Worldwide Prayer Meeting
Prayer Focus - India Central Territory
Jog Falls, Rocket Falls and Roarer Falls on Sharavathi River, in Western Ghats of Karnataka state
Thank you for joining us today. There are other things you could be doing and no doubt there’s something you will do right after this. But you have taken the time to pray and have a time of devotion with others, many of whom you don’t know and most you likely will never meet this side of Heaven. It is part of the wonder of the Kingdom of God. We are united in our separateness. Your heart’s voice will blend with others and though you will not hear, our Heavenly Father will.
Prayer
Gracious God, Thank You for this day that You have gifted to me. I think I know what’s going to happen, but it seems every day there’s a surprise or two. I ask that You honor my plans if my plans honor You. If not, please take over and shape them the way You want them to be. As for the surprises, help me to react in a way that shows I am Your child. The nasty surprises are the ones that get me. So, when one comes, remind me that I am Your representative and that my words and my reactions don’t just tell what I’m thinking but who I am as an ambassador of the King of kings.
Thank You for giving me the people in my life. I ask You to watch out for them today. When I start thinking about them and all the other gifts You have given me, I am overwhelmed. You have been so good to me. Thank You. I love You. Just know that. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
At a Home League rally, these women performed a traditional dance in cultural dress with Indian music.
Background of the
India Central Territory
India is a vast country that not only in population but ethnically, culturally, and religiously. Its ancient culture and traditions continue to influence it as it takes its place as a player in the world scene. While it still faces many hurdles and challenges, it has made huge strides since gaining independence from Britain. It has one of the world’s fastest growing economies with a growing middle class. Nonetheless, prosperity still has not reached tens of millions of its citizens who struggle with unrelenting poverty. Religious tensions continue to plague the country as well as unresolved territorial disputes with both China and Pakistan.
The India Central Territory operates in four densely populated states that have the following characteristics:
Andra Pradesh – With an economy based largely in agriculture and industries related to it, Andra Pradesh has a population of just under 50 million people. Christianity has had some success among the Dalits, the lowest caste among the Hindus, but concentrated by Hindus to reconvert the Dalits to Hinduism has been a threat to the progress made.
Karnataka - With its capital of Bangalore, the fastest growing city in India, Karnataka is one of the most developed states in India. It is home to India’s IT and software industries and over 800 Christian ministries. Eight percent of the population is said to be Christian, mostly among the middle and upper classes. The rural areas of the state are very poor. And it is here where radical Hindus have unleashed over 1000 attacks a year against Christians.
Tamil Nadu – The India Central Territory only operates in the northern section of this state. Tamil Nadu is India’s most industrialized and urban state but also has a huge agricultural industry. Here 6% of the population is Christian and the number of Christians is growing. Finances are a problem because of overdependence on outside funding and the lack of independence in priorities needed for local initiatives.
Telangana: India’s newest state has a population of a little over 35 million. It is the center of India’s aerospace industry as well as IT and software and research industries. The capital, Hyderabad, is a key city for Christianity but also for Islam where 40% are Muslims. Anti-conversion laws have been in effect off and on to try to stem the growth of Christianity not only in this state but in others throughout India.
The Salvation Army: The Army started at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh in 1895 by Staff Captain Abdul Aziz, who had a Muslim background, with his friend, Mahanada. Captain Abdul attended a revival meeting held by Captain Henry Bullard in 1884 at Bangalore and dedicated himself to being a Salvation Army officer. The territory was named the India Central Territory in 1992 with its headquarters in Chennai.
Facts, Stats and Leadership of the
India Central Territory
- Total population to fish and disciple: 218,096,016
- 501 officers, 10 auxiliary-captains, 90 employees
- 190 retired officers
- 275 corps, 32 outposts and societies
- 81,339 senior soldiers
- 11,964 adherents
- 17,827 junior soldiers
Leadership
Colonel Yaqoob Masih - Territorial Commander
Colonel Sumitra Masih - Territorial President of Women's Ministries
Lt. Colonel M Stalin- Chief Secretary
Lt. Colonel Kezial Stalin - Territorial Secretary for Women's Ministries
Prayer Requests for the
India Central Territory
Please pray for:
- Sustainability of the territory
- Officers’ health
- Youth and young adults, for God's guidance, protection, and wisdom as they seek to develop spiritual maturity.
- Protection of The Salvation Army’s land and redevelopment
- Development and improvement of the status of women in community
USA Southern Territory
Prayer Requests
- Major Phil Swyers, Territorial Finance Secretary, Finance
- Risk Management Department
- Kim Broner, Territorial Accountant, Finance
- Melanie Yellowday, Senior Accountant, Finance
- Anthony Grant, Grants and Contracts Director, Social Services
- Captain Jordan Hinson, Director of Mission and Ministry, Evangeline Booth College
- Cadet Isaiah Stegall
- Major Lorraina Crawford, Divisional Candidates’ Secretary, Potomac Division
- Lt. Colonel Jeanne Baker, Anti-Human Trafficking and Special Projects Officer, NHQ
- Majors Zachary & Shelley Bell, officers, cadets, and employees of the Evangeline Booth College
- Corps Councils
Something to Consider
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men” (Matthew 5:13)
A summer home we often visited sits on a hill on the edge of a small northern town built by the logging industry over a century ago. The river that brought its economic success is still the predominant feature of the area, offering fishing, swimming, boating and camping. Mother, in love with the town’s noble serenity, bought the house more than 30 years ago, retired there, and welcomed visits from children and grandchildren.
When she inherited her home in heaven, the old house was our legacy. But since we lived hundreds of miles away, the house stood largely unoccupied, tended occasionally by a hired handyman. During the summers when the children were young, we enjoyed swimming in the Flambeau River, taking our nightly tracks to the center of the town with it’s A&W Rootbeer stand and then returning to the solitude of the house with its sheltering oaks.
When we first arrived in the summer, we were greeted with a stuffy, dusty atmosphere. But cooking always seemed to breathe new life into the old house. We’d witness a transformation as we shared supper on the first night of our vacation.
Once we hastily picked up some eggs and bacon on our way into town, deciding to shop more thoroughly after a night’s rest. The salt shaker reposed on the old kitchen table as we had left it the previous summer, and we prepared to enjoy our first quick meal.
What a shock to discover that no matter how much salt we poured on our eggs, the taste remained unchanged. There is nothing quite so bland and unpalatable as unsalted eggs. Of course, the salt had. Not taste because months of dampness had stolen its flavor. It was useless – so much sand in a glass shaker. And of course, we threw it away.
All human tissue requires salt. Blood can be replaced to a certain extent by a solution of common salt. Salt helps in making hydrochloric acid which we need to digest our food. An animal or a person with insufficient salt in the body grows feeble and with no salt at all may die.
If you took just the right quantity of table salt and dissolved it in pure water, you would have a salty liquid that scientists call “normal salt solution.” They mean that this is the natural kind of water in which every part of the body lives its life. Pure water would injure some of the delicate tissues, such as the front of the eyeball. Pure water is not natural to the body. Since the eyeball needs to be washed constantly, they are supplied with salt water for the purpose.
Jesus said that Christians were the world’s salt. He warned us that when Christians cease to be Christian, they no longer accomplish their purpose and are good for nothing.
The indwelling Christ creates the normal solution in which we were intended to flourish and grow. Watchman Nee, renowned Chinese pastor and author, refers to the “normal Christian life,” pointing out that God through Christ removes the abnormality of life outside himself and restores us to our natural condition. Perhaps recognizing this, we can better understand Paul’s frequent reference to “Christ, who is our life.”
A quiet miracle nestled in the book of 2 Kings lauds the restorative power of salt. It was Elisha’s first miracle after receiving the double portion of the spirit of Elijah. He healed the impure waters of Jericho with salt in a new bowl. “And the water has remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken,” (2 Kings 2:22). “You are the salt of the earth,” Jesus said. You are the salt that brings about healing and wholeness.
In his message to the Colossians, Paul wrote, “Let your conversation (living) be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6). There are no answers to life outside of Christ who is our real life. How sad it is when Christians cease to apply the truths of God in their daily living. They no long bring to the world that which it needs to live and flourish in unity and integrity as God intended. Such “Christians” become useless, tasteless, lifeless…as useless as the salt we threw away that summer.
Have we lost through sin and neglect the properties of faith that bring wholeness and stability to living? It is a sobering question. The remedy, of course, is Christ indwelling and sustaining as He promised to do if we allow Him to season our daily lives with Himself.
From Pictures from the Word
By Lt. Colonel Marlene Chase
Benediction
May God bless you this day as you serve Him and as you move closer to becoming all that He intends you to be in Christ Jesus. Amen.
This is a tremendous arrangement of “To God be the Glory” by the International Staff Songsters of The Salvation Army. Take time to listen to it.