CHALLENGE RULES
1. For 2 weeks, intentionally observe the people or buildings that are along your daily route to and from home.
2. Put aside your phone and headphones so that you are not distracted.
3. Each day, pray for the people/places that you observe along your path. Ask God to give you a heart of compassion for them.
4. Write down your prayer points and continue praying during the next 2 weeks.
Challenger: BRIANA RENEE ONG, 19
3 Fun Facts:
1. I cut my own hair
2. I can bend my thumb sideways
3. I take all the cheese off my pizzas
FIRST THOUGHTS
When I first received this challenge, I felt that it was meaningful and it came at such an apt timing since I’ve been asking God to develop a heart of compassion in me, which includes praying for people I don’t know. I thought that this challenge was quite a nice change for me because usually, I pray for different things as I walk my usual routes anyway, so this is a good way for me to develop my prayer life further.
THE CHALLENGE
Over the 2 weeks, these are the four groups that I observed and the things God placed on my heart to pray for:
KINDERGARTEN
Prayed for:
– God’s love to fill the place
– God to empower the teachers to teach the right values and speak life into the lives of the children
– The teachers to recognise the impact they make on the children
– God to raise up a generation of people who will carry the heart for God and His people
SHOP OWNERS
– Thanked God for their lives
– Prayed that they would experience God’s love in their lives
– Prayed for God’s blessings and protection to be upon their lives
– Prayed for God to send people to share the gospel with them
A CONSTRUCTION SITE
Prayed for:
– Safety and protection
– God to pour out His love on the foreign workers
– God to send people who will show them love and care especially since they are so far from home
– Those who just came to Singapore, for them to adapt to the demands of the job
– The believers among the workers to spread His word and truth
– For softened hearts when the Word is shared
SECURITY GUARDS
– Thanked God for their lives
– Prayed for protection and strength as they worked
– Thanked God for how people can be safe because of these guards
– Prayed for them to experience the love of God in their lives
FINAL THOUGHTS
Taking on this challenge has encouraged me to persevere in prayer for the things that are so routine to me. It’s not the easiest to constantly pray for people that you don’t know personally, but that’s also the part that I feel I have grown most in — learning to ask God to reveal to me His heart for them, the compassion He has for them, and to pray into the lives of these people whom He loves too.
The greatest challenge I faced was pushing through the first week. Initially, I was excited to take on this challenge and pray, but after awhile, everything seemed to be all the same and all too familiar. That was when I had to ask God for deeper insights about what to pray for. Through prayer, I understood God’s love for the people I met. Even though I only saw the outward appearances, God opened my spiritual eyes to see how different things could be if only someone chose to stand in the gap to intercede and pray.
This challenge has helped me to be intentional in interceding for the things that I don’t usually notice. Even though the challenge was only two weeks long, it was more than enough for God to give me a glimpse of the love that He has for His creation. I may not be able to fully comprehend the plans He has set out for these different groups of people, but I know that I can continue to pray until something happens!
