened to kill all his wise men (including the four Hebrew exiles) because they couldn’t do the impossible – reveal the actual dream and its meaning to the Babylonian monarch. Daniel and his friends took to their knees – asking God to spare them. God rewarded their faithfulness by revealing the mystery of the king’s dream to Daniel.
The Aramaic word for “seek” or “plead” used in Daniel 2:18 is used in Scripture only a dozen times – all in the book of Daniel. It means, “to ask, pray for, look for” and implies a sense of urgency. Daniel and his praying friends took to their knees with an earnestness drawn from impending life-threatening disaster.
Such an urgency in prayer is repeated throughout the New Testament. Persistence pays off. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus urges his listeners to “ask, seek, and knock.” (Matthew 7:7-11) In the present tense, this is often translated as ”keep on” asking, seeking, and knocking. Other interpretations see this as a progression from asking to seeking to knocking – a building sense of urgency. In Luke 18:1-8, a parable applied to the discipline of prayer, persistence is rewarded. An unsavory judge, bothered by a widow’s repeated requests for vindication, listened and heeded her pleas. “And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night?”
So, dear praying friend, follow both the lead of Daniel and the widow. Beseech our Lord and Savior on behalf of California, her people, families and culture! Pray and do not lose heart. God will vindicate his faithful, praying remnant.
California Family Council
P.S. CFC’s bimonthly prayer guides can also be found online at www.californiafamily.org.
Please Pray…
…for the sanctity of marriage
· for the outcome of the federal trial challenging the constitutionality of Prop 8 in San Francisco. Pray that Judge Walker would competently fulfill his duty to evaluate the arguments presented, without bias.
· and praise God for recent encouragement to the Prop 8 defense legal team – that leaders of the No on 8 Campaign must release the types of internal campaign memos, strategies, and communications that ProtectMarriage.com had previously been forced to release.
· that the truths presented during the trial would seep into the hearts and minds of those who do not know God. Pray that observers, attorneys, staffs, and court personnel would be reached as a result of Perry v. Schwarzenegger.
· that the truth behind SB 906, Sen. Mark Leno’s “civil marriage” proposal, would be clear to legislators, policy makers, media, and citizens. (SB 906 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 23.) While put forth as a protection of the religious freedoms of clergy, SB 906 changes the term “marriage” in California law to “civil marriage,” laying the foundation for different classifications of marriage – perhaps a forerunner to religious marriage and same-sex marriage.
· that God’s truth of marriage as between one man and one woman would remain steadfast and victorious in California – despite court challenges, petitions, future initiative drives, media blasts, and pro-homosexual voter-education campaigns. Pray that the people of California – and the nation – would discern the truth that natural marriage, a symbolic picture of the unity of Christ and his church, is the foundation of society and the best place for bringing up children.
…for the protection of life
· An impressive body of evidence demonstrates that parental communication, monitoring – and attitudes – impact the sexual activity of teens and adolescents. Pray that parents will heed the warning – despite feelings of inadequacy – and talk to their children about this life-altering subject.
· and praise God that secular media is beginning to voice the need for more oversight of California’s stem-cell agency. Pray for wisdom and discernment for legislators as they examine Sen. Elaine Alquist’s SB 1064, aimed at providing more oversight and transparency for the beleaguered agency.
…for parental authority
· that parents of high-school students would investigate what their schools are teaching about stem-cell research. A new stem-cell research education Web portal provides an enormous amount of new curricula and lessons for teachers to use in science classes. Pray that teachers would present this material in a truly unbiased manner – not usurping a parent’s right to teach a child about the moral and ethical concerns surrounding embryonic stem-cell research.
· As pro-homosexual curriculum becomes more prevalent in public schools – and spring pro-homosexual activist days approach – pray that parents would become aware of what is happening in their neighborhood school, and combat any expansion on their child’s campus.
…for California families
· for Sen. Roy Ashburn and his family. Ashburn, a divorced father of four, announced his struggles with homosexuality last week.
· with Easter break for the Legislature beginning March 25, many legislators will be at home in their district offices. Pray that they will connect with and listen to their constituents’ views.
· Numerous legislative proposals attempt to protect California children from sexual predators online. One of these measures, SB 1361, will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 23. Pray that legislators would discern appropriate vehicles for protecting youth online.
· for legislators and their staffs as they examine language in thousands of new bills introduced prior to last month’s deadline. Pray for wisdom and discernment to understand all the issues and that legislators will protect their constituents’ concerns – not those of special, politically powerful interests. Pray they will protect parental authority and the innocence of children.
· for California families and individuals who face disappearing jobs and life savings, dissolving marriages, and moral confusion and failings. Pray they would find the answer to their uncertainties and challenges by placing their trust in a loving Savior.
…for California Family Council
· for CFC’s continued efforts to serve God in 2010 by transforming the laws and culture of California.
· for wisdom and discernment as CFC staff sorts through several thousand bills introduced prior to the submission deadline last month.
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belongs wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and mysterious things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.” – Daniel 2:20-22
United in passionate, effective prayer for California families
www.californiafamily.org
