Weekly Prayer Posts from Thailand
Following In the Footsteps of Jesus
February 25, 2021
Dear Friends and Loved Ones,
God never promised us a trouble-free journey through this life. Far from being smooth, the path before us can be narrow and difficult — requiring us to be careful of where we place our feet. Some stretches of our road can get quite steep — even outright treacherous in some places. This is why we have been forewarned.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Matthew 7:13-14
Because of this, we truly do need an experienced guide to lead us. There are just too many obstacles in the way for us to be able to push through on our own. Fortunately, God has promised to travel with us on our journey. Not only does God know the way, He has already prepared the course for us!
“Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway.”
Psalm 85:13
Surely there is nothing more reassuring than to know that God has not only thought through every detail of our journey with Him, but He has sent “Righteousness” (one of God’s many Attributes) to go ahead of Him to prepare the way for Him — and for us! As we follow close after God, His footsteps become our pathway. All we have to do is to place our feet in His footprints and walk in the way He is trailblazing!
When we are able to follow close after God, His voice becomes familiar to us. We will arrive at a place where we have closed the distance between us, and we will be able to begin having meaningful conversations with God. We will soon develop a great love for God and His Word — and our greatest joy will be to have a close relationship with our Lord.
“But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Deuteronomy 30:16-20
In light of all this — it is astonishing that the earth hasn’t opened its mouth to swallow us whole! It has been known to do that you know — to swallow people. We can count ourselves fortunate that the earth is not doing that anymore. The sheer evil that we see being paraded before us day after day surely calls for some sort of response. We may be kidding ourselves if we think we are not liable to judgment — after heaping abuse upon abuse on one another — not to mention the abuse we have piled upon the earth as well.
“Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.”
Psalm 119:165
Walking close to God helps us to not stumble along the way. We become more sure footed as we go forward on our journey.
May God’s steady hand uphold us as we walk the stretch of road that lies ahead of each of us. May He keep us safe from all harm and danger!
Blessings on you — as you continue on your life’s journey,
Joni & Nangsar
🙏 Prayer Requests 🙏
- Let us continue to pray over the tragedy that is unfolding in Burma.
- The people of Burma need all the prayer support they can get right now. May God comfort those who have lost loved ones to the violence being perpetrated by the military against their own people.
- Please pray for all the pastors who have the responsibility of caring for each and every member in their congregations.
- The political divide within Burma has become very stark — especially after the recent military coup. People’s sympathies are either for the military led regime, or for the party pushing for democracy. Any remaining middle ground is quickly eroding. In spite of this — the church leaders see themselves as needing to be there for all their people. Pray that God will fill them with His Wisdom during these difficult times.
- Pray that the present civil upheaval in Burma will lead to something better.
- The people of Burma have suffered so much — for so long. They deserve something better than what they are presently experiencing. Pray that God will bring about the desired change — so that everyone can enjoy a measure of peace
