Hopegivers Founder Urges Christians to Establish Individual 'Prayer Night'
by Allie Martin
January 20, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Officials with Hopegivers International, a Georgia-based ministry that seeks to rescue orphans from the streets of India and share the gospel with them, are calling on fellow Christians across the U.S. and abroad to establish a monthly night of prayer for the persecuted Church and other believers in need. The regular International Night of Prayer initiated by the ministry takes place on the second Friday of each month. However, an increase in persecution against Christians in India, coupled with the rapid growth of the ministry work in that nation, led Hopegivers founder Dr. Samuel Thomas to urge that individual believers establish their own prayer night.
Thomas says Christians must make intercession a priority in their lives. "The main thing is that when we work, we work; but when we pray, God works," he observes. "So when we want God to work in our ministry, in our lives, in our families, we need to spend more time in prayer."
The ministry leader maintains that, apart from enriching and enhancing their own lives through increased prayer, believers can also play a vital part in supporting the work of ministries like Hopegivers by incorporating a dedicated night of prayer into their routines.
"I think we as Christians have no idea the power of prayer we have as a child of God," Thomas says. And, although some people believe they must close their eyes and stop other activities when they pray, he insists, "No, you can drive and pray. You can be in a meeting or waiting in the reception area of the doctor's clinic, at the airport or wherever you are."
Every believer "can constantly be praying for the Saints and for the persecuted Church all over the world," Thomas asserts. He urges Christians to remember this, even as they remember to pray for the work of the Church and parachurch ministries in reaching out to the needy.
Hopegivers International runs 88 orphanages throughout India. By 2020 the ministry hopes to have at least one million children fully sponsored and growing up in its model Hope Homes and Hope Centers.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
