A Full Covering for the Whole Man - Free PDF Prayer Guide

Over the past year, I have developed a prayer guide to help us men intentionally and scripturally pray for fellow men, and for dads to pray for their sons. It is called “A Full Covering (Armor of God) for the Whole Man (Image of God).” It is a 40-part guide, referring to what the Bible teaches us about 40 parts of the body, head to toe. You can view the overview here.

This guide is meant to be:
-a practical help, designed to help us pray the scriptures
-a discipleship tool, in praying for self and one another
-a formative guide, used over the course of 40 days or even 40 weeks

I pray it helps men, young and old, present our bodies to God as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13). I hope it can also be used by our sisters, too – for wives to pray for their husbands, moms to pray for their sons, sisters to pray for their brothers, churches as a whole to pray for their pastors and elders.

Where can I get the guide?

It can be viewed, downloaded, and printed at the link HERE

Is this guide really free?

YES. It is given freely to you, to bless freely.

Though I would love your fellow support for some causes and missions dear to me. See below on that.

What if I want a printed copy?

I am not currently selling hard copies. It is downloadable (to be viewed from your device) and printable (66 pages; works in grayscale, too). If you desire a book, download the guide and take it to a local print shop to assist you. The book dimensions are 5.5 x 8.5.

What if I desire to give money for this guide?

$5 DONATIONS REQUESTED…

Not a requirement. But I did want to use this as a chance to share about friends who would be blessed by your support. If you find this guide helpful, I’d love it for you to consider donating a one-time gift ($5 or more) online to one of these causes or ministries.

There are 10 causes below (2 medical, 8 missions) -- and I ask that you give to the cause of your choice via the links provided below. I am not collecting funds.

(*Use the links to give to them online, DIRECT. And I do not receive any of the funds – these are just friends I love and support.)

(**If someone tries to point you to any cause other than those provided below, or charge you for the PDF guide online at a different site… it is NOT connected with this effort):

MEDICAL NEEDS:

My dear friends, the Bock family (who attend church with me at The Parkway Church), have a son named Bear who has been diagnosed with Timothy Syndrome. This month, he will be 2.5yo, which was (until recently) the average life expectancy. By giving to this Alliance, you can support their family and others, as they seek to better understand and live with this rare and incurable terminal syndrome. (Under "reason for giving" please select Timothy Syndrome Alliance.)

My friend, Scottie Carpenter, had a seizure and blacked out while driving 70mph on the interstate on his way to work (as a school principal). His car was wrapped around a pole and by the grace of God, Scottie made it out alive. He has an incredibly long road ahead of him recovery-wise. The cause of the seizures is still being diagnosed, months later. He is in recovery from a broken collarbone, multiple broken ribs, fractured spine, a concussion, stitches above his eye, and multiple scrapes, bumps, and bruises. You can help his family with medical expenses by giving here.

MISSIONS:

I also have many friends serving the Lord in cross-cultural settings. If you have questions on any of their ministries, I know them all personally and can connect you. Please see the links provided for more info and ways to give online:

EUROPE

·         -Carrie Selby, Church Planting & Women’s Ministry, Scotland, 20Schemes (Note: Under “Preference” section, please use drop down to select Carrie Selby.)

·         -David & Keri Campbell, Evangelism & Discipleship with Refugees, Germany, YWAM

ASIA

·         -The Shanks Family, Evangelism & Discipleship, East Asia, Pioneers

·         -The Caudle Family, Evangelism & Discipleship, Taiwan, YWAM (Note: Watch this helpful video to learn the easy way to give to them online.)

·         -Chad & Hiroko Farmer, Church Planting, Japan, Mustard Seed Network (Note: Under “Designation” section, please use drop down to select Chad & Hiroko Farmer.)

AFRICA

·         -Andrew & Bethany Case, Bible Translation, Equatorial Guinea, Wycliffe

·         -Vernon & Amber Burger, Orphan Care & Church Support, South Sudan, His Voice Global

·         -Bob & Julie Mendonsa, Orphan Care & Schooling on site, Kenya, Naomi’s Village (Note: You are encouraged to give toward “Children Without Sponsors” at that link. If you sponsor one of the boys, you can even use the prayer guide to pray for them!)

Why not make this guide for both men and women?

I definitely do not intend to make women feel excluded. Just a few words on this:

·        -This guide was created to fill a specific need—to provide a prayer guide to help men pray for their fellow brothers, and their own lives—and especially for fathers to pray for sons.

·         -I am a single man, not yet married, with no kids—and thus I originally created this as a guide as I myself disciple and pray for brothers in my circles.

·         -With some creativity and a little imagination, I think it can also be used for husbands to pray for their wives in return, and for parents to also pray for daughters. I hope a “full armor for the whole woman” can be crafted someday, too.

·         -Women also are made in the image of God. I asked several Christian sisters to read it and provide feedback, so it did not come across as hierarchical—but rather complementary.  I greatly valued their insight and made some edits per their input.

·         -Given our current cultural moment, I think there is power in joining together to pray for men to rise up in the faith. And thus to be the kind of men intended by God.

A special acknowledgement:

A friend of mine designed the layout, to make it more visually interesting. I want to give him credit for his amazing work. Thanks to Knic at KnownFor Solutions!

Any other questions?

I can be reached via email at paulmatthies@yahoo.com

Tending the Soul – Trees & Shrubs, Roots & Fruits

I recently guided a 15-week discussion for my home group, regarding trees in the Bible, plus the many encounters between God and humans below trees or besides shrubs.

We started with an overview of the symbolism of trees in the Word, and what they teach us about God and His kingdom. From there, we discussed the “fruits” of our fallen roots—including shame, fear, insecurity, doubt, jealousy, spiritual depression, anger, prejudice, pride, conformity, apathy, betrayal, and rebellion. It took us across the Garden, to Abraham, to Exodus, to the judges, to prophets, to the kings, to all 4 gospels, to the cross of Christ, and to Revelation. Week 15 ended with a glimpse at the “harvest” of eternity, with access regained to the Tree of Life, in the final chapter of the Bible.

Just like any gardening—there were weeks of deep digging, hard soil to be tilled in my heart; days when nothing appeared but surface, rocks, and sweat, and weeks of beautiful things blossoming suddenly. I’m thankful for “God’s fellow workers” at my church The Parkway Church, and that we are “God’s field” (1 Corinthians 3:9)!

I’ve put the table of contents and verses below. I would email each week's discussion on Sunday evening, and we'd discuss on Wednesday evening. I do think this would be a fun study for an outdoor retreat setting, or a garden club too.

If you'd like a PDF of the discussion guide, feel free to email me at paulmatthies@yahoo.com.

Tending the Soul – Trees & Shrubs, Roots & Fruits: 

• God is an Arborist - trees & shrubs in the Bible (various texts)
• Adam & Eve – tree of knowledge of good & evil – shame (Genesis 3:1-24)
• Hagar – desert shrub – fear (Genesis 21:8-21)
• Moses – burning bush  - insecurity (Exodus 3:1 – 4:17)
• Gideon – terebinth tree – doubt (Judges 6:11-40)
• Saul – tamarisk tree  - jealousy (1 Samuel 22:1-23)
• Elijah – broom tree – spiritual depression (1 Kings 19:1-18)
• Jonah  – castor oil plant – anger (Jonah 4:1-11)
• Nathanael – fig tree – prejudice (John 1:43-51)
• Zacchaeus – sycamore tree – pride (Luke 19:1-10)
• Jerusalem – palm tree – conformity (Matthew 21:1-17)
• Peter – olive tree – apathy (Mark 14:26-42)
• Judas – redbud tree – betrayal (Matthew 27:1-10)
• Thief – cursed tree (cross) – rebellion (Luke 23:32-43)
• Redeemed – tree of life – eternity (Revelation 22:1-21)

1 Corinthians 3:7-9 English Standard Version (ESV)

“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.”