One Practical Way to Love the World

In June we have been looking at how we practice living out Jesus' command to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Sunday, June 30th's sermon was on how to love the world. We start with prayer. Here is a plan of action:

Step One: Choose a Country

Start by selecting a country to pray for, you may already have a country in mind. If you are unsure how to decide here are some suggestions to help you make your selection:

• Think about countries that you are from, have family living in, or family ties.

• Consider a place you have been or dream of visiting.

• Look at the world news headlines for countries that are in war, conflicts, or having political unrest or upcoming elections.

• If you currently, or have, sponsored a child, their country would be a good option.

• Or if you support a missionary and are already praying for them expand your prayers to include the country.

• The Free Methodist Church in Canada has partnerships with both Ghana and Sri Lanka. Either would be good choices for a prayer focus.

Step Two: Become Informed

Our prayers are fuller when we know how to pray specifically. Therefore the next step is learning about the country. Become informed about the people, their language, their culture. Think about what the nation needs, the leaders, and what God is already doing. The internet and libraries will be helpful in your research.

• Consider following or signing up for an online newspaper from your country.

• Discover what God is doing in the country. What are good things that have happened recently.

• Follow a local church, if possible pray for concerns they share or events that they announce.

• Read a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from your country to understand the cultural worldview.

• Look into the history of the country.

• Try foods or a recipe from the country or a region in the country.

These are just starting places to better know and understand the country. As you learn and pray you may find new questions or areas to search for answers that help your prayers.

Step Three: Pray

Once you have chosen a country make a commitment to pray regularly for that country, and then remember to pray. It can be helpful to write down your commitment. You may find setting a phone reminder equally helpful.  If you are at Polson Park Free Methodist church this summer you can add a star to our map to indicate which country you are praying for.

'Regularly' will look different for each person. If you are working on developing a practice of prayer, praying once or even three times a week will be regular. Others may add it to their daily prayers.

We have set this global prayer focus for July and August 2024.