Unceasing Prayer - A prayer and praise update

"When the Spirit has come to reside in someone, that person can not stop praying; for the Spirit prays without ceasing in him. No matter if he is asleep or awake, prayer is going on in his heart all the time. He may be eating or drinking, he may be resting or working-the incesnse of prayer will ascend spontaneously from his heart. The slightest stirring of his heart is like a voice which sings in silence and in secret to the Invisible."          - Issac the Syrian

"Pray without ceasing" I Thess. 5:17

"Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer" Rom. 12:12

"Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication." Eph. 6:18

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." Col. 4:2

"Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Phil. 4:6

The longer that we are serving the Lord in the work of missions and the ministry of touching lives with the Gospel of Christ, the more our hearts are drawn to the need for prayer. We know that many of you have been praying for our ministry and missionary work and we realize that God's hand of blessing that guided us and been so faithful to provide has been a direct result of the prayers of you our Champions. We thank you for your faithfulness in prayer.

This month we are focuing on unceasing prayer - that is prayer that we live - breath. God in His faithfulness receives our prayers whether we whisper them while we drive to work, or do the dishes, or plant the garden. God is eager always to speak PEACE in the midst of any CHAOS. He is faithful to meet us at the very point of our greatest need. To God be the Glory.

We want to share these request with you as you continue to pray for the work of missions:

• Praise for the El Faro (The Lighthouse) Wesleyan Church in Cuenca Ecuador celebrated its 4 year anniversary April 14, with 106 in attendance - This is the church that was started in our Carport when we served there.
• Praise for the WGM Missionaries serving God around the world and that they will be given wisdom and understanding to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus in culturally relevant ways that will make them effective witnesses for Christ as "salt and light."
• Praise the Lord for our newest champion Lakeview Wesleyan Church, Marion, IN that has included us in their regular monthly Faith Promise support.
• Pray for WGM/Habitat for Missionaries during the month of April and May as we will be partnering with Habitat for Missionaries to "flip" a home here in Marion, IN to provide needed funds for future travel. Volunteers connected with WGM will be partnering with us in this effort. (contact us if interested)
• Pray for the Texas - Mexico Retreat as we prepare for ministry with our WGM Missionaries in May/June. We will encouraging and ministering to our missionaries serving there. Pray that we will be God's voice to speak His message being His hands and feet. We plan to visit Laredo, TX where we served as missionaries in the 80's.
• Pray for upcoming Field Directors Retreat in June as leaders from all of the WGM mission fields will be coming to WGM Headquarters for 2 weeks of planning, praying and renewal. We will be very involved in working with our field leadership during this time. Pray for wisdom to see and ears to hear the heart of our leaders that we may better serve them on the front lines.
• Pray for our upcoming re-entry in July, a time of Rest and Renewal for the missionaries coming home on home ministry assignment.
• Pray for the upcoming retreat in Honduras as we will be traveling there  July/August. We will be again sharing our ministry of care and reaching out to these servants on the front lines.

Marlene and I would ask for your prayers during the months of Sept - Dec. when we will be shifting our focus on completing our necessary funding.  We will be available to speak to churches, small groups, SS classes, home meetings to share the vision for Pastors to Missionaries and ask for financial support. We are currently at 80% of our needed ministry support level, but we need to be fully funded to ease the financial burden and released to do this work. We would love to visit with you and share our hearts for this ministry. Please contact us for scheduling meetings or visit our support page at https://www.wgm.org/mcgrady

Finally, how can we pray for you? We know that you too may have some special requests and we would love to hear from you at ned@straightpaths.org so that we may pray for you.

Blessings,
Ned and Marlene McGrady
6964 Mary Ct.
Marion, IN 46953
727-459-2966
517-395-0315