February 24, 2018 – Please pray for Ecuador
Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 620 miles west of the mainland. It is the westernmost country that lies on the equator. The capital city is Quito, while the largest city is Guayaquil.
Ecuador’s population is ethnically diverse and the 2016 estimates put Ecuador’s population at 16 million.
There is great variety in the climate, largely determined by altitude. It is mild year-round in the mountain valleys, with a humid subtropical climate in coastal areas and rainforest in lowlands. The Pacific coastal area has a tropical climate with a severe rainy season. The climate in the Andean highlands is temperate and relatively dry, and the Amazon basin on the eastern side of the mountains shares the climate of other rain forest zones.
Because of its location at the equator, Ecuador experiences little variation in daylight hours during the course of a year. Both sunrise and sunset occur each day at the two six o’clock hours.
According to the Ecuadorian National Institute of Statistics and Census, 91.95% of the population is religious, 7.94% are atheists and 0.11% is agnostic. Among the people that have a religion, 80.44% are Roman Catholic, 11.30% are Evangelical Protestants, 1.29% are Jehovah’s Witnesses and 6.97% other (Jewish, Latter-day Saints, Muslims, Buddhists and Bahá’í and native religions). Most festivals and annual parades are based on religious celebrations, many incorporating a mixture of rites and icons.
The above are from en.wikipedia.org. These statements have not been fact-checked and are only used here to help us gain a better understanding of this nation.
I think I could live in a country where sunrise and sunset occur at the same time each day. It is interesting when we read about sunrise and sunset that sunrise is usually mentioned first in writing and common thought. It is also how our natural mind is programmed – the day begins with sunrise.
Not so fast in the Bible. It is intriguing that the Book of Genesis specifically states that the evening and the morning were the first day. Light came forth out of darkness.
Please read the first chapter of Genesis with diligent care; here are the first five verses of the Bible: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Genesis 1:1-5
If we continue to read, we discover the evening and the morning were the second day, the third day and so forth – including the sixth day. When God created the earth, at first there was darkness, there was no light. I believe God has revealed spiritual truth in the order of creation – light rises from darkness. The spiritual life of humanity is birthed out of darkness into His glorious light. This is the design of God. Out of darkness, light is revealed.
What does this have to do with Ecuador one might ask? Many equate darkness and light as being equal – it really doesn’t matter what one believes – God is a loving God and therefore everyone is going to end up in His presence. That is not the teaching of the Bible. There are many who walk in darkness, void of the knowledge of God and have no relationship with Him. They are spiritually blind, walking in darkness. Millions need the Light to shine upon them. This is true, not only in Ecuador, but in all nations of the world. And we all need more spiritual enlightenment.
Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12
I believe Christians have the responsibility to pray for the light of the Gospel to shine bright in the daily life of each man and woman and to specifically pray for those who continue to walk in spiritual darkness.
From God’s perspective, we close the day as the sun begins to descend on the Western horizon. Man’s life is the same. We were born naturally out the darkness of our mother’s womb, we began our life as a youth, reach the climax of our life and then begin the decline toward the setting of the light of our life. This should challenge us spiritually and create a desire in our heart to spend valuable time praying for our own soul and the souls of all humanity.
1. Pray for the love of God to shine bright within the hearts of the people of Ecuador.
2. Pray for the spiritual leaders of Ecuador to speak plainly about the need for the light of the Gospel to be a flame within each heart.
3. Pray for new spiritual enlightenment to rise within Ecuador and the nations of the world.
