National
Pastors' Prayer
Network
G L O B A L U P D A T E -
08/21/2002
Chronicling The Worldwide
Prayer Movement
...So That One Day
...We Will Live On A
Prayed For Planet!
http://www.nppn.org/Offers.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I N T H I S U P D A T E
... and for our prayers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,
Your support in prayer and finances has been tremendously uplifting.
I am going through a period of ministry that should feel so much more stressful
~ your prayers are getting through!
.Recently appointed Acting Director of Chicago Metro
Baptist Association (200+ congregations)
.Preached at 4 Sunday morning services this past
Sunday...
.After teaching prayer workshops at a Black Church
Leadership Conference in NC (a glorious experience)
.Led a Navy Pier (Chicago) prayerwalk
.CMBA Town Hall was a difficult meeting but it went very
well
.One Great City (Chicago) also went well
.Spending as much time as possible getting our office
ready-to-go
.Cutting & Pasting the National Pastors’ Prayer
Network Updates
.Two major simultaneous leadership events in October;
City Impact Roundtable (convener) & Mission America Annual Meeting (planning
team facilitator)
...plus, as you may know, the funds we have raised for
our support have been tied up during this CMBA transition. To those who make
contributions: Every gift has been credited to our account, we simply cannot
access it now. When the crisis is solved (pray for the Acting Director (:>)
we will receive every dollar that has come in from you for us. During this
transition, we have immediate access to new gifts that come in for us ~ so,
please pray for several large ($5,000) gifts to come in quickly so that we do
not miss salary and reimbursement (we pay for many of our own flights and
hotels).
Carol and I promise to send a “real” letter soon (snail mail) ... She joins
me in the (almost complete) Prayer INC office right after Labor Day.
For those who remember me through my schedule:
Monday, 19th – Tuesday, 20th in Springfield, IL for
Leadership Summit; team teaching ‘Prayer 101’
Fly to New York City Tuesday night – return Thursday
morning for 2003 Urban Evangelism Consultation Planning Team
Thursday late afternoon meeting near Midway Airport,
Chicago for Strategic Prayer Training in 2004
Friday in Blue Island, IL for several Chicago Metro
Baptist Association meetings
Saturday, 24th – Tuesday, 27th in New York City for
Citywide Prayer Leaders Consultation
Wednesday in Des Plaines, IL for CMBA Staff Meeting (I
am Acting Director of the Association)
Thursday or Friday I host the City Impact Roundtable
Planning Team Conference Call
I asked for permission to share the prayer (posted below) with you – To
indicate how special it is when a sister or a brother in Christ takes even a
minute to bring our needs before God. The Lord has blessed us by making
Carol & me your prayer “assignment” - May this prayer encourage you.
Bless you for your faithfulness.
“We (Lynn Heatly and Sharon Barnes, intercessors
from Southern California) prayed for you today. Earlier this morning, the
following prayer arose out of my meditating on Romans 8:31-39 in the MESSAGE
Bible. May it strengthen and bless you and your wife on your present
journey...”
I bless you today with the encouragement that
God is on your side.
You cannot lose with God on your side like this!
I bless you with how He has put everything on the line for you:
how He has embraced you
how He has exposed himself to the worst by sending you
his own Son.
I bless you that there isn’t anything else
he
wouldn’t gladly and freely do for you!
He is the One who died for you,
He is the One who was raised to life for you!
He is in the presence of God at this moment sticking up for you.
I bless you with how you are one of God’s chosen!
Who would dare tangle with you?
Who would dare even point a finger?
not trouble, not hard times,
not hatred, not hunger
not homelessness, not bullying threats,
not backstabbing,
not
even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
They
kill us in cold blood because they hate you,
We’re
sitting ducks, they pick us off one by one.
I bless you with Jesus’ love such that none
of this fazes you!
I bless you with how absolutely nothing – nothing
living or dead, angelic or demonic
today
or tomorrow, high or low
thinkable
or unthinkable
because of the way that Jesus your Master
has embraced you!
Much grace and blessing be yours today!
Sharon Ann Barnes, CityReaching Women
___________________________________________>>>
May I ask you to join us in the U.S. (United States) on
September 11th in remembrance of last years terrible act of violence?
Maybe you could mobilize your members to stop at 9:11 AM or PM and pray for
peace throughout the world.
Or, let us know if your Pastors' Prayer Group gathers for a a special prayer
focus to pray for your city, New York City, and cities across the globe.
Or, would your congregation meet on that Wednesday night and petition the Lord?
May the Church of Jesus Christ turn this act of aggression and terror into
prayers for neighbors of peace and nations of righteousness!
Visit http://www.911remembrance.com
Join U.S. in 911 Remembrance Prayer!
Phil @ NPPN
P.S. - Please send us an email (phil@nppn.org)
and tell us what your congregation or PPG plans to do on that day
___________________________________________>>>
>From: "Attueyi, Joseph C." <Joseph.C.Attueyi@conoco.com>
Pastor Phil,
Greetings in Jesus name. As the flier below indicates we
are starting off a weekly prayer program for our city Lagos, the ministers
of the gospel here, the church and its Government. We will appreciate it if you
circulate in the pastors' network so that brethren will remember us and our city
in their prayers.
Stay blessed, Pastor Joe
LAGOS PRAYS
Every Friday with Jesus
A one-hour non-denominational Holy Ghost prayer meeting
Venue: 17B Musa Yar' Adua
Off
Adeola Odeku
Victoria
Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
Date: Every Friday
Time: 5.30 p.m.
Come and be blessed. Jesus is Lord.
Courtesy:
Lamb of God Evangelical Ministry
Website: www.logem.org <http://www.logem.org>
Email: logems@hotmail.com <mailto:logems@hotmail.com>
___________________________________________>>>
>From: Siloam Fellowship <siloamuministry@yahoo.com>
Our meeting took place on 14/7/2002 at Siloamu Fellowship Ministries.
Twenty eight Pastors held their peace talk on few agendas.
Therefore, the majority passed by the following. The chairman will
be Bishop. Stephen Wanjonyi Munyolo. (Siloamu Ministries) As the director, He
Introduced to other pastor, what is NPPN? National pastors prayer Network.
It is the networking with all pastors in Kenya, and America being
Headquarter.
Conference $ Crusade
The Congregation of pastors agreed the Crusade should be
commencing at 8.00 to 1.00p.m. Therefore we are solidifying the saints for the
first Crusade, which will be held 27th August to September. They also passed
that Crusade will be held after 6 month.
Missions
The missions we have is that the crusade should dominate
in every province, In Kenya. As we care having eight Provinces and more than 49
Districts. Which the pastors are aiming to stage the Crusades. In these Province
we have the Co-ordinary, who coordinates the Kenya NPPK for more Clarification.
How do we carry on the Crusades? We don’t have our own premises in the city
for Conference. We just rent and its very expensive 200 dollar per day.
Transport for One thousands pastors ? each pastor cost
15 dollars.
Breakfast each pastor cost 2 dollars and lunch each
Pastor cost 3 dollars.
Field taxation cost 2000dollar in every Crusade.
Seminars arrangement cost 300 dollars. In various
provinces and dollars.
Ushers and Counselors and security total cost we 100 of
them. Cost 5 dollars each totaling 500 dollars.
SUMMARY
1. Rent
200
dollar
2. Transport
15,00
dollars
3. Breakfast
12,000
dollars
4. Lunch
18,000
dollars
5. Field taxation
2000
dollars
6. Seminar Arrangement
300
dollars
7. Ushers, Counselors $ Security
500 dollars
TOTAL
48
Dollars
We managed to achieve 10,00 dollars from our various churches in Kenya.
Therefore forward this request budged to the friends to stand with us in this
Conference $ Crusade Organization.
Director: Bishop Stephen Wanyonyi Munyolo
___________________________________________>>>
>From: victor danielselvaraj <dsvictor_1999@yahoo.com>
Dear Respected Pastor Phil, Greetings you in the mighty name of Jesus. I Thank
god for your good prayer ministry among pastors. I am conducting some
pastors prayer fellowship in chennai, India. Do you have any vision to start
NPPN in INDIA.. If you have a vision in India I am fully cooperative with you.
expecting your reply. may god richly bless you. rev, Daniel victor, chennai,
India. thanking you - - -
Dear Respected pastor. Phil. Greetings you in the precious name of Jesus. thank
you for your reply. In India 100-2000 different denomination, organization
pastors and ministers, first of all gather small group town level, once a month
city level, three months state level ,6months once country level sharing their
ministry ,each one praying for the needs and praise to Jesus. Among the pastors
God did miracles and revivals. and unity , various places conducting crusades to
proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. we have no money but have faith. We are
living in the last days we must needed unity. Unity is the Christianity. john.17
chapter jesus wants unity.dear pastor, kindly pray for india.your
cooperation and suggestion and help must be needed to carry on this unity
ministry.may god richly bless you..Rev,.daniel victor,chennai. india. thanking
you
___________________________________________>>>
5. CHINA:
STRATEGIC PRAYER FOR SUFFERING BELIEVERS
>From: "Achim Blackstein" <blackstein@netprayers.de>
While Chinese leaders talk of reform, Chinese Christians continue to suffer
persecution under the 'evil cult' law. Three unregistered Catholic priests,
Fathers Wang, Ma and Pang, were sentenced under the 'evil cult' law on 7 July
for 'disturbing the peace of society'. All three are now in a labour camp. As
Joseph Kung, the
President of the Cardinal Kung Foundation points out, "It makes a mockery
of the 'religious freedom' clause in the Chinese constitution."
The South China Church (SCC) is an unregistered evangelical house church of
about 50,000 believers spread across ten provinces of China. In April 2001, the
government branded the SCC an 'evil cult' and intensified its persecution of the
church.
Xiqiu (Bob) Fu is the co-editor along with Shixiong Li of "Religion and
National Security in China: Secret documents from China's security sector"
which was released in February 2002. He says that since the crackdown on the SCC
began, five members have been sentenced to death, and over 200 of the SCC
leaders have been
arrested, receiving sentences ranging from one year to life imprisonment. More
than 500 of the SCC's full-time evangelists have lost their homes with all their
properties confiscated, and thousands of ordinary believers have been beaten,
received short-term detention, and been heavily fined.
Bob Fu reports on the present condition of the imprisoned SCC believers:
"The trial for SCC is going to be closed to the media and all outsiders.
The prison has them in shackles that are cutting into their skin. One ... is cut
so deeply that you can almost see his wrist bone. They have been malnourished
and fed very little, so that their ability to comprehend their surroundings is
deteriorating." Bob Fu testifies that Pastor Gong (47), the founder and
leader of the SCC, is a compassionate evangelical Chinese Christian leader who
is on death-row for the sake of the gospel.
We must pray that as China reforms its economy, it also reforms socially. There
are grounds for optimism but this is ultimately a spiritual battle. Ephesians
6:12
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR:
* the faith, hope and courage of the persecuted and imprisoned SCC believers to
remain strong, and that they may be blessed with a strong sense of God's
presence and love.
"And I am convinced nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom
8:38,39.
* strength for all Christians in prisons and labour camps in China, for their
witness, and also for the families they leave behind.
* China to open up, reform its policies regarding religion, and grant more
freedom to the Church; for President Jiang Zemin and his probable successor Hu
Jintao.
* Satan's stranglehold on Communist Asia to be broken. "For nothing is
impossible with God." Luke 1:37
___________________________________________>>>
>From: Friday Fax <FridayFax@bufton.net>
"On 13 July 2002, 17,000 mainly young Christians gathered in a stadium in
Reading, England, to pray that God would change their nation," reports
Roland Worton of 'Prayer for the Nations', which organised the event. "One
of the speakers was Lou Engle, a youth minister and conference speaker from
Pasadena, California. He speaks of a prophetic calling in 1997, when God showed
him how he called young people from all over America to Washington for a day of
prayer and fasting," writes Tony Cummings, Editor of 'Cross Rhythms
Magazine'. After 400,000 youths gathered in Washington on 2nd September
2000 to commit themselves before God to bring change in the nation, the day was
called "The day which changed America". Christians in England now
gathered for a similar event. "It is a trumpet call, not a party,"
writes Rebecca Gower on the event's web site.
"Some 15,000 people stood up to declare that they will abstain from drug
consumption and pre-marital sex - not because someone told them to, but because
they have an intimate relationship with God, and are hungry for the freedom for
which Jesus died." They want to live as Nazirites, separated to God.
"This day," reported a local newspaper, "is seen by many as a new
dawn for our nation."
Source: The Call England, http://www.TheCallEngland.com
To subscribe to the Fridya Fax, send a message with the subject subscribe
English to fridayfax@bufton.net
___________________________________________>>>
>From: Friday Fax <FridayFax@bufton.net>
"Every hour, 3,000 people decide to follow Christ. This is a record in all
of church history," says Detlef Blöcher, Director of the Deutsche
Missionsgesellschaft (DMG, German Mission Society). The number of evangelical
Christians in Africa, Asia and Latin America has multiplied thousand-fold in the
last 40 years "as the fruit of 200 years of Western mission". Today,
Christianity is spreading even in areas long considered closed to the Gospel,
such as Northern Africa, Central Asia, Mongolia and India. European nations such
as Rumania and the Ukraine are also open for missionary activity, as are the
Turkish minority in Bulgaria and the Sinti in Spain. In Austria, the number of
evangelical churches has tripled in the past 20 years.
Source: DMG
___________________________________________>>>
>From: Marc van der Woude <MarcvanderWoude@XC.Org>
On Friday June 14 three churches in Turkmenistan agreed to pray and fast a whole
day and night for their nation. These churches also intend to develop a national
prayer and fasting strategy. This is a small but very important beginning.
Christians in Turkmenistan are being persecuted and need our faithful prayer
support.
1. Pray for unity among the churches and new believers in Turkmenistan (some
churches still don't support or even forbid fellowship of their members with
Christians from other churches).
2. Pray that God will remove any objection to unity based on doctrines,
denominational differences and personal ambitions of church leaders.
3. Pray that President Niyazov and the Government will respect the constitution
of Turkmenistan and will stop the persecution of Evangelical Christians and the
spread of Islam in all levels of society.
4. Pray for God to provide true advisers to President Niyazov and the
Government, as their current advisor is supporting the oppression of Christians.
5. Pray for an outpouring of the (gifts of) the Holy Spirit in all churches in
Turkmenistan and for a move of united prayer for this nation.
To receive regular prayer updates on Turkmenistan, send a blank e-mail to prayer4turkmenistan@email.com.
Source: Joel News - a leading special interest bulletin on prayer, church growth
and revival. We offer a keen selection of the most encouraging news reports, the
most challenging developments and the best resources from over 100 reliable
sources in six continents. Joel News International is a great help and
time-saver for thousands of Christian leaders and intercessors in over 120
nations. http://www.joelnews.org/donation-jni.htm#options.
Has this bulletin been forwarded to you? Then subscribe directly by
sending an empty e-mail to: subscribe-joel-news-international@xc.org
___________________________________________>>>
___ Send us a report on how Pastors are praying in your region or nation:
phil@nppn.org
___ Put your nation on the map! Register Pastors' Prayer Groups at:
http://www.nppn.org/ppg/
___ Archived Global Updates:
http://www.nppn.org/Global.htm
___________________________________________>>>
>From: "Crosswalk.com" <newssummaries.UM.A.3.59327@lists.crosswalk.com>
The Christian world will change dramatically within the next decades, according
to a report from idea news agency. While Christianity is losing ground in the
West, it is making fast progress in the Southern hemisphere. As the dean of the
Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Paul Rajashekar, pointed out in a
lecture at the University of Leipzig (Germany), Europe, previously known as the
"Christian Occident," is turning into a post-Christian society.
One hundred years ago, more than half of the world's Christians lived in Europe,
today only a quarter. By comparison, Africa and Latin America constituted only
12 percent of Christianity around the turn of the 20th century. Today they make
up 40 percent of the two billion or so Christians. In the year 2025, Europe will
account for one fifth of the world’s Christians, Africa and Latin America for
more than half.
Rajashekar believes one of the main reasons for this development is the
difference in understanding the Bible. While Western theology had removed the
mystery from the "Book of Books," Christians in Africa and Latin
America did not simply see it as a historic document but as God's living word.
They have no problems with miracles or apocalyptic statements in the Bible.
Religion Today News Summaries are a compilation of articles from various media
sources. We do not necessarily endorse nor personally adhere to
the views represented within them. We simply want our audience to have an
understanding of and be alert to what others are saying about matters
of religion and faith. To subscribe, send an email to: < SUBSCRIBE-newssummaries@lists.crosswalk.com
> or go to < http://www.crosswalk.com/lists
> for a complete list of our newsletters. Copyright © 2002 Crosswalk.com,
Inc. and its Content Providers. All rights reserved.
___________________________________________>>>
>From: NECPrayer@cs.com
While at an InterPrayer conference in Hastings, England, at the end of May, I
heard a tremendously encouraging report of answered prayer. A brother
named John Beynon starts Bible schools in different nations. He was in
prayer in the Faroe Islands in the north Atlantic, and the Lord began to speak
to him about a 40-day fast for France. The Lord told him to call the
nations to pray for France for focused prayer and fasting for that amount of
time. At first he was confused and explained to the Lord that he was in
the Faroe Islands, but the Lord didn't relent. So he called for the fast
and put it out on the internet. He said several million people responded.
After the fast was over, the French reversed a 97-year-old policy making
France a secular state, banning religion from the schools. (This is
similar to what our Supreme Court did in the 60's banning prayer from schools.)
The Reformed Church in France was encouraged tremendously and has begun
repenting to the Lord for the sins of the French Church. This report
encouraged me that God can turn America around as well in response to massive
prayer and fasting.
The Call NYC in June specifically focused on prayer in schools as the single
most important issue of the day. 50-100,000 people gathered to fast and
pray in Flushing Meadows Park next to Shea Stadium. We pray that as God
has changed the official stance in France, He will do the same in our own
country.
More encouragement: A million hours of prayer has been reached in Wales.
Jonathan Benz, leader of the Tabernacle Tour from Florida to Portland, ME,
reports that revival has begun to break out in Wales. This is the first
time in 100 years.
>From metro London: In a small school outside of London just on the edge of
the M25 Prayer Shield (24-hour prayer for London), youth began to experience
revival. The kids were praying every day for revival and a move of the
Holy Spirit came, similar to the college revivals in 1995, where there was
public confession of sin. This led to increased prayer every day, and 50
coming to the Lord in that school.
Prayer in French Quebec: David Rosen led meetings in two languages in the town
of Beebe, Canada; 5 days of prayer and praise in a tent. There were as
many French as English speakers. Two little French girls came to Jesus.
David Rosen left from that meeting to go to an Indian village to pray with
Cree Indians and a team of Israelis in a conference called "First People to
First Nation".
Please focus with us on Salem, MA: the witches have been unable to come up with
funding for the "Haunted Happenings", an event to which thousands come
every year. Pastor Ken Steigler has started something called "Holy
Happenings" during that time. We are praying that "Holy
Happenings" becomes a month-long festival during October.
Continue to pray for the US elections in November: for godly people to fill
every office, for a shift to come in the majority of the Senate. Pray that
this be the year of turnaround.
Call for a 90-day fast; see NECP website for details. Starts Aug. 8, ends
Nov. 5.
___________________________________________>>>
>From: Jim Glynn <president@hgm.org>
As his servant to the pastors and churches of Haiti ... we are under constant
attacks of the enemy.
Oh how important it is for us to know that in dealing with such work in such a
demonic nation and with such a high calling on our lives, that we have the
assurance that spiritual warfare is constantly being waged on our behalf by our
intercessors. I want to copy a couple pages from the Wagner book to give you
encouragement in the importance of your prayers so that you will not become
weary but will know how precious is your calling, too!
APOSTLES NEED PERSONAL INTERCESSORS
(pp. 59-61 in "Apostles and Prophets: The Foundation of the Church"
by Peter Wagner)
"Here is a very important axiom: the higher individuals move in
Christian leadership, the higher they move on Satan's hit list. Spiritual
warfare becomes more and more intense for them, and therefore, increased
protection is absolutely necessary. Every leader is personally responsible for
putting on the full armor of God that we read about in Ephesians 6, including
the shield of faith. But it does not follow from this that such individual
protection will suffice in every case. It is a necessary starting point, but
there is more. God has also given the spiritual gift of intercession to many
members of the Body of Christ, and some intercessors have received specific
calls or assignments to stand in the gap for Christian leaders.
I wrote my 1992 book, "Prayer Shield," in order to help connect
pastors to the intercessors who should be praying for them. I believed then, and
I believe now, that this is the most important book I have ever written for
pastors. Since then I have heard numerous testimonies from leaders whose lives,
families, and ministries reached new levels as soon as they began to receive
prayer from personal intercessors. Personal intercession and prayer covering is
not only a good theory, but it also is one of those theories that definitely
works!
It might well be that of all Christian leaders, apostles need intercession more
than any other group. Having said this, I must record my surprise when I
discovered that not just one, but many recognized apostles have not yet taken
the need for personal intercession very seriously. I hope this state of affairs
changes rapidly, and I am confident that it will. Actually, I am finding that
some apostles have never really thought of recruiting intercessors, but as soon
as they hear about it they begin to do it.
Two of the most prominent apostles of the New Testament, Paul and Peter, are
leaders who serve as examples of the positive ministry of intercessors.
In writing to the Philippians, Paul mentions two women there, Euodia and
Syntyche, who in all probability served Paul as personal intercessors. Paul
speaks of them as "these women who labored with me in the gospel"
(Phil. 4:3). A more literal translation of the text would be "these women
who did spiritual warfare on my behalf." My wife, Doris, and I have 22
personal intercessors who continually do spiritual warfare on our behalf, and we
are convinced that without them the enemy would have taken us out of the picture
long ago. They are the most important group of people in our lives with the
exception of our immediate family.
At one point, the enemy tried hard to take Peter out of the picture, using King
Herod as his chief instrument. Herod had two Christian leaders on his hit list
at the time: James and Peter. He succeeded in killing James, but he could not
kill Peter. Why? "Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer
was offered to God for him by the church" (Acts 12:5). Later on, we get the
detail that the prayer meeting for Peter was held in the house of Mary, the
mother of Mark (see Acts 12:12). It could well be, therefore, that Mary served
as what I would call Peter's number one primary intercessor. Powerful prayer can
save lives!"
--Oh how we pray this (Wagner quote) will inspire (our intercessors) to continue
in daily prayer for our protection from the wiles of the devil and his demons
... Please remember that as you pray against "all manners of evil that are
waged against us," that you do NOT follow David's example in asking God to
wipe out his enemies and have them fall into their own traps and remove their
names from His book, etc. But in the light of Jesus saying, "You have heard
it said love your friends and hate your enemies, BUT I TELL YOU...pray for your
enemies..." In the light of Jesus' "new" commandments, pray for
our enemies, that the Lord would save them from their sins, and that they might
receive from him the same MERCY (not giving them the punishment they deserve)
and GRACE (giving them blessings they don't deserve) that we would all pray for
ourselves.
Blessings in His Name, Jim
Heart of God Ministries / Rev. James Glynn, President
-for the Unity and Revival of the Church and Nation
of Haiti
2820 N. Kennicott Ave., Arlington Hts, IL 60004-2047
PH: 847.870.0977 / FAX: 847.870.0978
MINISTRY E-MAIL: president@hgm.org
ADOPTION E-MAIL: adoption@hgm.org
WEBSITE: http://www.hgm.org
___________________________________________>>>
>From: "FireGate News" <News@FireGate.org>
>Reply-To: "Tom Gliebe" <News@FireGate.org>
Full Report at:
http://www.firegate.org
___________________________________________>>>
14. SARAJEVO,
BOSNIA: A PRAYERWALKER’S JOURNAL
>From: "Bob Tolliver" <lifeunlimited@myexcel.com>
Today I greet you from the famed city of Sarajevo, Bosnia. As I write, I
am sitting in the Kairos Center on the southern slopes of mountains that
separate the city from the international airport. At this moment, the rain
is falling over the valley as a reminder of a promise God gave me some five
years ago during my first visit to this city. We have just concluded a
most enjoyable day of worship with a few of the some 200 believers who live in
this city of about 450,000 people, 90% of whom are Muslims. Downstairs in
the worship center our team has joined the youth of the church in their weekly
praise time and prayer meeting.
To be quite honest, I really didn't want to make this trip, but I knew we should
. . . . I knew God was in it, and I knew that God had some special purpose for
this particular trip . . . . for this particular team of university students.
While in the services Sunday we basked in the bigness of God's family and the
greatness of His glory as we joined hands and hearts with not only the local
Bosniaks as they prefer to be known, but also believers from Croatia, Sweden,
England, the United States and other countries. People representing
humanitarian aid organizations, Campus Crusade, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship,
European Baptist Federation, Evangelical Free Churches of Europe, Southern
Baptist Convention, and others were present. I was reminded again of the
vastness of God's love, the enormity of His Kingdom, and, most of all, the
magnificence of His command that we go into all the world and make disciples of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Last year at this time there were an estimated 600 believers in all of Bosnia.
Today the conservative figure is 1,000 and some calculate perhaps as many
as 1,600. To you and me this may not seem like many, but when you remember
that less than ten years ago there were only about 30 known believers in the
entire country, this is a glorious testimony to the goodness and grace of God to
a nation that has been so raped and ravaged by the horrors of war and ethnic
cleansing.
And, while the war has created unbelievable ethnic, religious, and political
suspicion, hatred, and disunity in the country, the challenges of declaring the
Gospel, binding up the broken hearted, releasing captives, and healing the
wounded have generated unbelievable unity and partnership among the believers.
Not long ago the churches in and around Sarajevo conducted a special
praise and prayer gathering. More than 500 believers attended. That
was unheard of just two or three years ago. The area pastors gather
monthly to pray for each other, the churches, and their city.
This trip is one of great significance, and, in spite of the hardship and
struggles that scattered our paths to this time and place, we know God has a
special purpose for our being here on this occasion. Both individual and
corporate history are filled with the record of God's extraordinary movement
being preceded by times of struggle and difficulty. The Bible is
clear that the crucible of pressure is what produces the bread, the wine, and
the oil. So, we are embracing these two weeks with weary excitement and
unabated expectation that God's special and unique purposes for this occasion
will be realized either to us, in us, or through us . . . . or perhaps all
three.
I have written of my British missionary friend, Cliff Luckhurst whom I met one
year ago. He was part of a prayer walking team that, about sixteen years
ago, felt urged by the Holy Spirit to do some special prayer walking through the
city of Sarajevo. One thing that God showed those prayer warriors was that
they were to "cut the dragon into pieces". Later, to their
surprise, they discovered that from the air, Sarajevo takes the form of a flying
dragon. By following certain routes, they could do that very thing by
prayer walking. The details will have to wait for another time.
However, when I heard that story just about one year ago, my heart was
stirred, because it again confirmed what I felt God spoke to my heart back in
1998. While on a trip with a couple of ministry friends, Jo Ann and I made
our first visit to this city. Less than thirty minutes after we had
settled into our lodging facilities, I looked out the window to see a huge and
vividly colored rainbow with one end resting in the center of the city and the
other on a northern mountain top on which rests a huge communication tower.
Later that night our friend shared his vision for the city. The next
morning one of our hostesses shared how God had spoken to her that night in her
sleep and had given her confirmation that children, youth, and adults would
begin to rise out of the silent graves of death into newness of life and joy.
That same day our friend shared how God had spoken to him the night before
through a dream in which children, men, and women slowly began coming out of the
black shadows of the bombed out buildings into rays of sunlight.
Two days later, as the four of us were standing on a mountain overlook on the
east end of Sarajevo, the thick gray clouds literally covering the entire valley
like a cold blanket began to break loose, and the sun started beaming rays like
spotlights from one side of the valley to another. Jo Ann took a picture
of that scene that is still as clear in my mind as the day it happened.
And, God's promise to me was clear ---- "I will shine my light and my glory
on this place, and the latter days will be greater than the earlier. I
will visit Sarajevo in magnificent power."
So you can imagine my joy when Cliff shared his story last year. It was
further confirmation of Sarajevo's (and Bosnia's) hope. Interestingly, in
the past two years more progress has been made for the cause of Christ than in
any other time in her history. Even more interesting is that the week
prior to hearing Cliff's story, I heard a Southern Baptist missionary, Todd
Golden, tell me that their total strategy for two years was to pray over the
city, particularly using prayer walking teams, and they would "cut the city
up into pieces" through prayer walking initiatives.
Obviously then, when we began planning this year's trip, you can be certain that
our team knew we would be doing some prayer walking. Today and tomorrow we
will take one of those "pieces" of Sarajevo and try to walk along
every street and pray for God to reveal Himself to those who live there, to
break the powers of darkness that hover over this city, to release His own
glory, and to bless the people with His goodness.
As part of our final preparation, Todd and I had a brief discussion following
services yesterday morning. He made a profound statement by sharing the
philosophy his entire team has adopted ---- "We will not work where we have
not prayed."
"We will not work where we have not prayed!" What a profound
concept!
The more I thought about his statement, the more I could see how it should apply
to you and me. I wonder if either of us can actually say that regarding
our past and maybe even our present ministry. It certainly is scripturally
sound, and it is definitely what I want to challenge you with in today's letter.
"We will not work where have not prayed."
Is it possible to make such a statement with Biblical foundation? Can we
risk such a statement? Is it possible to carry out the Great Commission
with such restrictions? That entire idea narrows our field of ministry
down with unscalable walls if we choose to live in that way.
So, the question comes . . . . what is the basis for such a philosophy?
Since yesterday morning I've thought of several. By the process of
practical logic and Bible truth, we can conclude that . . . .
1. We are commanded to pray about everything. Since that is true,
then there should be nothing we do in any of life, let alone our ministries, but
what we should pray. Paul said in Philippians 4, "Don't worry about
anything; pray about everything". Therefore, it's clear that our
ministry tasks and duties should and must be included. To not include them
is to disobey God.
2. We are commanded to pray about Kingdom matters. Since our
ministries are, hopefully, about kingdom matters, then we should be praying
before doing. Even the model prayer says, "Thy kingdom come; Thy will
be done on earth as it has already been done in heaven." If we are
commanded to pray about kingdom matters, then we must either pray about our
ministries, or we must admit that our ministries are our own and are not about
kingdom matters.
3. God has promised to hear us when we pray. Therefore, why should
we ever hesitate to pray about things pertain to our ministries, or our
families, or anything else? If we know that He hears us when we pray, as
the Apostle John assured in his first Epistle, and we know that He will answer,
then why on earth would we hesitate to pray?
4. God has declared He works proportionate to prayer, faith, and obedience
(but not anything else). In looking at the more than 3,000 promises in the
Bible, we discover that God has chosen to bless us and to advance His works in
direct relationship to these three things. Good works, trying harder,
coming up with a good idea, spending more money . . . . none of these activities
guarantee any success. However, prayer, faith, and obedience, do just
that. In light of that, it makes sense to "not work where we have not
prayed." That would be a waste of time, though it might appear to be
sound logic and good intentions.
5. Prayer multiples the end results. One of seven basic prayer
principles is the gathering of two or more believers in agreeing prayer.
I've written recently about this already, but I must repeat that having
two pray about something instead of one doesn't just double the effectiveness;
the synergistic reaction of the Holy Spirit quadruples the results, rather than
just doubling it. So, if prayer quadruples the end results, then it
becomes totally logical that we should never engage in any ministry activity
that has not been preceded by intense prayer.
6. The products of prayer are indispensable. If you and I could take
the time to search out all the end results of prayer, we would quickly
acknowledge that the products of prayer are so precious and so desirable, we
cannot imagine living without prayer. Salvation of lost souls, healing of
broken relationships, mending of broken and diseased bodies, victory over powers
of bondage, . . . . all of these and more come as a direct result of prayer.
So the question comes then, as to whether or not you want a ministry that
is fruitful, or one that is just full of leaves. Why would we not choose
to make that motto ours . . . . "We will not work where we have not
prayed?"
7. To serve God without a vital prevailing prayer life is to try to climb
a mountain without ropes, picks, shelter, food, and appropriate boots. Do
you want to be like Caleb and say, "Give me that mountain!"?
Then you'd better make prayer your absolute base camp.
"We will not work where we have not prayed." That is powerful
stuff which, if you and I will do it, will literally turn our ministries into
radical adventures of multiplied effectiveness, authority, and power.
Remember ---- "We will not work where we have not prayed."
In His Bond, Bob Tolliver -- Rom 1:11-12
Copyright May, 2002
Life Unlimited Ministries / lifeunlimited@myexcel.com
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