Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures …wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds …Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted. (Psalm 148:7-10,13)

Outside our first-floor hotel room was a row of bushes that provided a nightly roosting spot for a flock of house sparrows. Every evening as the sun set, the sparrows raised a noisy, twittering chorus. Every morning as darkness lightened to dawn, the sparrow choir sang again. Were they praising the Lord, I wondered?  Scripture suggests they may have been. Christian writer Dean Ohlman concludes, “In some mysterious way, all living creatures – in their own natures – have a capacity to respond to their Creator.” If sparrows praise God, how much more should we, creatures made in His image, begin and end each day with praise!
 
Here are suggested prayer topics for this week:
 
1.  Pray for those being baptized next Sunday. May they feel the Lord’s pleasure in this step of obedience and may they experience His protection from the resentful attacks of the enemy.
 
2.  It is a sobering thought to realize that our disobedience and indifference can grieve God 's Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 4:30)  Ask Him this week how you have grieved Him, then repent.

3.  Vacation Bible School is only five weeks away. The VBS leadership team asks that we pray for the children who will be attending, asking the Lord to prepare their hearts to receive the message He has for them at VBS. Pray that each child will see, hear, and feel the love of Jesus at Calvary through every VBS worker.
 
4.  Lord, whom do I take for granted? Take an inventory of the people in my life and show me whom I fail to properly appreciate. Show me also how to express appreciation to them.
 
5.  Continue to lift up our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ in the Middle East and Africa. Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)  Pray also for the Islamic terrorists who are the persecutors, asking the Lord to radically transform some of the Sauls into Pauls.
 
In Christ,
Carol Gilbert, Prayer Chair
Calvary Community Church of Brea