Day 7 of "27-Day Prayer & Fasting Journey" with Rev. Hyoung Yung Choi

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ!

안녕하세요. 예수 그리스도의 이름으로 문안드립니다.

My name is Rev. HyungYong Choi, and I serve as the Presiding Elder of the New England East District in the Northeast Conference of the Global Methodist Church. Welcome to Day 7 of our 27 Days of Prayer as we prepare our hearts for the Annual Conference gathering this May 8–10 in Cortland, New York. 

In the New England East District, we are blessed with three churches, located throughout Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine. What I love most about our district is how God has brought together a beautifully diverse group of people with one heart—to follow Jesus and spread scriptural holiness. Despite our differences and different contexts, each church is passionate about the gospel, faithful in prayer, and committed to mission.

Here are the churches we invite you to pray for today:

- Vida Abundante Global Methodist Church in Providence, Rhode Island – located at 689 Cranston Street.

- Boston New Hope Global Methodist Church in Reading, Massachusetts.

- Cressey Road Christian Church in Gorham, Maine.

In addition to these churches, we are excited to share that there is a new candidate in our district who feels called to plant a church in Boston. His name is Samaila A. Wada. Please pray for him—that God would guide and equip him as he steps out in faith to answer this missional calling. Please lift up all of these churches and leaders in prayer today, that we may faithfully live into our shared mission: to make disciples of Jesus Christ and to spread scriptural holiness across the globe.

We in the New England East District are eager to gather with you all in May. These 27 days are an opportunity for us to open our hearts to God’s Word and prepare to fan into flame the gift of the Holy Spirit that is alive in each of us.

Let us now hear the Words of God from Luke 18:9–14:

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

This is the Word of God for people of God. Thanks be to God.

Today’s Prayer Focus

Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector speaks to the perils of being confident in one’s own righteousness. The sinner who knows his sin is closer to justification than the sinner who is pridefully unaware. Center your prayers this day on the mission field of the lost. Pray for the Spirit to work in the hearts of those who feel they are righteous because of their deeds. Pray for the Spirit to draw those who stand at a distance closer to Jesus, and to receive the assurance of the mercy they seek.

Today’s Suggested Prayer

Lord God, Shepherd of the lost sheep,
Father of the lost son.
You rejoice in heaven
when that which was dead is now alive,
when that which was lost is now found.
I lift up to you now [name(s)],
who is far from you.
By your grace,
give (him/her) ears to hear your call in the night,
eyes to see your hand of mercy reaching out in love.
Soften (his/her) heart to receive your grace.
Do this so that heaven will rejoice
when one sinner repents.
We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You can find this prayer, and all the other prayers of the 27 Days, on the Conference website, northeastgmc.org.

May the Lord richly bless your faithful prayers. Amen.