Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 19, 2026

 August 19 -- John 4: 22-30 "You worship what you do not know, we worship what we know; for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.' The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.' Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am he.' Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, 'What do you seek?' or, 'Why are you talking with her?' So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people,'Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?' They went out of the town and were coming to him. 

Prayer focus for today: Pray today that Christians everywhere will worship in spirit and in truth. Pray for someone you know who doesn't know Jesus to be willing to "lay it all down" and follow Him. Is your walk with Christ going cold?  Pray today to be refreshed by the living water and tell others about Him today. The Samaritan woman had a life-changing encounter with Jesus, we're praying today we will all have the same. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 18, 2026

 August 18 -- John 4: 15-21 "The woman said to him, 'Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.'  Jesus said to her, 'Go, call your husband, and come here.' The woman answered him, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You are right in saying, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.' The woman said to him, 'Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father."

Prayer focus to today: On the surface, today's scripture seems like just another conversation between two people. The Samaritan woman is eager to ask Jesus to give her this life-giving water, but He doesn't just give it to her, He gently and honestly helps her see her true need, which is repentance from sin and turning to faithfully following Him. In the piece of the conversation we are studying today, we see her understanding of 'religious' things, but she doesn't yet grasp the "Big Picture". How often do we follow this same path with Christ. We like what we hear about eternal life in Heaven, but we don't really want to mess with the "little details" here on earth. We want to continue living our lives as see fit then 'hope' for better things to come just because we are a "good" person. 

Pray today for true repentance and the freedom that only comes through Jesus Christ. Many in this world today "hope" things get better in their lives, but they aren't willing to make any changes in themselves. Pray today that each of us would see our lives clearly, just as Jesus was showing the Samaritan woman. Only then will true freedom and LIFE come. (It's not easy, but sooooooo worth it!)

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 17, 2026

 August 17 -- John 4: 8-14 "(For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, 'How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?' (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.' The woman said to him, 'Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob?  He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.' Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'"

Prayer focus for today: In today's Scripture, we see Jesus breaking through the societal expectations by speaking to a woman from Samaria. As documented, Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus knew this was a human issue, and nothing ordained by God. Pray today that where there are people or types of people you choose to avoid that you would see them through the eyes of Christ. ALL of us are created equal in God's eyes, and we, as believers, should see as our Father does. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 16, 2026

 August 16 -- John 4: 1-7 "Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.'"

Prayer focus for today: Our scripture passage for today seems insignificant, at best. A 'slow news' story for sure, in most people's eyes. However, if you know the back story, you see that Jesus didn't back down from an opportunity to buck cultural traditions. (More on this tomorrow.) He didn't just follow what was expected of an upright and 'proper' religious man of the time and area, He did what He was called to do. 

Pray today that, no matter where you live, what your 'cultural' rules are, or what you have done in the past, you will stand firm in the way of Jesus and faithfully serve Him. Pray against the stronghold that our cultures have on us, so that we may all seek Christ's culture (the expectation that is taught to us in the Holy Bible). Praying today that we will treasure our individual cultures, but that when we choose to follow Jesus, we will submit everything to following "Christian culture".  Pray that you and I will be able to discern what we need to shed in our lives that is just a comfortable cultural tradition / belief and truly shine for Christ in this dark and dying world. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 15, 2026

 August 15 -- John 3: 30-36 "'He must increase, but I must decrease.'  He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." 

Prayer focus for today: Unless we make a deliberate choice to "unplug", we are each bombarded throughout the day with information. Sometimes that information is true, and sometimes that information is false. Discerning the difference between the two can sometimes be quite difficult.  Pray today for TRUTH to be made known -- to rise above the lies and be clear to us all. The best way to do that is to immerse ourselves fully in God's Word, so we can discern the lies from the TRUTH!  

Jesus was simply telling the truth of Himself and what He was all about. Pray today for His truth to be seen clearly, as many of us today spend more time reading / watching social media than the Bible. Pray today that we would all be brought to a point of not being distracted by the lies and distractions and drawn to the truth! 

Please join us in praying for our fellow Zambians who are going through a period of violence and unrest after our national elections took place this past Thursday.

Pray that God's plan would be fulfilled and TRUTH be told everywhere. Finally, please pray for our children who are out of school on August holiday - that God would protect each one during this difficult time in our nation. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 14, 2026

 August 14 -- John 3: 23 - 29 "John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (for John had not yet been put in prison).  Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, 'Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness -- look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.' John answered, 'A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete."

Prayer focus for today:  We've all been there -- we've explained something to someone (pretty clearly, we thought), only to find out later they didn't REALLY understand  the information as we thought we had explained it. It's not until later when we hear the other person say or see them do something that it becomes clear they didn't fully understand what we had said. And so, we are able to further explain and clarify the matter so better understanding takes place.  That's what we observe in the Scriptures today with John and his disciples. 

Pray today that we would each be able to clearly explain the hope we have in Christ alone ... that others may receive and follow Him. Pray that where any misunderstandings have taken place, we would each be made aware and speak clearly to fully explain where our hope, joy, and confidence comes from in all situations. And finally, pray today that no matter what happens, we will all be found faithful to stand firm. 

We know many of you reading this are going through great trials today. Some are gut-wrenching and seem impossible to walk through. We are praying for you today and trusting Christ to be your strength. HE IS WITH YOU ... just trust in Him today!

Scripture and Prayer Focus for 13 August 2026

 August 13 -- John 3: 16-22 "'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.' After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing."

Prayer focus for today: It only takes a small light to break through darkness. The more light you bring into darkness, the more you see the need for light. Pray today for each of us to see our need for the light of Christ and to BE that light for others. Sometimes, it's just that small light that can make all the difference in someone's darkness.