I AM…

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand — Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)

Have you ever considered the significance of your name? Perhaps your parents told you why they chose it, or you’ve looked up its meaning

My name apparently has Latin origins and means ‘woman of victory’ — I can live with that!

In Bible times, names were important and had meaning. There are many examples in the text where God even changed the name of someone to signify their new identity. Abram, for example, became Abraham, which means ‘father of many’.

God Himself has many names too.

Within the Bible, we see names attributed to God that illustrate His multifaceted character. It is said that the most significant one can be found in Exodus 3, when Moses questions how to identify God to the people of Israel. ‘I AM WHO I AM’ is His response.

God had recognised the distress of His people. He appeared to Moses with a plan and a promise to rescue them. Interestingly, His choice of name could have been El Gibhor, meaning ‘Mighty God’, or El Roi, ‘the strong One who sees’.

But instead, He presents as ‘I AM’ — a phrase that expresses His self-existence, self-sufficiency and eternal presence.

In a time where instability abounds, the significance of God being present with us in the here and now is life-giving.

Too often, we have a tendency to get stuck in the past and get depressed, or dwell in what might be, and get anxious.

Practising life in the here and now enables us not only to catch our breath, but to connect with the great I AM afresh.

It is here that the simple joys of life — times of heartfelt worship, a chorus of birdsong, the wind dancing in the trees, the rhythm of a ticking clock, a laughing child or the stillness of rain — enable us to reconnect with creation and wonder.

Our senses are a great way to ground ourselves in God. When we focus on what we can hear or see, taste, touch or smell — we automatically become present.

It gives a practical application to the invitation ‘Be still and know that I AM God’ (Psalm 46:10) — an invitation into the here and now. It’s an invitation to connect your whole self with the One who knows you by name and calls you His own.

My prayer for you is this; may the One who was and is and is to come, become refreshingly real to you. May His goodness and presence be fragrantly tangible as you practise being in the here and now — one prayer, one moment, and one day at a time.

Thank you for praying

Rev Victoria Fagg Prayer Communications Leader, MAF UK

SATURDAY 1 Father God, we praise You for Your presence and the goodness that surrounds us in our everyday lives. Help us, as part of the MAF family, to become more in tune with Your Spirit. Help those we serve to recognise You personally. We live our lives as an offering to You. Help us to make each day count, and may all who encounter You be transformed.

I Am The Gate

Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures

— John 10:9 (NLT)

SUNDAY 2 Praise God this Palm Sunday for the life of Nepao, a man whose house collapsed on him. Give thanks for the quick response of our Papua New Guinea (PNG) team who flew him to hospital. The emergency flight saved him a two-day journey overland which he probably wouldn’t have survived.

MONDAY 3 Decades of experience in dozens of countries has taught MAF and its partners that the door to the soul can often be eased open by helping to meet people’s physical needs. Please pray for the flights that help to establish or improve medical and educational facilities for isolated people. The communities based in remote and difficult-to-access areas often see this as evidence of a God who loves and wants to redeem them.

TUESDAY 4 Dr Diana Zwijnenburg co-ordinated Nepao's recovery effort — reminding the staff that critical patients must, wherever possible, be continuously supervised. Pray for the many health facilities supported by MAF flights where there are insufficient personnel to provide a full service for those in their care.

WEDNESDAY 5 Take time to marvel at how faith in Christ provides a gateway through which men, women and children can cast off their old lives and head towards His light. Share in Jesus’ joy at the thought of the souls that will be saved, and keep praying for MAF’s part in the countless spiritual transformations to come.

THURSDAY 6 The staff at Kompiam Hospital prayed for a miracle and — in spite of minimal medical supplies and a broken X-ray machine — Nepao survived. Pray for the doctors and nurses in PNG who combine faith with professionalism to provide a gateway to good healthcare for their patients.

FRIDAY 7 On Good Friday, we remember that Christ’s loving sacrifice purchased eternal life for all those who believe in

The prayer points on these pages relate to a story featured in Flying for Life, pages 6-8.

(We hope this will help inform your prayers for MAF and those we serve.)

Him. Pray that, through MAF, our Christian passengers will continue to help people find the gateway to heaven.

SATURDAY 8 'Thanks to MAF airlifting me and the work of hospital staff, I’m finally leaving this place. May God bless their hands.’ Pray that Nepao's words continue to be echoed by those who feel Jesus’ hand on their lives when ill health or sudden injury begins to shake the foundation of their existence.