Peace and grace to you, my brothers and sisters in Christ!

During this Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of our Lord with family and friends, our hearts are joined in prayers and thoughts.  We pray for each other and pray for the world and feel the bond of the call to be faithful in our fourth day. 

The A-Ok Secretariat is requesting that we all set aside some time again when we all are praying and focusing our minds on Christ and His will for our world, the ELCA, the Arkansas-Oklahoma synod, our fourth day community, our church, our lives.  There are many changes, challenges, and struggles within our church and congregations.  We ask that beginning January 6th, Epiphany, and during the week following that the entire A-Ok Fourth Day Community pray intentionally and with a listening ear and heart for the will of Christ to be revealed and done in His world. 

Because the heart of all palanca is prayer, we ask that your palanca for that week be intentional prayer with your fourth day groups and during your daily prayer times.

Let us begin on Epiphany (January 6th) with laying our prayers before the Lord as the Magi lay their gifts before Him.  Let us pray for this world to which He came --- for the will of Christ to be manifest, that His will be done.

Let us continue with the following days of laying our hearts open to Him and laying all the cares of our hearts before Him:

January 7th   prayers for the ELCA

January 8th   prayers for the Arkansas Oklahoma synod

January 9th   prayers for the Via de Cristo and the Fourth Day Community

January 10th  prayers for our home church

January 11th  prayers for our lives and His purpose

January 12th  prayers for the will of the Lord and for our acceptance of His will and His plan.

Sometimes it seems easy to ask the Lord for our will and our desires to be granted during our prayers and to ask for our wants to be met.  This time period of prayer is for us to put aside our desires and wants and intentionally place our eyes and ears and hearts on the desires of Christ and to listen to His will for us.

This is a wonderful palanca given to our King and my heart looks forward to the time soon that we are again bound together in heart and might for the glory of God.

In Christ's love,

Becky Del Rio

Palanca Coordinator