Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable Your servants to speak Your word with great boldness. (Acts 4:29)
 
Not long after Pentecost, the apostles Peter and John were hauled before the Sanhedrin and questioned about the healing of a lame beggar in the name of Jesus. The powerful Jewish leaders commanded them not to speak of Jesus again and threatened them with severe punishment if they did. 
 
After Peter and John were released, they gathered with the believers to pray. If I had been in the group, I think I would have prayed for protection. Keep us safe, Lord, from the threats of the elders and chief priests!  Instead, they prayed for boldness. They must have taken to heart Jesus’ instruction …
 
So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdomand His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  (Matthew 6:31-33)
 
Lord, help us to pray Thy kingdom come  before we pray Give us this day our daily bread.  Remind us to look beyond ourselves and pray for people who are outside Your kingdom. Help us to find, and pray, the “kingdom angle” of the issues we are already bringing to You.
 
Here are some suggestions for kingdom prayer this week:
 
Thank God that our partners in Poland, Tomasz and Kamilla Chylka, will be with us next weekend. Pray that this visit will deepen Calvary’s connection with the Chylkas. Pray that we can encourage and learn from one another.
 
Serve Day is Saturday. Lift up Linda Robins, our Serve Day coordinator, all week as she nails down the final details of each project. Pray that our service to the community in Jesus’ name on Saturday will bless the recipients, honor the Lord, and be a testimony to His loving concern for all.
 
Calvary’s high school group is participating in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine on Friday and Saturday. Pray that this experience will teach our students to empathize with those in need and inspire them to be alert all the time for ways to serve others.
 
Please remember in prayer our retired missionaries Bob and Rose Palfenier in El Paso, TX. Rose is recovering well from a stroke in November, but Bob recently fell while helping Rose and crushed a vertebra. He underwent back surgery and is currently in a rehab facility. These faithful servants are eager to return to their work for the Lord in their local church and the church they started in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. 
 
Pray for the Chinese speakers enrolled in our new ESL Bible study. Most are new immigrants and new believers. Pray that they will understand and live out the truth they are learning from the book of James. Ask the Lord to give them courage, perseverance, and progress as they struggle to learn a new language.
 
Ask the Lord to empower and prosper the work of Missions of Hope in the Mathare slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Pray for the teachers and staff of the Baba Dogo Center school as they strive to convince parents of the importance of education and thereby overcome chronic absenteeism. Pray that the students will learn their academic lessons well and also grow in their knowledge of the Lord. Remember to pray for Mary and Wallace Kamau, who lead the Missions of Hope ministry.