From Ten Days of Prayer to Prayer Ministry
By Marxianne Bacus Quijano-Aviles
Six years ago, I was lost and didn’t know what I should believe. While I was familiar with the Seventh-day Adventist church because I had been taken care of in Adventist hospitals and had also studied nursing at an Adventist school, I still didn’t know what faith to choose. However, one night I prayed very simply, “Lord, please help me to know you!”
After that prayer He brought me to a passage that says, “Be anxious for nothing but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your hearts be made known to Christ and the peace that passeth all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:6-7). Right then and there I had peace and decided to be baptized as a Seventh-day Adventist.
After that night, I messaged our Chinese church pastor about my decision to be baptized but didn't get an immediate response. Later I learned he was out of the country. However, in the meantime, God sent two literature evangelists to my workplace. They not only gave me encouragement, but they also prayed and gave me the contact number of another Seventh-day Adventist pastor. When I contacted the pastor, he invited me to his church. I went.
This church was currently in the process of 10 Days of Prayer. The pastor told me that they were praying for people in their community to be brought into their church and to come to know Christ personally. I was so moved by this 10 Days of Prayer experience that I realized from then on that there is great power when people pray together.
Of course, there is more to my story of how I actually became a Seventh-day Adventist, but we will fast forward to how I became more involved in prayer ministry.
When I learned back in 2018 that the 24/7 United Prayer ministry was spending a lot of time in prayer (on their zoom call) during the 10 Days of Prayer, I signed up without hesitation. Since I am the only Adventist in my home, I was praying that God would do mighty things.
Thankfully, although many of our churches have been closed because of the lockdowns, I can still pray unitedly with my church family. For over a year now, I’ve been praying for my lost loved ones. I am grateful to say that the Lord has been working in the lives of my family. I have noticed that I am no longer hesitant to pray for my family members in person, and they are now willing to be prayed for too. In fact, my brother now often wants to share bible promises with me, and he’s more open to listening to sermons that I've shared from www.Audioverse.org. Often times the speakers from Audioverse have shared truths with my brother that I cannot. What a blessing! And God is working in answer to my prayers.
During one of our first 24 hour prayer events for a specific country in need (we’ve done many now!), I was brought to realize that although we still have religious liberty, we have not been bold enough to share our testimonies with those around us, including our loved ones. So after that first event praying for Myanmar, I prayed and courageously shared our prayer call link to our family group chat. Not long after, I was amazed to see my dad come on the prayer call. He was listening to all the prayers and even the going deeper session video by pastor Dennis Smith. It was a miracle. I’m praying that he will continue to be moved to search for more and that he will get to know more of Christ and accept Him as personal Saviour. My father was once a catholic theologian wanting to be a priest so I know he has a great love for Jesus.
We all have family members that we are praying for. I’m sure you do too. Will you join me in praying for the lost especially our loved ones, as we start the 40 Days of Prayer in a couple weeks? At that time we will have the opportunity to pray together every day, and one of the things we will pray for is our loved ones who don’t yet know Jesus. We don’t have time to waste! Jesus is coming soon!
Marxianne Bacus Quijano-Aviles writes from Thailand, where she works as one of the prayer facilitators and coordinators for 24/7 United Prayer. 24/7 United Prayer operates in partnership with the General Conference United in Prayer initiative and under the endorsement of the General Conference Revival and Reformation Committee.
World Church Prayer Requests
April 22 - 28, 2022
- Pray for a children’s book and magazine recently written for distribution for the Ukrainian people to be published and distributed quickly.
- Pray for families in Durban, South Africa where close to 60 people have died due to the recent flooding.
- Pray for the upcoming 40 Days of Prayer for the World Church which will run from May 3 - June 11. (If you are signed up for these weekly United in Prayer mailings, you will receive the materials for 40 Days of Prayer!)
- Pray that God will prepare your heart to take an active part in this upcoming 40 Days of Prayer.
- Pray for the Temiar people. There are about 32,000 Temiar in Malaysia, 7% of whom are Christians. Join us in praying for the believers working among this group as they meet people's physical and spiritual needs.