I heard a story once of a group of missionaries in South America somewhere around the 1950's. This group of missionaries were dedicated to taking the Gospel to remote Indian tribes in the jungle. However, the organization was seeing a huge need for a plane since it sometimes took up to 3 weeks to hike in or out of these tribes.
One day a plane was made available for purchase, but the selling price was $20,000. The organization had no money saved up for the purchase, and they only had a two week window of time before the plane would be sold to someone else.
The leadership group of about ten men instantly began to pray. After a couple hours of prayer they took a short break and one of the men said, "Thank God it wasn't only $2,000 that we needed." Many of the other men looked at him shocked. One man responded, "Why? Two thousand dollars seems much more feasible for us!" "Exactly," the first man replied, "If we only needed $2,000 then we would be spending our time figuring out how we can raise it. But since we need $20,000, all we can do is pray. Only God can accomplish a task like this in this amount of time." Because of God's provision, two weeks later the plane was theirs.
That is similar to how we feel with the task of seeing God raise up a team of financial partners for the ministry we will be doing in Romania. It is a God sized task. I see such similarity in the passage from 2 Corinthians 1:8-11. Paul had been through tons of hardships on his journeys and writes, "For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many." Paul and his companions arrived to the point where they felt they would surely die. God allowed them to get to this point so that they would trust in Him alone and place all of their hope in Him alone. The Corinthians joined Paul and his companion's through prayer, and as God delivered them they were all mutually encouraged because they all saw God at work.
This month we are asking people to join with us in prayer all 31 days of July that every day God would stir one more of His children to financially partner with this ministry totaling 31 partners in 31 days. May this month be about more than just God building up this ministry's partners, may it be about encouraging the body of Christ to place their hope and trust in God alone. Please be praying each day this month that God would be working in His children's hearts and stirring them to listen and obey His voice.
PRAISE THE LORD!
Although it is still the last day in June, we already have seen God begin to answer your prayers! We had one new partner join our team over the weekend after our newsletter was sent out. May God receive all the praise and glory this month because this request would be impossible for men but not for God.
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