Standing in Prayer: Global Partners and the Coronavirus
As of February 25, 2020, just over 80,200 cases of the Coronavirus were confirmed globally. Over 2,600 people have died, and the virus continues to spread.
Besides the acute suffering and tragedy so many families have experienced — millions of others have been impacted economically as business and travel have shut down, in some cases with an undetermined end date. This epidemic puts the average person’s livelihood under great stress. Daily decisions have become a burden and routine questions unanswerable.
The Global Partners Asia-Pacific team has experienced this interruption as well. A 2020 regional gathering was recently postponed, and several personnel location adjustments have been made in accordance to wise counsel. Our teams need more continued prayer as we navigate this as a Church. We are praying in these days for many of our local leaders and the teams who are helping and holding out hope for those affected. Some are securing personal protective equipment for medical volunteers, others are organizing prayer meetings over Zoom for personal connections, and a few are staying on the front lines, treating those impacted most severely by the disease.
As a Wesleyan Church family, we are not cowering back. We believe Jesus is calling us to step up in this critical hour for the millions of people who still don’t know him.
First, let’s be strong in praying that this virus be stopped in the power of Jesus’ name. It appears powerful, but it is no match for the power of Jesus Christ. And second, let’s pray for wisdom. We don’t want to respond in fear as more decisions will need to be made in the coming weeks.
Pray also that each one of us would respond with courageous love as we encounter those impacted — we want to love as Jesus would. At a time like this, the world needs to see Jesus’ love through us. Thank you for standing with us in prayer.
For continuous updates, please visit the World Health Organization’s page here.