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Pray regularly
As Christians we all believe in the power of prayer - 1 John 5:14,15 says: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." (NIV Bible). But some of us know we have a special burden or calling to pray as intercessors, and this is a very important area of this ministry - especially since we are dealing with Christians from many different backgrounds and cultures, who are all living together in especially difficult circumstances in a foreign country. But we can be encouraged that as we are led by the Spirit our prayers CAN make a difference, as written in: Romans 8:26,27: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." (NIV) Inside the main prison for foreigners in Egypt, a group of the Christians there have also recognized the ministry of intercession and have formed a special intercessory prayer group. They meet regularly to pray and intercede for other prisoners, and also intercede for specific prayer requests that we send them.
Testimonies
In the Spring of 2004, we received a letter from "N", an African Christian brother in a maximum security prison in Egypt. For many months he had been entirely alone in a cell with about 100 Muslim Egyptians, with whom he couldn't communicate due to his lack of Arabic. From the letter it was obvious that he felt VERY alone and depressed, even afraid of losing his faith. We immediately started to lift him up in prayer. We then received another letter from him a short time later, praising God for sending a fellow believer into his cell! "J" is an English-speaking Egyptian who was sentenced to 7 years as a result of wanting to marry a Muslim woman and sharing with her about Jesus! (It is illegal for Egyptian Christians to marry Muslims!). "J" and "N" became firm friends and prayer partners, and were even able to study the Bible together until many months later both were finally released! In mid-November 2004, we were told that one of the imprisoned Christian brothers there in Cairo, a gifted artist named Tito, had suffered a severe stroke that paralyzed him. We passed this urgent request on to our small group of intercessors around the country. Sadly, Tito was not even taken to the prison hospital, but was cared for as well as possible by the other brothers. Much prayer was offered up for his healing and less than a month later we were told that he had regained his speech and his movement, and he was even able to start painting again! Since then he has made a full recovery! Prayer works!
TFO Partners
As we have begun to develop relationships with partners and letter-writers around North America, we have realized that many of them are people who in fact are often suffering themselves with chronic illnesses or pain, are elderly or disabled, or experiencing difficult family problems. Many live in rural areas and are very limited with the opportunities that are available locally to be involved in a vibrant ministry or missions program. Yet they are touched by the situation of these men, and by the stories of other Christians who suffer around the world. TFO gives them an opportunity to become personally involved in writing to encourage these men; to pray for and help them in many different ways; and to do their part, even if it is only very small. 2 Corinthians 8:12-14 says: "For if the eager readiness to give is there, then it is acceptable and welcomed in proportion to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For it is not intended that other people be eased and relieved of their We recognize the importance of each individual faithfully doing his or her part, and so we also share prayer requests sent in by our partners, with our group of intercessors. It is a great encouragement to us all to know that we have brothers and sisters around the world who are praying for us - even if we have never met in person yet! You, too, can become a part of this important prayer network!
If you would like more information about becoming part of our team of intercessors, contact us at:
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