God … is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers and at all times …  (Romans 1:9-10)

In many of his letters, Paul told the recipients that he was praying for them. Sometimes, such as in his letter to the Ephesians, he told them how he was praying for them. What an encouragement it must have been to those believers to know that Paul was lifting them in prayer to the Lord!

You may not consider yourself a spiritual giant in the same league as Paul. Never mind! You prayers will certainly encourage others. As you pray through the blog each week, consider letting someone know you’re praying by sending a card or e-mail. You can find contact information on CCB, a password-protected part of Calvary’s website. If you are not yet a CCB user, click “Sign Up” on the lower left part of the sign-in page. Once logged in, click on the “People Search” icon on the left side, just above the heart.
 
Here are suggested prayer topics for this week:
 

1.  Pray for those who are working hard this week to prepare for Family Camp, which begins August 1.
 
2.  Lift up Andrew Mahler as he begins his full-time position with Calvary as Pastor of Student Ministries. Ask the Lord to guide him as he balances his time among the junior high, high school, and college programs. Also ask Him to direct Andrew to the right people to fill a few openings on the leadership team.
 
3.  An important prayer request from Jim Hatcher, our GEM missionary in Vienna: “At least three people on our field here in Austria, including Lynette, have received notification that they will be required to pay into the Austrian social security, or pension, system. This appears to be in violation of an international treaty to avoid double taxation, since we already pay Social Security in the US. If this decision were to stand, it would eventually be applied to all of us, and the costs (25% of gross income, possibly going back several years) would make it difficult to continue in ministry. We need your prayers as we consult advisors and talk with the authorities. While the threat of this decision has hung over our heads for about two years, I have always been optimistic that it would not stand. I continue to believe that this decision by the Austrian authorities is not correct, but we will need help, both human and divine, to ward it off.”
 
4.  Bring your fellow Christians in northern Nigeriabefore the heavenly throne as they endure attacks by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram. Here’s a chilling description from an article in the July 25 edition of World magazine:The militants fatally shot [34-year-old Micah’s] wife and butchered Micah with a machete. He survives with a missing right arm, a badly damaged left arm, and five motherless children. When asked how Christians could pray for him, his immediate reply: “Pray that I will stand fast.”
 
In Christ,
Carol Gilbert, Prayer Chair
Calvary Community Church of Brea