40 Days of Prayer and Fasting 2006 - Day 15

Focus: What does it mean to finish well?
By Chris Guillebeau, Anastasis

Scripture Reference:

“I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” -Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT)

Devotional:

On the Anastasis, our focus is on living for the present moment each day we are in Liberia.

This week, the Church Empowerment team is preparing to host our first-ever Church Leaders’ Conference in the interior of Liberia. For more than two years, pastors have asked over and over, “When can you leave Monrovia and work more upcountry?” The answer is, “Now we can.”


Thanks to our Community Development team, Royesville Central School now has a new roof. More importantly, it has a new community of students, teachers, and leaders. Can you imagine returning to primary school after being away for 12 years? That’s exactly what’s happening in Liberia right now.

More than 1,100 patients have received life-changing surgery since the ship’s arrival in March 2005. More than 550 more will be helped before we leave in May.

Finishing well means working hard, but it also means keeping our focus. With unlimited needs and limited resources, we also need God’s wisdom to make good decisions. For the next 90 days on the Anastasis, that’s what we’ll be doing – staying the course, straining to reach the end of the race, and finishing well.

Prayer Points:

* Pray for the crew of the Anastasis, that they will finish the race with joy, determined to leave a legacy of Rebuilding Hope in Liberia.

* Pray for the Church Leaders’ Conference being held from April 17-20 in Gbanga, about four hours from Monrovia. The theme of the conference is “The Church as a Change Agent in Society.”

* Pray for Liberians struggling without electricity, running water, or adequate sewage facilities. The new government has promised bright hope for the future, but the present situation is still dire.