Prayer Guardians

[Hephzibah]

Hello everyone!! It is my great pleasure to announce the opening of Prayer Guardians, a group dedicated to praying for CAA members. We are still in the developing stages of this group, but if you feel led to join this group, please dont hesitate. There is really one main requirement for joining PG, and that is that you have to have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

Here are some guidelines that we have come up with to help keep PG an effective prayer team.

1) Don't put others down. It is easy to condemn but not so easy to build others up, which is what we are aiming to do
2) Write down prayer requests so you dont forget to pray (<- suggestion)
3) Remember that you are ambassadors for Christ (treat others with respect; dont swear; try not to get into arguments...)
4) Dont be afraid to fast if you feel led (doesn't have to be food and drink... it could be TV/comp time)
5) If you say 'I'll pray for you", mean it
6) Praying in tongues is fine, but if you promise to pray for someone keep them in mind while doing it
7) Please, no short posts / spamming. This was the only requirement put on us by the mods. If you want to let someone know that you are praying for them, but cant think of anything else to say but "'Ill pray", then maybe consider writing a short prayer along with it.


Also, if the member requesting for prayer support is comfortable with it (please dont if your not), feel free to say your first name / nick. This way the prayer people wont have to say "Lord, please help superanimeman123" (quoting Syreth )

We will be starting up a thread that shall have a few tips for praying / fasting, as well as some Bible verses related to praying. We are also thinking about having a day a month that we all fast something.

O, and if you do join this group please dont feel that you cant post any prayer requests. On the contrary, talk to your team mates. after all, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them"

Also, if you want anymore information, feel free to PM me or go to Here

[CreatureArt]

I'm in.

I think this is an awesome idea, and that it will help support those who ask for prayer in the CAA.

[Jaltus-bot]

*excitedly anxious* How do I join?!? I want in!

We don't have to post on every request do we? Cause I'm a little more into lurking these days.

[Syreth]

Count me in. I'm definately excited to see what God wants to do. Let's be faithful in our intercession for one another.

[jazz]

yay!!! i'd like to be part of this too. it's a really great idea, thank you... um, what do i do now?....

[Hephzibah]

yay!
Ok, to answer some questions...

*excitedly anxious* How do I join?!? I want in!

We don't have to post on every request do we? Cause I'm a little more into lurking these days.

No, you dont have to post on every request. I will probably be getting all the requests updated within the last day or so and putting them up here in a summarised version.. We have yet to decide whether we will be dolling out requests, but until we decide just pick the ones you feel led to pray for.

yay!!! i'd like to be part of this too. it's a really great idea, thank you... um, what do i do now?....

Pray!!
Ok, I'll go dash off and get the requests.
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Noodles - Dad lost his job and has become really lazy and judgemental; tearing the family apart

CreatureArt - Her mum has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Lately she has been getting alot better, but pray that she doesn't have a relapse, and also pray that CA will continue to trust in the Lord for everything

Yahshua - Starting a new school semester, is stressed and has a bad headache

Christians in Philadelphia were arrested for preaching the gospel + saying how homosexuality is wrong. I dont know the whole details of this, as there are conflicting reports over whether or not the Christians were provoking the homosexuals.

Hitokiri - Lost his friend to an OD. Everyone was in shock, but thankfully God is beginning to work in the situation. The mother is extremely thankful for the prayers so far

Kisatohru - Grandad has asbestos related cancer. Pray that he doesn't suffer, and that the family can cope

ct girl - Having suicidal thoughts and has cut. Lately, she has been feeling alot better, but continue to pray for her that she willcontinue to trust God and grow closer to Him.

kaemmerite - Having personal problems. Hasn't explained further

heero yuy 95 - Having hentai problems. He has given it up, but is still having urges to look it up. Pray that Jesus will give him the strength to say no

Joan of arc - Mother is suffering from alot of illnesses, and to top it off she fell over the other day and now cant walk properly
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Struth! That was alot O.O They were only the ones updated yesterday and today. Sorry if I missed out on your thread.


O, btw, so far the leaders of this group are myself and Syreth. There is another person who is currently praying over becoming one, so at most we will have three main leaders until this group gets bigger

[Sphinx Rien]

Can I be a part of this?

[Mave]

Excellent idea, Talame! It's great to have you getting the ball rolling in something as important as this.

I would be more than honored to join this group. Pls count me in.

7) Please, no short posts / spamming. This was the only requirement put on us by the mods. If you want to let someone know that you are praying for them, but cant think of anything else to say but "'Ill pray", then maybe consider writing a short prayer along with it.

Quick question, how short is short? I occasionally do the "I'll pray" thing and only do so to let the requestor know I read through their request and will pray for them.

[Rogie]

Sorry for posting so late; I've been out of town. But you already knew that I'm in, too.

Quick question, how short is short? I occasionally do the "I'll pray" thing and only do so to let the requestor know I read through their request and will pray for them.

If I may answer this for you, Mave, I also had the same concerns. I also put "I'll pray" if I have nothing important to add to the thread other than the fact and assurance that I am praying. So, I suppose instead of just stating "I'll pray" from now on, we should make our sentences longer or add a word of encouragement or a smily (like my fave, the thumbs up .) See the Spiritual Warfare thread in the Prayer Room to see my conversation with Talame regarding the situation.

I hope that makes some sense, especially since I myself am still struggling with how the short replies are that much of a problem (as you are, Mave). Only if a person is obviously spamming and never posting anything more substantial than a ton of "I'll pray"'s (unlike you and me) would I constitute it ever becoming a problem.

[Hephzibah]

Basically what rogie_san said Our conversation about it is on page 4 if I remember correctly (posts 32 - 34)

Also, here is a sig that our lovely CreatureArt made If anyone has any webspace, would you mind hosting it for us?

anyway, welcome to PG everyone! I'll try to keep the prayer requests updated.

[Rogie]

I can maybe post the sig on my Geocities account (I'm not really using it for a website, just for image hosting ). I'll let you know how it goes when I check on it by editing this post.

EDIT: Okay, all done, and it didn't take as long as I thought! Below is the link for the image:

Click here for the Prayer Guardians sig!

Hope it all works okay! Let me know if there are problems.

[Hephzibah]

Yay! Thanks Rogie Its working great!

Rightyo, now I have a question for you all. Would you feel comfortable setting aside a day in the month to fast? I think that fasting goes hand-in-hand with praying and spiritual breakthroughs, and will myself be fasting atleast one day a month.

[Syreth]

I'm definately up for a fast once a month, and I agree that it does go hand-in-hand with prayer (Jesus said, "This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting"). It's an opportunity that I've overlooked many times in my walk and this will be a neat chance to excercise that spiritual discipline.

[CreatureArt]

I agree also - Fasting is something I definitely have been missing out on, also. I would agree to setting aside a day per month for fasting.

It probably doesn't matter a huge lot - but time zoning? I know I'm ahead a day of a lot of members on CAA, especially those in the States and Europe. I could fast a day 'afterward' in order to be fasting on the same day. Like I said, it doesn't matter overmuch - the main thing is the fasting - but I would like to be fasting on the same day/(night ) as you all.

Thanks for hosting the banner, Rogie-San, and for calling me lovely, Talame. ^_^

[Hephzibah]

I can see it animating
Anyway, as for fasting on the same day as everyone. I would be fasting the same day as you! *hugs NZ pal*
I dont think time differences matter that much, but if you want we could figure out times that everyone can fast and still be fasting at the exact same time (does that make sense? )

[CreatureArt]

That would be AWESOME if we could work out the time zones to fast at approximately the same time. We'd have to try and find a time where the least amount of people are getting up early/staying up late, though. I for one don't really mind getting up early. I'm usually quite a morning person.

s Aussie pal back. Yep, it makes sense.

God bless you all, and have a good night/day/evening/morning, wherever you be.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

ill join!

[Rogie]

I've actually never fasted before, but I would be willing to try it out one day each month. I know someone mentioned fasting from the Internet, but with school I probably couldn't do that . Of course, I could fast from watching anime or something for a day (even though fasting from anime seems pretty trivial ).

Oh, and I like how you put a link to this thread under your PG banner, Creature Art! I'll go do that right now.

And, finally, can I ask how we're organizing the prayer right now? I'll be reading every prayer request in the Prayer Room by the end of today and responding to most of them, as I always do. Since Talame and CA are a day ahead (I think I got that right), I guess we'll all be staggering our replies every now and then, huh?

[jazz]

i agree. just thought i'd share my thoughts... about fasting, that is. i agree that it's a great idea to fast at least one day a month. yay!

[Hephzibah]

I've actually never fasted before, but I would be willing to try it out one day each month. I know someone mentioned fasting from the Internet, but with school I probably couldn't do that . Of course, I could fast from watching anime or something for a day (even though fasting from anime seems pretty trivial ).

Oh, and I like how you put a link to this thread under your PG banner, Creature Art! I'll go do that right now.

And, finally, can I ask how we're organizing the prayer right now? I'll be reading every prayer request in the Prayer Room by the end of today and responding to most of them, as I always do. Since Talame and CA are a day ahead (I think I got that right), I guess we'll all be staggering our replies every now and then, huh?

It depends how important the thing you're fasting is to you. For example, I could fast the TV and not be affected a jot, cause i dont watch that much. However, if I were to fast the comp I would be forced to do something else with my day, like pray

Anyway, prayer. We have yet to decide whether we are going to be splitting into small groups and giving each group specific requests, though they are free to choose more if they feel led (requires a fair bit of organisation, but if pulled off right it ensures everyone is prayed for), or stick with the free-for-all type prayer, which doesn't require that much organisation.
Which one would you guys like to see in action?

[Syreth]

So far, as members go, we have:

Talame
CreatureArt
Joan of Arc
Syreth
jazz
Sphinx Rien
Mave
rogie_san
Mr. SmartyPants

Which makes a total of nine people. Excellent. Perhaps it might be best at this point to have us all pray individually for requests, rather than splitting up into groups. Any thoughts on this? I just figure it might be a good idea to do this since we're just starting out.

For now, I would ask everyone to try to pray at least once a day for the recent requests in the prayer room. Also some other prayer needs we might keep in mind:

the spiritual warfare on these fronts:
-everyone who is having a spiritual struggle at work/school
-everyone who is having a spiritual struggle in regards to sexual purity
-everyone who is struggling with depression
-any spiritual issues the people who run CAA might be facing
in fact, it would be good to pray for these one by one
-pray for anyone who is a member of CAA to come to the Lord that hasn't already
-pray for all of us who are praying to be honest and open with God
**These all-inclusive prayers are important, since there are probably many people here having struggles that we don't know about that they might be afraid to say or perhaps they don't even realize they have a problem.

-pray for your home country, wherever it might be
-pray that the Lord of the harvest would send workers into the field

-praise the Lord for the endless list of things that He has done for us all, including the most important: sending His Son to die for our sins.
**Praising God is vitally important (quoting Talame). Let's respond to God's love for us with praise and thanksgiving.

Hope this helps give you guys ideas. If you would like to change anything I said, Talame, please don't be afraid to say so, or add anything you would like. Everyone post anything you might thing it would be a good idea to pray for.

As a side-note, something I've been struggling within myself lately (and something that I could use prayer for), is being honest with God. What I mean is not saying ANYTHING out of pretense or fakeness, if you will, but being completely honest and open before Him. I'm really challenged by the idea of "not flattering God," so to speak. I guess that's just something that I've been considering, especially in times of praise and even making little "deals" and "promises" with God.

Also, allow God to search your heart when you pray (just saying this as a reminder). Do your best to make sure there is no unconfessed sin in your heart. Keep that essential channel of prayer open.

Sorry for that extra long post. Thanks for reading! ^^

[bbboy21]

ALright....................maybe I would join.....but I'm afraid i may mess up >.<

[Syreth]

ALright....................maybe I would join.....but I'm afraid i may mess up >.<

Don't be afraid to mess up. There's always mercy in things like these, especially in prayer. more prayer is better than less prayer. Just as long as you're not out to put people down and be destructive, you know what I mean? You're more than welcome to join if you feel led.

[CreatureArt]

I second that, Syreth. Bboy - you are more than welcome to join.

Going back toward the group situation: I agree, praying induvidually is cool, but perhaps setting up some groups for fellowship and support? So that we can keep in touch (PMs?) and encourage one another - plus get advice in prayer, with difficulties, etc.

Perhaps, also, we could send around a reguar PM with the updated, summarised prayer requests. Maybe split into two parts - like General (which perhaps could remain constant pretty much the same and be like Syreth posted above) and Specific (induvidual user) prayer requests. Because if we did prayer request posts in a thread, it can be hard to find if suddenly a conversation picks up. Perhaps the leaders could work out a kind of roster for that and send it around the groups?

That brings up a problem, though - do we want to send out constant new PMs every day or couple of hours?
A solution to that could be a thread starter where the first post is just edited as new requests come in, providing a nice, more up-to-date table for those who log in more often. It could be formatted for easy reading and printed out as a prayer guide. Perhaps that could include the General prayers instead of the PM updates?

Sorry about the long post. I'll post a quick sum-up, in case (like happens to me) anyone's had the plot disappear in the midst of large paragraphs.

1) Though perhaps not yet praying for types of prayer requests, perhaps groups could still be set up for support, fellowship, advice and help.

2) Creation of a regular PM sent out at intervals to PGs with Specific prayer requests. What sort of intervals? Leaders take charge of?

3) Thread with a starting post that is edited to contain up-to-date summarised prayer request info. Containing General, unspecific prayer requests?


What does everyone think? Any problems/ additions/ subtractions/ improvements/ comments/ etc. ?

[Syreth]

I'm all for groups, if you guys would like to get that going right away. I like both the PM idea and the thread starter idea. Which do you think would be easier to do?

As for me, however, I probably won't be able to get on the internet every day while I'm at college, so I wouldn't be able to make request updates and praise reports daily. There's a chance I might be able to get my own access to the internet at college, but I don't have my own as of now, I would have to borrow my friend's laptop.

[Hephzibah]

Which makes a total of nine people. Excellent. Perhaps it might be best at this point to have us all pray individually for requests, rather than splitting up into groups. Any thoughts on this? I just figure it might be a good idea to do this since we're just starting out.

Fair enough. There aren't enough people as of yet to make forming groups effective.

Thread with a starting post that is edited to contain up-to-date summarised prayer request info. Containing General, unspecific prayer requests?

Good idea. Also, rogie_san has kindly offered to be in charge of updating the prayer request list. He is currently awaiting mod approval to restart the request thread.

These all-inclusive prayers are important, since there are probably many people here having struggles that we don't know about that they might be afraid to say or perhaps they don't even realize they have a problem.

Another good idea Syreth. I can think of one thing that can be changed, though (only minor), and that is change 'spiritual struggle at school' to 'spiritual struggle at school and/or work' ]
-praise the Lord for the endless list of things that He has done for us all, including the most important: sending His Son to die for our sins. [/QUOTE]
This, I think, is vitally important.
In fact, its one of the steps in the ACTS way of praying:

A - Adoration; express your love for the Lord
C - Confession; Be honest with God
T - Thanksgiving; Remember to thank Him, not only for the good times but also for the bad
S - Supplication (prayer); for yourself or for others.

As a side-note, something I've been struggling within myself lately (and something that I could use prayer for), is being honest with God.

I've been experiencing the same thing for quite awhile. Maybe another general prayer request is that all of the PGs remain faithful and effective in their prayer.

Edit:
O! Something i was meaning toa sk you guys to pray for me about. I (hopefully) am finding out tomorrow if I get into a uni course I really want to get into. If I dont get into it, I dont really know what I am going to be doing cause things have been hectic recently (moving, finding new church etc) and I haven't come up with a back-up plan. Could you pray that I will trust in Jesus no matter what happens? Thanks

[Syreth]

though (only minor), and that is change 'spiritual struggle at school' to 'spiritual struggle at school and/or work' ]
Excellent idea.

I've been experiencing the same thing for quite awhile. Maybe another general prayer request is that all of the PGs remain faithful and effective in their prayer.

That sounds like a good idea as well. *changes post*

Edit:
O! Something i was meaning toa sk you guys to pray for me about. I (hopefully) am finding out tomorrow if I get into a uni course I really want to get into. If I dont get into it, I dont really know what I am going to be doing cause things have been hectic recently (moving, finding new church etc) and I haven't come up with a back-up plan. Could you pray that I will trust in Jesus no matter what happens? Thanks

I'll be praying for you. May the Lord guide your steps day by day so that you will end up in the place that He wants you to be. I also pray that He'll give you peace about this, since it is easy to be overwhelmed sometimes by these big decisions, especially with moving and changing churches. That sounds like the potential for a very hectic situation.

[Rogie]

Hoo-boy, these long days at school on Tuesday can result in a lot of updates around here!

Anyway, as for an update on the Prayer List that Talame mentioned, I am still awaiting mod approval, but as soon as (and, of course, IF) I do, I'll get started on it, and I'll try to PM the current members when I get it posted.

If we do get that prayer list started, do you think we should always keep a roster of PG members at the bottom or in a second post to that thread that can be updated consistently with the prayer list?

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. And I'm praying for you, Talame!

[CreatureArt]

I'm praying for you, too Talame. May God pave the ways before you - go ahead of you and smooth the road ahead. May he make clear signs for you to follow, and, all the while, may he walk beside you every step.

A roster of current PG members seems like a good idea to me.
Sweet... looks like things are coming all swimmingly. Praise God. .

[Hephzibah]

Thanks guys! Those prayers are very appreciated.
Also, Rogie-san (I feel like a Japanese school girl every time I say that O.O), the member list is an excellent idea. Also a separate list of the leaders, or PGs that people can contact if they are interested or have a question.


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Edit: Btw, I just recieved word that CA has decided to become a leader! So, as of now our leaders are:
Talame
Syreth
CreatureArt.

As the numbers increase, I will be asking more people to become leaders