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Welcome to the JoGoPray website! This name is just a way to remind me to pray more often for others. If you have request feel free to send them to us. May the Lord bless you. PRAYER PRINCIPLES FOR THE WORLD
This prayer strategy can be used for just a couple of minutes or for hours of global praying. Prayers can be for God to show His glory in a particular nation, unreached peoples or the entire world. One way to begin is with praising the Lord; recognizing His sovereignty, rule and authority in our lives and beyond. The following principles are suggestions in praying for the lost around the globe. Thank you for teaming with us to pray for and reach the world for Christ.
God bless you as you join us in praying for the world.  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight (Prov. 3:5-6).George Müller was a preacher in England during the nineteenth century who knew what it meant to live a life that was focused on knowing and doing the will of God. God led him in a walk of faith that has become an incredible testimony to all who hear his story. Whenever he lacked for something, he prayed for the resources. During his ministry in Bristol, England, George built four orphan houses to care for 2,000 children at the time. When he died at the age of 93, over 10,000 children had been provided for through his orphanages, and he had distributed over eight million dollars that had been given to him in answer to prayer. Here is how George Müller summed up the way he entered into a "heart" relationship with God and learned to discern God's word and guidance: 1) I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter.2) Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.3) I seek the will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined.4) Next, I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's will in connection with His Word and Spirit.5) I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me aright. Thus, (1) through prayer to God, (2) the study of the Word, and (3) reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly." Consider these five steps when discerning God's guidance in your life. George Müller (1805-1898) http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biorpmueller.html. It is my hope that this has encouraged you in your prayer life.Carolyn “Jo” Gower jgower@wfr.org www.wfr.org ******************************************************* Fellowship in Prayer... Pray Fervently for the Perishing
Carolyn Jo Gower, Times come when we are in desperate need of "fervent" prayer from our forever family. Years ago when our three-year-old son could not walk very far, it alarmed us. Paul’s problem became evident while walking his older brother to school; I’d have to carry him most of the way. As you can imagine, I became "fervent" in prayer for him. Since we were living away from home, I called White’s Ferry Road Church and asked for prayers for Paul to get well. I had everyone I could think of that was a strong believer in prayer, praying for us. I’m sure you all have experienced a frantic time when you didn’t want someone to just talk about prayer, but really pray for you. When tough times come, they bring home the real meaning of fervent prayer. The English dictionary defines fervent as "very hot; glowing; exhibiting or marked by great intensity of feeling." "Passion" and "zeal" are listed as two synonyms of fervor. A variety of New Testament Greek dictionaries define the word we translate into "fervently" as "eagerly, earnestly, continually, without ceasing and intently." This Greek word originally described a person stretching and straining toward a goal or an object. E. M. Bounds went so far as to write, "Fervency is the soul of prayer". Fervency does involve intensity and passion, but prayer cannot be dominated by emotions because our emotions are not dependable. Our feelings change too often, and if we prayed only when we felt like it, then it would be difficult to obey the command to "pray continually" (I Thess. 5:17). On the other hand, emotions are involved in fervent prayer. After all, our heart is involved in loving God; "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength," (Matthew 22:37). Jesus Himself did not shy away from emotion in prayer. "In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears," (Hebrew 5:7 NASB). Even though Jesus prayed loudly at times, he also prayed silently. Two Greek words are translated "weep" in John 11:33-35. In this passage, Jesus groaned in His spirit (a type of prayer) and then wept silently (dakruo) when he saw Mary and others weeping loudly (klaio) at Lazarus’ death. Fervent prayer doesn’t always show an outward display of emotions, but whether it is outwardly emotional or inwardly passionate, it is highly valued in Scripture for its effectiveness. "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much," James 5:16 (NKJ). When fervent prayer is coupled with God’s desire that no one be lost ("The Lord does not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance," 2 Peter 3:9 NIV), we can see that it is important to pray for people to be saved. Please join us in prayer for the World Radio speakers to reach the lost, all to the glory of God. Thank you for praying for and with World Radio as we partner together to fulfill the Great Commission. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…" Matt.28:18-20 (NKJ) "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." James 5:16 (NKJ)
From Prayerlessness to Prayerfulness
At five months, Caroline is a real chatterbox and wants to tell us how her day is going. She does well with “da da” and “ma ma.” However, some of her best communication happens when we see her awe and wonder at everything new. That stare as she discovers her hand brings a big grin that says loud and clear, “Wow! Look what I found GiGi!” Jesus said “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew 18:2-4. As adults, sometimes we take for granted the awe and wonder of God and the fact that we can pray at any given moment. When it comes to prayer, many people feel like a child trying to talk, struggling for the right words to pray. But prayer is simply heartfelt conversation, not because of our being worthy, but because Jesus is worthy. There is no need for a special vocabulary of flowery words or memorized church prayers, only honest, open talking with God. In our own prayer life, are we stuck with “baby-talk-praying” or not even trying to pray? Prayerfulness is not optional for Christians that want to develop into mature disciples for Christ. When followers of Christ do not show their dependence in prayer, they can end up acting like anyone else (James 4:1-10). Jesus warned His disciples about this likelihood on the night of His arrest. Jesus even paused from His own struggle in prayer on the most difficult night of His prayer life to urge His disciples to, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” (Matthew 26:41). They didn't understand. They slept instead of praying, and within a few hours, all had abandoned Him. The way to move from prayerlessness into prayerfulness is to pray. We are even commanded to be prayerful, “…faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12) and “pray continually…” (1Thessalonians 5:17). When we pray consistently, turning to God becomes the normal response that helps us to deal with daily life. Jesus is the perfect example of how crucial it is for us to be totally dependent on God through prayer. The only recorded request from the disciples for teaching was when they asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Watching Jesus’ relationship with His Father made them recognize that prayer made the difference in how Jesus accomplished the will of the Father. Scripture tells of the many times that Jesus spent alone in prayer with the Father. These prayer times prepared Him to minister to the people He encountered - hurting people who had great physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. God invites us to pray, bringing our needs to Him. Hebrews 4:16 (NLT) reads, “Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.” God listens; you’ll never get a busy signal, answering machine, or voice mail when talking to your Father. PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I thank You for loving me. Father, I come back to you with all my heart, and I admit that I am a sinner. Lord, I ask you to have mercy on me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Forgive me for neglecting You, Lord, and for being a prayerless Christian. Teach me, Lord, to be more prayerful in my walk with You. Please help me to move from prayerlessness into prayerfulness. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
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