Streams of Prayer for 26 August 2024
The Streams of Prayer for 26 August 2024, is a circular from Wycliffe Global Alliance. Wycliffe Caribbean makes this available.
August 25, 2024 – August 31, 2024
Effectiveness and Transformation
The current theme of Streams of Prayer is Effectiveness and Transformation.
Twice a year we like to look back and celebrate how our prayers have been answered in the Bible translation movement. Together we thank God for how He graciously responds to our prayers, and we are encouraged as we consider all He has done for Alliance organisations and the communities they serve. We rejoice at how God’s Word is impacting individuals, communities and nations and how churches and partners are joining together to participate in his mission. And we are grateful for how He is transforming communities through His Spirit and His Word.
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV)
A group of Baphuthi children enjoy the food from a performance of the Feeding of the 5000 Bible story
during a Scripture engagement workshop in South Africa. Photo: Jennifer Pillinger
Global Gathering prayer team needed!
We invite you to join a team of people praying for the Global Gathering. You will receive weekly email updates from 18 September and daily updates during the Gathering. There will also be online opportunities to pray with others on Wednesday 30 October. Please let Barb Speck know if you want to sign up by contacting her at prayer@wycliffe.net.
Scripture in a region beset by tensions: Ethiopia
Over the past year, Wycliffe Ethiopia prayed earnestly for the situation in Innor where the New Testament is being translated. The area is primarily populated by people from another major religion, and Christians living there have endured significant persecution for years, with extremists burning their homes. Tensions have intensified over the past two years, especially among high school students, leading to conflicts that disrupted learning and teaching for several months. Thank the Lord that today, tensions have calmed and peace is being restored. Praise God for his intervention. Thank him that the translation of the Innor New Testament is nearly finished and people have started enjoying it. One of the translators reported that as he began to read the Gospel of Mark to his family, his mother insisted that he should continue and she expressed her immense joy and peace in hearing God’s Word in her mother tongue.
Dedication of Book of Jonah in Toba Maskoy: Paraguay
In July, LETRA Paraguay celebrated with the Toba Maskoy people the publication of Jonah, the first book of the Old Testament to be translated into their language. Jonah was published in illustrated format, with reflection and study questions to facilitate a deeper understanding of the text. Amid moments of gratitude and thanksgiving, this event was crowned with great joy and anticipation that the One who has begun the work in their community will perfect it to the end. The Toba Maskoy people look forward to receiving more of God’s Word in their language. Pray for the translation team as they continue the work. Pray for the Toba Maskoy people, that God’s Word will transform their hearts and that they will recognize God as their Creator.
Church pastors and leaders gather for Bible translation: Wycliffe Caribbean
On 29 June, 120 pastors and church leaders gathered in Kingston, Jamaica for the annual Wycliffe Caribbean breakfast. They heard updates on the work being done in the Eastern Caribbean with an oral Bible translation project about to start in four Creole languages. They also heard about progress in the Western Caribbean oral translation project, which concludes its first three years at the end of September. The church partners were introduced to the interns who are being trained to take up roles in the Bible translation movement as consultants, exegetical facilitators, and Scripture engagement facilitators. Churches in the Caribbean were invited to participate through funding and supporting God’s mission and Bible translation. The response was good, and several people gave or made pledges to partner with Wycliffe Caribbean´s work. Thank God for this opportunity that Wycliffe Caribbean had to inform and involve the church in Bible translation. Ask God’s blessing and guidance on churches as they seek to be involved in God’s mission.
Celebrating 35 years of mission service: United Kingdom
On 6 May, MissionAssist, a unique Alliance organisation, celebrated its 35th anniversary. Originally known as Wycliffe Associates (UK), MissionAssist was started in 1989. Over the years it has grown beyond the UK into a network of members across more than 30 counties, with the aim of “serving world mission from home”. Praise God for all he has done through MissionAssist, including for Bible translation movements. Pray for God’s grace over MissionAssist and its volunteers, as well as his help to continue providing practical, administrative and academic services on behalf of mission and Bible translation.
Successful song-writing workshop: Asia, Australia
Give thanks with Wycliffe Australia personnel Morgan* for the success of a recent two-day song-writing workshop with 18 participants from the Jaz* language group in Asia. Thank God for the enthusiasm and skill of the participants, and for those who helped Morgan prepare. Pray that the groups would revise and record their songs well and that the songs would clearly communicate God’s truth and love to those who hear them and sing them. Ask God to enable Morgan to do well at encouraging and equipping the Jaz people to facilitate future song and art workshops. Pray Psalm 95:1-2 over the Jaz people.
* pseudonym
Translators complete intensive Biblical Hebrew programme: Israel, Global
Thank you for ongoing prayers for the 2023-2024 graduating class of the School of Biblical Hebrew (SBH) at Whole Word Institute in Jerusalem. Students represented 15 nations and 13 language translation projects. Together with MA students, they will potentially serve more than 5 million people in multiple language communities by contributing a clearer understanding of biblical Hebrew source texts to translation projects. Praise God for helping students and instructors to complete the nine-month intensive Hebrew learning in the midst of challenges such as power outages, war, relocation to Greece and back to Israel, and even loss of loved ones. Pray for SBH graduates who will stay on in Jerusalem to continue into MA studies, such as the Consultants in Training programme. Pray also for continuing MA degree students moving on to the next level of classes. Ask God to guide their passion for helping with the translation of the Whole Bible for the whole world for his glory and for the transformation of many people’s lives.
God’s support in 48 years of service: Nigeria
On 1 July, the Nigeria Bible Translation Trust (NBTT) celebrated its 48th anniversary. Praise God for the grace and the privilege he has given NBTT to contribute to his mission. As staff looked back over the years, they saw much evidence of God’s faithfulness in good times and bad. Thank God that NBTT continues to move forward with the vision of transforming lives in Nigeria through God’s Word. Praise him for helping NBTT to conduct workshops to launch OBT projects in 47 languages. The success of these trainings testifies to answered prayer. In these target communities, the impact of the Scriptures is beginning to be felt as people hear God’s Word in their mother tongues. Glory be to God for that! Thank God that His Word is finding true meaning in the people’s hearts.
Streams of Prayer is the prayer bulletin of the Wycliffe Global Alliance.
Valrie McCarthy
Language Development Officer
Wycliffe Caribbean
7A South Avenue
Kingston 5
JAMAICA, W. I.
876 754 9334, 908 2970, 582 6592
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