by Joy Grady von Kleeck
Resource: You Version plan called Pray Effectively. No author is listed.
Psalm 100: 1-4 NLT "Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name."
Most of us are familiar with this Psalm. It stresses the importance of praise. This devotional said, "The First Step in Effective Prayer is Praise." It used pray as an acronym: P-R-A-Y. "They say if you spell the word pray, hopefully you will be able to remember how to make your prayer life more effective, and you will be inspired to pray more consistently." It is pretty obvious that the P stands for Praise.
"Notice in verse 4 the words 'enter into'. In other words, praise is how you are to enter God's presence. It is the best way to begin your prayer. When you want to come to God, you start with thanksgiving. You start with singing. You start with praise. Or, as The Message says, 'Enter with the password.' "
Being thankful has always been very important to me in my prayer life. In fact, my husband and I in our devotions every morning list at least 10 things we are thankful for before we pray.
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Share the Gospel with the Unreached Tribes in Colombia
by Joy Grady von Kleeck, source Advancing Native Missions
Thirty years ago, 50 indigenous tribes in Colombia did not have access to the Gospel. Now, fewer than 10 still need to be reached. Colombian Christians are training missionaries to locate and minister among these tribes, who live in the most remote parts of the country. Their situation is a microcosm of the missions today; the final unreached tribes are the most difficult tribes to reach.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
*Colombia is home to dozens of small, isolated tribes with their own languages and dialects.
*Roman Catholicism has a long history in Colombia though many tribes still have some traditional animist beliefs.
*Unrest in nearby Venezuela has impacted Colombia, with more than a million Venezuelans seeking refuge in Colombia at times.
WAYS TO PRAY
1. Pray for translation work so tribes have access to scripture and useful training resources.
2. Pray for a local coffee business raising funds to support missionaries and build relations with coffee-growing tribes.
3. Pray for training programs preparing new tribal believers to return to their tribes as missionaries.
4. Pray for the protection of missionaries from guerrillas, hostile tribes, and other threats.
