Displaying items by tag: Praise

99-year-old Captain Tom Moore pledged to walk 100 laps of his garden just after hip surgery - and just before his 100th birthday (on 30 April) - to raise money for the NHS. He captured the hearts of the nation and raised over £28million for hospital sleep pods and ‘wobble rooms’ where staff can release emotions after a traumatic experience. Wellbeing packs for staff, described as ‘Hug Boxes’, provide mental health support for staff and volunteers involved in dealing with the pandemic. Electronic tablets will be available for patients in isolation, enabling contact with families. The money raised will go to NHS Charities Together. Later in the year Captain Tom will be awarded a Pride Of Britain Award at an awards ceremony.

Poorer school children could lose out when lessons are being taught online. Now disadvantaged teenagers will be able to borrow laptops to help them study at home while schools are closed. The Department of Education is supporting 180 free online lessons for primary and secondary pupils through to year 10 with laptops or tablets for those without access to a computer, taking the pressure off parents who have children at home.

The Luis Palau Association produces a website and social media, Hope with God. It is a growing community that shares the Gospel through targeted ads and daily encouragement. Hope with God is seen by an average of 36,000 people each month, indicating a commitment to Jesus Christ through this platform. The team has seen that the number of decisions to trust and hope in the Lord has more than doubled since the Covid-19 outbreak began.

‘Praise God for the compassion and creativity that survivors of bonded-labour and sex-trafficking are showing within their own communities in this season. We are so impressed by many of the survivors we serve who have overcome heart-breaking violence as they offer to distribute food aid, sew face masks, or do anything else they can to help others who are less fortunate. It has been a great surprise and delight for IJM staff to see these women and men grow in leadership and empowerment this way. Pray for their ongoing health and safety, and for God to bless their outreach within their communities.’

Coronavirus dominates our headlines, but we can make the conscious choice to lift our eyes from the headlines and fix them on Jesus. Even in all the uncertainty we know no sickness, quarantine or fear can diminish his beauty and worth, nor can they silence our worship. He reigns! All things are under His feet: sin, death, viruses, everything! For a video to remind us of these eternal truths and lead us in prayer, see In the midst of uncertainty, sickness and death, the best thing we can turn our eyes to is Jesus, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. To help you worship, click the ‘More’ button.

The Lighthouse Medical Mission landed in Venezuela in March to provide medical attention and distribute 3,000 meals daily. Johnny took pictures and translated. He was appalled by stories of dead family members and the squalor people lived in. Johnny said, ‘While the doctors saw patients, the pastors and lay leaders were praying for people, many of whom got healed even before they received medical attention. Because witchcraft is widely practised in the region, several people were delivered from demonic spirits. They practise witchcraft and spiritism because of their circumstances. They are reaching out for help. But when we came to them with the gospel, they were open.’ He added, ‘We were swarmed by people. They were grabbing us crying, “Pray for me. Pray for me.”’ Johnny was staggered by what he saw.

American food stores are offering early-morning ‘senior hours’ to vulnerable shoppers during the pandemic. Recently, nearly 3,000 shoppers taking advantage of these hours at 44 Atlanta Kroger stores were surprised when actor-filmmaker and local resident Tyler Perry paid for their food. He also paid the bills for vulnerable people at 29 Winn-Dixies in New Orleans, where he was raised. Then, over the weekend, he gave £16,825 to bless 42 out-of-work servers at his favourite restaurant, giving each of them £400. The media advertised his actions and Tyler used Facebook to challenge his followers: ‘I dare you to still yourself and listen to this song. This has been my prayer and meditation.’ The song was the live version of Bethel Music’s ‘It Is Well.’

Papa Jörg, an intercessor-evangelist in Hamburg, prays for ‘Ahmad’, a friend of an Iranian believer that Papa Jörg led to faith in Jesus and regularly prays for. At the beginning of March Ahmad had a lung infection and passed out in an Iranian hospital. He had COVID-19 and was put on life support. The Iranian doctors said there was nothing else to be done but pray. So Papa Jörg prayed. Every day he recorded his prayers for Ahmad over WhatsApp and sent them to his friend. On the 17th day, he received a message that he was recovering, and two days later Ahmad was healed of COVID-19. ‘Do the Iranian doctors know that we Christians prayed for Ahmad?’ Papa Jörg asked. ‘Yes’, replied his friend, ‘I sent your message to him every day, and Ahmad’s sister told everyone’. For other stories of hope, click the ‘More’ button.

A nursing home in Washington had an outbreak of Covid-19. 34 residents died and a further 101 had the virus. 90-year-old Geneva Wood was recovering from a stroke. A few days before she was to return home, the disease struck and the centre went on lockdown. Then Geneva caught Covid-19. While she was alone in isolation one night she thought she was dying. ‘I could feel God’s presence. His hands were on my body and I could feel His presence and I would wake up and I could feel these hands and I would go back to sleep. Through the night, I would wake up, I couldn’t see His face, but I could feel His hands and I knew He was with me and I made it through the night. My faith in God, my family, and the church’s prayers pulled me through.’

As the impact of coronavirus increases we hear of ‘tsunami waves’ of patients filling hospitals, however there is also a ‘tsunami of prayer’ flooding the nation. Many are saying that we are probably experiencing a level of sustained prayer not seen since WW2. Our homes, home groups, prayer groups, and church congregations are meeting online to pray. There are reports coming from Scotland that home groups who used to meet weekly or fortnightly are now praying together online every evening; churches are holding online morning or evening prayer sessions, with attendance two or three times higher than their usual prayer meetings. Church leaders are experimenting with connecting in new and innovative ways to pray. Globally there is united prayer being generated across every time zone See