Praying for Afghanistan: A 365 Day Global Prayer Journey - February 10 (Day 41)

Today, I am so pleased to have a guest blogger, a dear friend of mine who can tell you much more about Afghanistan that I or a book ever could - after all, she lived there for 10 years and continues to have deep relationships with people there. Please read and hear her heart for this country - I think you'll catch a glimpse of God's heart as well, for the Afghans and for His servants. My prayer follows her words.
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Years, and a blur of events that make my stomach turn, have passed since being forced to return back to America after almost a decade in Afghanistan, because of treatment for a newly diagnosed cancer.   4 years later, I am in remission and could not be more grateful for this second chance at life I've been given.  Although this last statement resonates to the very depth's of my being, it does not take away a pervasive feeling of a sort of loss.  As hard as I try, I can't seem to fit in here.  My experiences over the last 15 years, in addition to joining the millions of cancer patients, has left me feeling as if I am now wandering in the desert in a land once known, now foreign.  This place, America, doesn't feel like my home anymore. 

Life here in America is not what it once was almost 15 years ago when I first went overseas.  I have found myself in a the land of 'Between'.   Between what was(Afghanistan) and what one day will be (Heaven).  Through days, weeks and years, I have come to accept that one of the reasons why I am back in America.  In His GOODNESS, I have been brought to a place of rest and new life;  water is available, power is on 24 hours a day and my health is no longer being taxed by a slew of chemicals being thrown into the grounds eventually landing in my well.  Here, I am more desperate for God because this place is not what it once was; the familiar.  Here, in the land between, is where I am forced to reach out to God again.  My time in Afghanistan was filled with miracle upon miracle day after day, year upon year.  After many seasons there, I had become a bit complacent, perhaps.  Why He chose to protect me from kidnappings, executions, bombings and then cancer to later re-learn to reach out in desperation is beyond my understanding but it does say that God is determined for me to reflect Him in every way.  A life of redundancy, even Holy, doesn't necessarily reflect Him.  

He is also teaching me through a miracle I never thought I would see;  my identical twin's new baby twin daughters (a mouthful of more miracle's).  Somehow through seeing them interact with their world anew has reminded me that God is ever teaching my weathered soul that life with Him is always changing, never stagnant.  He is good and perfect in all His ways even when some of those ways often remain a mystery.  I am seeing anew that it doesn't matter where I serve Him, but that I am being radically obedient and listening intentionally to Jesus wherever that is.  

How can you pray for God's ways in Afghanistan;  pray for those that live and work there.  Pray for their souls to be easily moved by His Spirit minute by minute.  If these things are taking place then the obvious next thing will happen;  radiant spirits, against a drop back of darkness, to be the catalysts for change in Afghans lives that no one could ever predict.  And pray that the seeds that have already been planted in fertile hearts will grow.

In the midst of an ever-changing world, these words from a dear friend in Afghanistan have stayed with me:

O God...
Fortify me
For the unexpected
And the unexplained.
Amid the things that change
Keep clear and dear
To me
The things that remain.
Give me faith
To face the future
Unafraid
In the knowledge
That nothing can separate me
From Your love.
-John M. Dreshcer

May the things that always remain be kept clear and dear to our hearts wherever we find our home.
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My prayer for today: Oh Lord, my heart is burdened so for Afghanistan - and also so eager because I know how much You have been at work there. I think of the stories of Afghan believers I've heard - of their faithfulness and their love and their practical demonstrations of Your love for others. Oh Lord, guide them. Keep them close to You, and give them incredible wisdom as they move forward in faith against the gates of hell that must seem oh so close to home. We pray Lord that You will raise up churches - in homes or in buildings - anyplace where believers can gather and fellowship with others Lord. So many are isolated. Equip them to fight the good fight together. Provide Scripture in all the main languages of Afghanistan and provide other Christian resources to help equip the leaders. Lord we recall that Paul himself asked for deliverance from evil and perverse men. Please deliver the Afghan believers, so that they can more effectively and consistently reach their country for You. Oh Lord, be a strong tower throughout Afghanistan. Be the stronghold and help to the believers there. Be magnified in the Afghan church.Help them know that nothing can separate them from Your love. In Jesus' name, amen.

Praying for Afghanistan: A 365 Day Global Prayer Journey - February 9 (Day 40)

Today marks a significant transition in our journey. Over the past 5 1/2 weeks we have gotten a "fly-over" view of the world and a quick "boat-level" view of the continents. Hopefully the previous 39 days were helpful to you in establishing the habit of daily prayer for the nations, beneficial in familiarizing you with the approach of Operation World, and educational in helping you learn some missions "lingo".

Beginning today, we're taking an in-depth look at each country (defined as political entities) in the world. What should you expect? I can guarantee that as you participate fully in this prayer journey, you will be encouraged and challenged, excited and overwhelmed - often in the same day. You will rejoice and you will weep. You will ask "Why?" and you will say "Wow!". If you listen with your heart, you will definitely hear the wind of the Spirit blowing across the world. And maybe, just maybe, you will hear God's call in some specific way to pray regularly, give sacrificially, or go radically to one of these countries - and you will respond as Isaiah: "Here I am, send me."

Our prayer time together may look a little different from this point forward. We will have to cover a lot more ground on a given day by the very nature of the way Operation World is structured (covering all topics in a day or two instead of having several days for them). As a result, my prayers may reflect certain emphases God has put on my own heart. As I noted in the introductory blog post for this journey, the prayers I write here will be the prayers I've prayed. This is where our group approach can be truly beneficial. I strongly urge you to post your own prayers or at least a sentence or two stating what God impressed on your heart. We have much to learn from each other!

Along those lines -- sometimes our prayer journey will have a special "guest" - a prayer video from PrayerCast or, on occasion, someone with firsthand knowledge of the country we are praying for. [Side note: If you live in or have served in a specific country, please let me know in a private message or email. I would be very interested in considering you for a future guest post.]  As with my prayers, these videos/guest posts are not to take the place of our own personal prayer times for the country of the day. Instead, they are to supplement the material in Operation World, to help it come "alive" to us.

Please read "Afghanistan" on pages 89-93, then return here to watch the PrayerCast video for Afghanistan. This will serve as our prayer together for this first day of prayer for Afghanistan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o584szozc74&feature=player_embedded