Christian Grandparenting Network is asking grandparents throughout the world to become part of the solution of our troubled world by joining in prayer on National Grandparents' Day on September 8 by making it a Day of Prayer.

Our dear grandchildren will be going back to school soon, in some areas, two of mine are starting next week. Grandparents generally tend to be concerned about their grandchildren's spiritual, emotional, physical, social, and educational environment.

However, Paul tells us in God's word, "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, `will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." ¹ God will displace our worry with peace when we commit our concerns to Him. Our prayers may not be answered according to our agenda but they will be answered in God's way in His timing.

 A family’s faith can be lost in one generation; but grandparents can be defenders of our faith to prevent this loss. Life can be full of disappointments and crises, and if our children and grandchildren turn their backs on their heritage of faith, they will face the challenges and trials of life without God in a chaotic world.

Will you invite your friends who are grandparents to join you for intentional prayer for our grandchildren, not only on September 8 but also throughout the year?

Will you go to https://www.facebook.com/GrandparentDayOfPrayer, if you are on Facebook to indicate your participation to join grandparents worldwide for this Day of Prayer? -

¹ Philippians 4:6, 7 (The Message)

Thanks to National Public Radio, I learned something new recently: China has spent billions of dollars constructing buildings—and even entire cities—to replicate some of the world’s most renowned architecture.

      If you live in Beijing or Shanghai, you no longer have to travel to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, for there’s now a copycat version in your own country. If you’ve always wanted to visit Manhattan, you can see a replica nearby, complete with Rockefeller and Lincoln centers and even a Hudson River. And for those looking for something more serene, the gorgeous Austrian town of Hallstatt has been replicated in all its picturesque beauty.

      In most Western cultures, people look down on you for being a copycat. Not so in China. They take pride in their replicas, whether the replicas are of watches, electronics, missiles, or cities. Psychologically, it probably feels as if they have conquered the objects they’ve recreated.

      Personally, I would much rather visit the real Eiffel Tower than see a cheap imitation. And I’ve never been very attracted to Rolex watch knockoffs, because I know there really is a difference between the real and the counterfeit.

      If everyone followed the Chinese copycat philosophy, we would soon reach a point where nothing was real. Creativity and innovation would be a thing of the past, because all we’d ever do would be to copy from one another. In such a world, Steve Jobs could never have created Apple, because there was nothing yet to copy. It’s as if he saw something unseen to model his products after.

      But my biggest criticism of China’s copycat cities is this: The Chinese are seeking to copy the wrong things. Sure, Paris and Manhattan are iconic places in the human scheme of things. Yet why not shoot for a higher model these earthly places?

      Here’s what I mean…

      I think the Chinese ought to take some time to read Augustine of Hippo’s famous fifth-century book about the contrast between the City of God and the City of Man. While the well-intentioned Chinese builders are spending lots of time and money to duplicate the best architecture the world offers in the City of Man, a much better quest would be to reflect the “heavenly city whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10 TLB).

      Why try to copy each other and replicate earthly models, when our objective should be to model the kingdom of heaven? Yes, it’s certainly easier to reproduce Paris or Manhattan. But in the end, it’s much more rewarding to reflect God’s architecture instead of man’s.

      However, before we’re too hard on the Chinese, we should all ask ourselves some hard questions: What are we building? What model are we patterning our lives around? Are we living for earthly things or for God’s eternal kingdom?

      These questions are at the very heart of the prayer Jesus taught us to pray (Matthew 6:9-13). Our prayers and our lives should reflect a glorious quest for His kingdom to come and His will to be done—modeling on earth what is already happening in heaven. In the end, that’s the only city worth replicating.

      So go ahead and be a copycat. People shouldn’t have to go to heaven to see what it’s like. They should be able to look at your life and mine.

My question to us in this Five Part Series is simply this:

Does the verse Isaiah 62:6 apply to you and me today? And if our answer is “Yes”….then what are we called to do about it? And if not… why not?

Isaiah 62: 6: “I have posted watchmen on your walls O Jerusalem; they
will never be silent day or night. You who call upon the Lord, give yourselves
no rest and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the
praise of the earth.”

Because this verse is from the Old Testament, some might argue that this Isaiah passage about Jerusalem is not as pertinent to their Christian walk today as a verse from the New Testament.                        

So for now, let’s consider this important point in our discussion: Is the Old Testament written for us today?

First, the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Tim 3:16 that, “ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Most of us know this verse well, but did you know that Paul wrote it in 66 or 67 AD, before the New Testament was fully written or circulated in 100 AD. Therefore, let me submit to you that Paul (the former Jewish Pharisee) would definitely have included this verse, from The Old Testament, in his definition of “all Scripture.” Do we reject all pre-Matthew Scriptures as the Word of God? No, of course not! It would not be sound doctrine if we did not have a unified understanding of the Bible, which includes both the Old and New Testament.

Jesus Really Was Jewish!

Let us remember that until about 135 AD, the entire early church was primarily made up of Jews. They followed the Jewish Rabbi Jesus! They believed in a Jewish Messiah, who attended a Jewish synagogue, who honored the Jewish festivals and Shabbat, and who accepted the Jewish Sacred writings. Was this an accident, or the Divine choice and purpose of God? God chose to act and speak to the world through His Son Jesus, who lived like a Jew, worshipped like a Jew, and whose words, actions, and teachings were in accordance with the Jewish culture, law, and traditions. Jesus said He had not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. (Matt.5:17)

God is talking to us about something very real and very relevant for our Christian lives TODAY, even though it is written in the Old Testament. In fact, many verses in the Old Testament are key reasons why millions of Christians in over 175 nations, participate in The Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem each year on the first Sunday of every October.

Now that we have settled the "IF" question regarding this Old Testament verse, next time we'll look at the "WHERE" question - i.e., Jerusalem.

 Will you stand in the GAP with prayer for your grandchildren?

Grandparents are encouraged for a special time of prayer for their grandchildren on the National Grandparents Day on September 8. Will you unite with grandparents worldwide to make this a special Day of Prayer?

As the moral and spiritual climate in our world is eroding, it is becoming more difficult for our grandchildren to grow up in a Christ-like environment.

Fighting the opposition with our prayers for the ongoing guidance and spiritual growth of our grandchildren takes daily discipline. To pray effectively, we need to know their frustrations, dreams, fears, concerns, and expectations. Now and then, we need to ask them, “What is going on in your life right now? How can I pray for you?” We also need to ask their parents how we can specifically pray for them, especially the younger ones.

To fight for our families as Nehemiah told the Israelites to do, ¹ we have to pray intentionally and regularly. According to God’s Word, praying for our children and grandchildren should be a high priority for us. Not all prayers are going to be answered immediately or even in our lifetimes. However, God will acknowledge our intercessory prayers and answer them at just the right time.

To learn more about Grandparents Day of Prayer go to http://www.gocgn.com/day-of-prayer

Lillian Penner, Prayer Coordinator

¹ Nehemiah 4:14

In Isaiah 62:6, God says He has divinely placed His passionate and persistent Watchmen on the walls of a particular city for His eternal purposes.

Is there an actual city called Jerusalem? Not a metaphor, but an actual piece of real estate in this world today called Jerusalem? We know that there is, so God may just be speaking about THAT particular piece of land in Israel!

Isaiah 62: 6: “I have posted watchmen on your walls O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call upon the Lord, give yourselves no rest and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.”  

Now this is not some wild stretch of the imagination because Scripture clearly reveals that the city of Jerusalem is a priority to God!

How do we know it’s a priority?

First, God inspired the writers of Scripture to mention Jerusalem 767 times in the Bible (KJV version); 626 times in the Old Testament and 141 times in the New Testament. As we well know, God’s word is never in vain; it always fulfills His purposes. (Isaiah 55:11). The most common reason for repetition in the Bible is to emphasize something that is really important to God. What is dear to God’s heart should be important for us to both hear and respond to. You see in the Hebrew culture, “hearing,” the Word of God, was synonymous with living out the appropriate action to His Word. One could not truly “hear” without “doing,” so God wants believers to do something regarding Jerusalem!

Secondly, Jerusalem was so important to God that He attached His Own Name to that city- not just once, but repeatedly.  In the Bible, He calls Jerusalem the City of God (Psalm 46:4), The City of The Lord (Isaiah 60:14), My Holy Mountain or The Holy Mountain of God (Isaiah 11:9;Isa. 56:7; Isa. 57:13; Isa. 66:20; Ezekiel 20;40; Daniel 9:16; Daniel 9:20; Joel 2:1;Joel 3:17; Zephaniah 3:11, Zechariah 8:3),The Mountain of the Lord of Hosts (Zechariah 8:3), The Throne of the Lord (Jeremiah 3:17), The Zion of The Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 60:14), and the City of the Great King…i.e., Jesus (Psalm 48:2; Matthew 5:35). And when God calls Jerusalem by other names, He still reveals His affection and love by calling her: The City of Joy ( Jer. 49:25), The City of Praise (Jer. 49:25), The City of Peace (Heb. 7:2), Great Among the Nations (Lam. 1:1), and The Perfection of Beauty ( Lam. 2:15).

The quantity of Scripture, related to Jerusalem, reveals how significant it is to God’s heart and His future purposes for it. He cares about what is happening in Jerusalem right now, and what will happen there in the future.

We are Christians who have been, “grafted into the Covenant of Abraham.” We may read the promises to Jerusalem, as though “Jerusalem” meant our city or our churches here in America. That’s not wrong to do, BUT we should always remember that the personal application of Scripture, to our lives, should never deny the primary one, which was to Jerusalem. His mandates and promises for “Jerusalem” are first and foremost, to the very real city of the same name, and His Word and promises are still true to that city. This is why believers from every tongue, tribe and nation participate in the Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem each year. Check it out!

This is Part II of a Five Part Series. Be sure to read Part I

“And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing" (Isaiah 35:1, 2).
 
Have you ever been in the desert? I’ve been in many deserts, both physically and spiritually. My husband likes to minister to people who live in the desert where there are miles and miles of sand. There are huge sand dunes with nothing else that the eye can see. Miles and miles of sand everywhere. We’ve spent a lot of time in Australia as well where there are vast amounts of unpopulated areas throughout the middle of the country. Vast wastelands.
 
We were given a desert rose from North Africa that was forged under heat and pressure in that vast desert area. Even in the driest of situation, toughest of places, there is life. I cherish that special rose made out of rock and sand. It is so beautiful and so meaningful to me. See a desert rose.

During those personal times in the desert you may feel like everything has shut down for you. You may not sense favor where you once did. You may feel that your relationships are more distant and may even feel that God has abandoned you. But I want to say to you, “Do not fear. God is in the desert. He is developing you into a rose."

God brings us into the desert in our spiritual life, often not because we are doing something wrong, but because He wants more of us. He wants our undivided attention. He may even take us out of a busy and fruitful time, and this may seem so inconvenient and unnecessary to the carnal mind. But always know this: your Father knows exactly what He is doing.
 
What are you leaning on for your support? Is it ministry, popularity, or money? God wants you to lean solely on Him. He will make you strong in days when everything else is shaking. He is always strategic and purposeful in all that He does. If you are in a desert experience, He has set you apart for Himself in this season for a purpose.

Learn to Sing
 
“I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness and speak comfortably to her, and she shall sing there” (Hosea 2:14).
 
In the desert we must learn to sing. Our natural tendency is to have a gloomy outlook and give up, but this is exactly when we need to learn to sing with all our heart.
 
When we are in this situation in our life, how can we get the most out of our desert experience? Here are some ways:

• Fix your eyes on God. Walk in faith. This may not be an easy time. After all, you are in a desert where most things have dried up. But it’s you and God alone and this is most valuable to Him. He desires our intimacy. Jesus alone is your “Bread of Life”.
  
  
• Resist the enemy. If the enemy is telling you that there is no way out and that your situation is hopeless, resist him and stand firm in your faith. This is a time when the enemy comes in with his relentless lies. He did this with Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4).
  
  
• Embrace the desert. Embrace it wholeheartedly by the grace of God. See the tremendous value of this time in your life, and thank God for it.
  
  
• Examine your heart and invite God’s purifying fire. During this time God will show you areas that need change. Cooperate with His Spirit and invite Him to change you deeply on the inside. Ask Him to remove every barrier that keeps you from Him and His purposes for you.
  
  
• Get a journal and write down what God is saying to you. He is always speaking, and now you have no distractions from hearing His voice. By faith believe that He wants to share His secrets with you during this time and listen expectantly.
  
  
• Study whole books of the Bible. Especially study the Song of Solomon because it is all about intimacy with God.  
  
  
• Pray God’s Word out loud back to Him. This is God’s personal season with you. Personalize the Bible. Take a phrase and pray it. Listen to God's voice carefully throughout the day.
  
  
• Learn to sing in the desert. Sing praises to God instead of complaining. Watch your tongue very carefully and keep from negativity. Become an extravagant worshipper.
  
  
• Study the attributes of God daily. Worship God for who He is, not just for what He gives you. Dwell and meditate on His attributes. Sing and pray those attributes back to Him.

This is the time to learn to sing with all your heart. We must not only sing with our voice, but we must sing with our words, our eyes, our attitudes, our prayers, our writing, our praise, and everything else. 

We must come to the place where all that is within us gives praise to God.
 
Study the Song of Solomon
 
“Set me as a seal upon your arm, as a seal upon your heart, for love is as strong as death, its jealousy as ardent as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord” (Song 8:6).
 
The desert is a wonderful place to study the Song of Solomon in the Bible. The Song of Solomon is an eight-chapter love song revealing the passionate desire of God for His Bride. If you want to understand how God sees you and feels about you, then this is a good book to study while in the desert. Nothing will empower your heart more than having a revelation of God’s affection for you personally. God will empower your heart to trust Him in this season of your life.
 
The Song of Solomon is Mike Bickle’s most popular teaching series here at the International House of Prayer. He studied it for 20 years. I recommend his teachings and am planning on writing more articles on it in the future. For a 24-part series by Mike Bickle, see Song of Songs.
 
It’s time to shake off the lies and begin to enjoy the desert. Sing! Sing in your heart and thank Him for this time. It is time for you and Him without any distractions. Waters will break out in your desert, and you will find streams that will water all those you come in contact with. Don’ despise this time but learn to enjoy it. What looks like an endless desert with no life will turn into springs of water. God is preparing you now for what He has for you in the future. He will bring forth flowers in your desert, and He has a plan for you. You are not forgotten but God wants to speak tenderly to you. You are His beloved and He cherishes every moment you are with Him in the desert. You are His desert rose.
 
“Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water….” (Isaiah 35:6, 7)

Intercessors Arise News

• I have published 4 new books on prayer and intercession with a 20% discount on each book - See the links to find a description, how to purchase them, and use the discount code - PL6G7Y59. 
  
  Breakthrough Prayer: Praying God's Truth, Destroying Enemy Lies - http://www.createspace.com/3420713
  24/7 Prayer Arise: Building the House of Prayer in Your City - http://www.createspace.com/3420712
  Deeper Still: Secrets to a Deeper Prayer Life - http://www.createspace.com/3420707
  Ascending the Heights in Prayer: Touching Heaven, Changing Earth - http://www.createspace.com/3420711

Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer (IHOP) KC Staff
deb@intercessorsarise.org
www.intercessorsarise.org

Revitalize your church's prayer ministry, using NDP as a jumping off point

What a gift!

Every first Thursday of May, your congregation has an opportunity to join the Church across America in praying for our nation … and in so doing, revitalize your prayer ministry at the same time.  The observance of the National Day of Prayeris the perfect time for a spring-cleaning of your approach to prayer and praying. No better time to review and revise the systems, structures, and strategies.

“Every church prays, but not every church is a praying church.”  

Ask every member of your congregation, young children to senior saints, to establish a personal plan to participate on May 3^rd

·      Prayerwalk their street, praying for neighbors

·      Devote all or part of their lunchbreak to praying for our nation’s leaders

·      Pray for our President and other leaders at the evening meal

·      Attend a community-wide prayer breakfast or concert of prayer 

·      Spend 15 minutes in the prayer room (or a designated prayer location) in the church facility

·      Write a letter to a local or national leader and indicate you have taken time to pray for her or him

Challenge each class and committee, fellowship group and ministry team t prayerfully discern a plan for National Day of Prayer

• Prayerwalk together a section of town near city hall
• Gather at the church for a 30 minute prayer meeting
• Meet early for breakfast and prayer before going to work
• Attend together a community-wide prayer event

After the National Day of prayer, announce a planning session for every leader in the church (deacons, Awana, Sunday classes, music, etc.). Begin with a bathed in prayer assessment of the state of prayer in your congregation. Invite core leaders to participate in an honest discussion of the vitality of praying in each of the church’s ministries and for each of the congregation’s activities. Use a tool, such as Article #062   Diagnostic Tool To Assess The Prayer Life Of A Congregation.  http://nppn.org/Articles/Article062.htm

A praying church not only invites everyone to the place of prayer (usually a weeknight prayer meeting) but also takes prayer to the places where everyone already connect.  Invite members to experience a fresh approach to corporate prayer, one that emphasizes Spirit-led participation, praying scripture, and praying for names and needs and neighborhoods … SO THAT the answers to each of our prayers results in a greater revelation of the glory of God (John 17:1-5).

Lastly, provide practical, biblical training through an experiential workshop, so that, prayer is no longer limited to the 60 seconds of a Sunday morning pastoral prayer or the often mechanical opening and closing prayer of a meeting.

May this National Day of Prayer see a release of the Holy Spirit’s fresh wind and fresh fire of prayer that stirs revival among believers and awakening in our communities.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 210 | Wed 15 May 2013

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (CAR): SEIZED BY MUSLIM REBELS

by Elizabeth Kendal

As the rebel army, Seleka, advanced towards Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic (CAR), CAR President Francois Bozize appealed to France (the colonial power) and the US for help. However, this was to no avail, even though French troops were already in the country. Desperate for support, Bozize appealed to South African president Jacob Zuma, who did send troops. But on 23 March, after fierce fighting, Seleka defeated the South African Defence Force, paving the way for the rebels to enter Bangui on Sunday 24 March unhindered. Seleka then embarked on a campaign of raping, killing, looting and pillaging. Micopax, the European Union-funded peace-keeping force in CAR, has made no effort to engage the rebels. International Crisis Group (ICG) finds this 'disturbing' and wonders if Micopax has been instructed to stand aside. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), 'One of the first targets was the Bangui Cathedral, where Seleka rebels entered the church, fired in the air, and robbed the worshippers.' Something both HRW and ICG fail to mention is that the rebels who have seized power are Arabic-speaking Muslims, whereas CAR is a French-speaking, mostly Christian country (76 percent Christian according to Operation World).

The rebels, who claim to be liberating CAR from the dictator Bozize, hail from the Vakaga district, a poor, remote north-east region of CAR bordering Chad and Sudan. Vakaga is the only part of the CAR where Arabic is the common language and Islam the dominant religion. Despite their poverty, the rebels entered Bangui wearing brand new military uniforms, driving brand new pickups and brandishing brand new weapons. Amongst them were janjaweed (Islamic militiamen) from Darfur, Sudan, and jihadis from Mali and Northern Nigeria. In a FIDES press release, Church leaders in CAR denounce 'a rebellion characterised by religious extremism'. They describe a systematic and 'planned desecration and destruction of religious Christian buildings, and in particular the Catholic and Protestant churches'. They lament the heavy price the Church is paying, with churches destroyed and 'priests and religious women' attacked.

Archbishop Dieudonne Nzapalainga has written a courageous letter to the self-proclaimed new president, rebel leader Michel Djotodia, listing Seleka's crimes: 'threats, terror, and psychological torture . . . rape of young girls and women, some of whom have committed suicide [and] recruitment of child soldiers'. Observing that Seleka consists 'largely of foreign Muslims and some from the nation', the prelate notes that 'the Muslim population [in Bangui] was largely spared looting', and asks, 'What are the real intentions of this movement against our Christian institutions?' According to one missionary's blog, hospitals and charities have all been looted. 'Rebels do not save anybody or anything,' she writes, 'except for mosques and Muslim traders, who buy the stolen property from them.'

The questions arising out of this crisis are enormous and ugly. Who is funding and equipping Seleka and with what aim? Why did France not intervene in CAR, when it intervened in Ivory Coast (to support Islamic rebels) and in Mali (to fight Islamic rebels)? Why is the US refusing to send aid? Why did the EU-funded Micopax not protect CAR civilians as it is paid to do? In early 2011, Ivory Coast's president Laurent Gbagbo - who believed in advancing African rather than Western interests - found himself the victim of regime change at the hands of Islamic forces backed by Western powers pursuing Western 'interests'. Could the same be happening in CAR? President Bozize had recently signed oil concessions over to Chinese and South African companies. Soon after proclaiming himself president, rebel leader Michel Djotodia promised to 'sort out' CAR's mining and oil contracts. If these contracts are handed to Western powers, then we will have most of our answers. Meanwhile, Seleka has seized control of CAR's extensive diamond industry. The global body of Christ must stand united, demanding truth - no matter how unpalatable - and justice. She must speak up for the Church in CAR and remember them in prayer as they have to navigate this crisis.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT -

* God will shine light into the darkness so that truth will be revealed; may the Lord himself bring justice, righteousness and liberty to CAR. (Habakkuk 2:6b-14)

'The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.' (Psalm 33:13-15 NLT)

* the body of Christ in the world will stand as one against greed, megalomania, violence, deceit, repression and all manner of evil presently at work in CAR. 'The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.' (John 1:5 ESV)

* the Holy Spirit will draw CAR's Christians to himself, gracing them with faith and prayer, comfort and peace. May he bless, protect and sustain all those who put their faith in him. (Romans 8:31-39)

SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE

MUSLIM REBELS SEIZE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

On 24 March a rebel army named Seleka seized control of Bangui, capital of Central African Republic (CAR), in an orgy of killing, raping and looting. The rebels are from the Vakaga district, a poor, remote north-east region of CAR bordering Chad and Sudan. Whilst CAR is French-speaking and 76 percent Christian, Vakaga is Arabic-speaking and Muslim. The 'poor' rebels are very well armed and amongst them are Islamic militiamen from Darfur, Sudan, and jihadis from Mali and Northern Nigeria. Churches have been destroyed and looted and Christian workers attacked, while the Muslim community of Bangui has been spared. Rebel leader Michel Djotodia has proclaimed himself president. EU peacekeepers did not engage the rebels. French forces (though present) and the US refused to help. Please pray for the Church in CAR.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks or to access RLPB and RLM archives, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the Summary above might also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their worship by people who are leading in prayer.

This RLPB was written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (AEA RLC) by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and a member of the AEA RLC team.

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
'Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today'  (Deror Books, Dec. 2012)

http://turnbackthebattle.com/thebook.html 

Elizabeth is Adjunct Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at the Melbourne School of Theology. She is Director of Advocacy for Christian Faith & Freedom based in Canberra, Australia.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email
to <join-rlpb@hub.xc.org>.

“A preacher preaches a message. A voice is much more than this. A message can deliver content, but a voice comes from an anointed life that has the power to actually turn people. A message delivers information. A voice delivers people. Anyone can deliver a message, but only a consecrated life can be a voice.” Wes Martin
 
Today we are hearing voices from every direction. The voice of technology, and the voices on the internet and TV are at an all-time high. Rarely can we get away from all the noise. It is blaring for our attention all the time day and night. Everyone seems to be trying to be a voice in a busy and rapidly increasingly world of noise and empty promises.
 
But what is God looking for at this point in human history?
 
He is looking for consecrated ones who will be His voice; His voice in prayer, His voice in speaking words of truth, and His voice in everyday life in various situations that we encounter all day long. Even though we are in a world of noise, we are in a famine for truth. False promises and lies are everywhere. It’s time to stand on God’s Word and speak His truth into our life circumstances.
 
God is looking for those who walk in wholehearted abandonment like John the Baptist. His life is an example to each one of us.
 
The Life of John the Baptist
 
“Then they said to him, ‘Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?' He said, 'I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the LORD,' as the prophet Isaiah said” (John 1:22-23, NKJV). 
 
Let’s look at some of the qualities of the life of John the Baptist because he was God’s voice in the wilderness. What was John like? How could he become a powerful and anointed voice for God?

• John identified himself as a voice - He prepared people to encounter God Himself. When he spoke, decisive shifts took place in people’s lives and they turned toward righteousness.

• John lived in simplicity - He lived in isolation and was consumed with His message and the one who had sent him.

• John was a faithful witness - He was faithful to the word of the Lord regardless of cost (John 3:7-18, 29).

• John was established in His identity before God - He did not look to other men for his identity or for approval. He looked to God.

• John was a man of prayer and devotion - As he grew up he became strong in spirit in the desert (Luke 1:80). He had a deep life with God.

• John was a consecrated vessel - He was set apart as a Nazarite to minister to God all his days. He did not drink wine or strong drink (Luke 1:15). He practiced fasting regularly.

In these days God is looking for those who can be His voice in the wilderness. Like John the Baptist, He is looking for those who will prepare for His Second Coming.
 
Are you a voice for God? Are you that consecrated vessel God can use in this critical day? 
 
The Spiritual Violence of John the Baptist

“There has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater [in opportunity] than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Matthew 11:11-12).
 
John was the Father’s messenger who came to prepare the way for Jesus. He was the greatest man and a burning and shining light (John 5:35). Matthew 11:12  speaks of spiritual violence. It points to being resolute to pay any price necessary in seeking more of God. This is what John the Baptist was like. He violently reordered his priorities and the way he did everything. His lifestyle had a violent impact on the devil’s kingdom.

Jesus set John forth as the premier model of wholeheartedness in devotion. In his spiritual violence, John radically sought after God without reservation or compromise. He loved God. He was great in God’s sight. When God releases a greater measure of His power and presence, He looks for a greater dedication. In these days God is looking for those who will experience the Kingdom of God in greater measure by the holy forcefulness of spiritual violence. John the Baptist was this type of man internally because of his extravagant love for God that confronted all the inner hindrances and barriers to fully experiencing God in his heart. John the Baptist was hungry for God. He had a vision to have everything that God would give the human spirit in his age.

John called himself a friend of the bridegroom (John 3:29). This is how he saw himself. He had a forerunner ministry. He opened his heart to God and prepared the Bride for the coming of Christ. He stood, He heard, and He greatly rejoiced because of the Bridegroom’s voice. He modeled the way to prepare a spiritual highway (Luke 3:7-20). He emphasized calling people to repent and announced the coming of Jesus. He called people to righteous living. He modeled a wholehearted pursuit of God and what it looks like. His life’s message is clear. No one has ever passed him in abandonment to God.

So many in the Church have lost their purpose in life. In the pursuit of making this world a pleasant place to live, multitudes have chased after lesser gods. We must listen to the message of John the Baptist. We must repent and return to God with wholehearted abandonment. We must wait upon God and prepare in these end times (Matthew 24:42-43; 25:13; Mark 13:33-38; Luke 21:26; Revelation 3:3 16:15).

As we wait, pray, and live in righteousness, we gain strength for our hearts. Jesus is coming again. Like John we must prepare this generation for the Lord’s return. John prepared for the first coming of the Lord through modeling his lifestyle, his message, and through the power of the Holy Spirit that was on his life. We must prepare others for the second coming of Christ. We may be a forerunner as an intercessor, in the marketplace, in the media or as a preacher calling people to prepare the way of the Lord. We have the same Spirit in our lives as John did.

Let’s be inspired by John's life. Let’s let it challenge our lives to the core. We are God’s model of wholeheartedness. We are God’s voice at this time.

Being God’s Voice

As you pray, ask God to make you His voice. Ask Him to release His authority in your life to turn others back to God and righteousness. The world is living in a wilderness of increasing fear, anxiety, loneliness, and pain. People are hiding their fear through constant activity and in so many unfulfilling ways in their anxious attempt to make this life pleasant. They need God.

We are the voice of the Lord on the earth as we positively declare His will through our prayers and our lives. God is looking for consecrated vessels like John the Baptist. He is waiting for something to be done, waiting for someone to pray His will. We become God’s voice on the earth for breakthrough by praying His will as we listen and obey. Heaven responds to our prayers. God listens and acts on our behalf. 

The atmosphere changes; we change; our lives change.     

You are God's voice in this generation, pointing the way to His second coming. As you pray, you are releasing His power in the world. As you speak, you are declaring His will on this earth. As you travail, your tears are releasing His power to break the darkness over the land. As you live, you are modeling a dedicated life.
 
He wants to use you in greater and greater dimensions. He wants you to rise up higher as a consecrated vessel for His glory. But it’s up to you. The King of the Universe is calling you higher. Will you say “yes” to a holy lifestyle, to a deeper prayer life, to a level of consecration that only He can make real in your life?

Let’s be His voice in the wilderness. Let’s prepare others for His Second Coming. Let's prepare the way of the Lord.  
 
“He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in,
 every mountain and hill made low.
 The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation... I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.' And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them” (Luke 3:3-6, 16-18).

A powerful word -  A Voice in the Wilderness - Prepare the Way of the Lord 

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• Have your friends sign up for Intercessors Arise here!
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Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer (IHOP) KC Staff
deb@intercessorsarise.org
www.intercessorsarise.org

Dear Praying Friends,

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Blessings,

Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise International

IHOP-KC staff

http://intercessorsarise.org

It turned out that Jimmy was suicidal.

Our youth staff team met with him after he had attended an outreach event we hosted at his high school. He later came to Christ, but his emotional, mental, and spiritual challenges were frankly, overwhelming to us at times.

I remember that on one occasion we all entered into a time of focused prayer for Jimmy. We listened to each other pray for him and in that concentrated time we also listened to what the Holy Spirit was saying to us individually and as a team.

In the months after that concentrated prayer time for Jimmy, we were able to involve him in a Friday night Bible study at the home of a dedicated Christian family. They took him under their wing, in addition to the time investment our team was giving to him.

In the years that followed, he became established in his faith and identity; even his outward appearance and expressions became more positive. He finished college, met a wonderful Christian girl, and now is married and is a new father. Of course, he was prayed for many times throughout the years. But looking back, the deep, concentrated time of group prayer we had for him turned out to be powerful!

We all know how effective prayer is, and we have often seen the miracles of prayer expressed in various ways and forms. As E.M. Bounds wrote, “Prayer is of transcendent importance, for it is the mightiest agent to advance God’s work…only praying hearts and hands do God’s work…prayer succeeds when all else fails. Prayer has won great victories and has rescued, with notable triumph God’s saints when every other hope was gone.”

Prayer in your network

Most youth worker meetings include a time of prayer. More than likely, these occur at the end of a meeting and include quick prayer requests and quick prayers. Although this is often the norm, what I am excited about is the effectiveness and power that happens when we enter into deep and concentrated group prayer.

This form of praying is actually linked to having a deep and personal conversation with God. As in a conversation with friends and family, it includes listening and expressing and sometimes exhausting a topic before moving on to another.

As we enter into focused, concentrated group prayer it is good to quiet our hearts with a time of silence and confession. We are then much more sensitive to pray under the direction and in alignment with the Holy Spirit.

I love the passage in Romans 8:26-27, “The Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that can not be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.”

Not surprisingly, the Holy Spirit gives us impressions, thoughts, and specific verses about how to pray for someone or something specifically.

I remember one time praying with a mother about her daughter’s lack of Christian friends. Her daughter often felt alone and alienated at her high school. During our concentrated time of prayer together, I felt the Holy Spirit impressing me to pray that her daughter, Lisa would want to go on an overseas project that we were leading that year. After the prayer time with my friend, I invited Lisa to go with us. Through the project training times and the actual overseas experience Lisa made lasting friends with several other students on the project. They are still friends 10 years later!

Listening carefully to what others say in prayer along with the impressions of the Holy Spirit makes us much more sensitive in expressing our own thoughts and prayers. We can agree with others about what they pray, or share a pertinent Scripture, because we are involved in a conversation.

Making it work in your schedule

The main hindrance to this very effective way of praying is time. As a society and as youth workers, we often are pressured by time constraints. One suggestion is to divide the group up into smaller groups, with each group taking just one or two requests. That way, you can pray more effectively and all concerns can be covered. Sometimes, the request is so important or life-threatening that the entire prayer time needs to be devoted to it.

I think the early apostles might have used this focused, concentrated style of prayer. In Acts 4 it says “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

How I would love to see our prayer times become truly revolutionary- then we couldn’t wait to pray and trust God to work. Shake us up Lord!

I love word clouds. These computer-generated word assortments depict the frequency, size, or relative importance of the words on a website or print document.

The main thing I love about word clouds is that they don’t lie. You may think the theme of your website or document is one thing, but the word cloud will tell you what your REAL message is.

If you do a word cloud of the Gospel of Matthew, for example, it should be no surprise that the name Jesus is very BIG. The other key words are God and Kingdom.

In contrast, the word “church” is only used in two passages of Matthew (16:18 & 18:17), and these are the only times it is mentioned in the four Gospels. Think about this for a moment. Is it possible we’ve sometimes been guilty of magnifying the church as even bigger than the kingdom—or even bigger than Jesus Himself?

The beauty of word clouds is not only the words that turn out to be BIG and bold, but also the ones that are SMALL and faint. What a wonderful illustration of life’s priorities.

So, what if someone created a word cloud of your life—your words, thoughts, motives, and actions? What words would be BIG, and which ones would be SMALL? Would JESUS and KINGDOM be big or small? Would you be encouraged by your life’s word cloud, or embarrassed? Would you be willing to have the words projected on a screen for all to see?

The good news is that there’s still time to improve your life’s word cloud. Of course, this won’t be an easy process. You will have to deny yourself daily, take up your cross, and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23).

But changing your word cloud will be worth it. Just think of the beautiful new picture God will create as Jesus increases and you decrease (John 3:30).

 Are you a new Baby Boomer grandparent or a grandparent looking for resources and/or suggestions to grandparent with a purpose? I am excited to share some resources and suggestions with you that will help you grandparent with a purpose.

For the last five years, I have had the privilege to be the National Prayer Coordinator of Christian Grandparenting Network (CGN). CGN is devoted to challenging Christian grandparents to live intentionally as representatives of Christ for future generations. It is committed to providing a network of resources and opportunities for grandparents to have powerful opportunities for inter-generational dialogue to strengthen grandparent-grandchild relationships and spiritual growth. Go to www.christiangrandparenting.net

 As the Prayer Coordinator for CGN, I have developed two prayers cards: Scriptures to Pray for Your Grandchildren and Suggestions to Pray for Your Grandchildren in School: Preschool, Elementary, Teenagers, and College Students.        

God has also given me the opportunity to write the book GRANDPARENTING WITH A PURPOSE: Effective Ways to Pray for your Grandchildren. The book challenges grandparents to stand in the gap for their grandchildren by living a godly example and being their prayer warrior. It provides creative suggestions for prayers based on Scriptures, and helpful tools, utilizing everything from cell phones to photo prayer journals. This book is available on this website.

Last year CGN proclaimed the second Sunday in September as Grandparents Day of Prayer, coinciding with National Grandparents Day designated by a Senate proclamation in 1978. It is a way of engaging grandparents to unite in an intentional day of prayer for their grandchildren. Many participants reported how they were blessed as they united in prayer with other grandparents with a common cause. There are only 31 days until the upcoming Grandparents Day of Prayer on Sunday, September 9, 2012. I want to challenge you to participate with grandparents all other the world for an intentional day of prayer for the next generations.

It has been exciting for me to invite grandparents to participate in small groups called Grandparents@Prayer (G@P) to pray for their grandchildren. Just as Esther stood in the gap for her people, the Jews, when they were threatened, likewise grandparents can stand in the gap with prayer for their grandchildren today. G@P groups are meeting in many areas of the United States and England praying together for their grandchildren on a regular basis. Anyone desiring information or would like to become a part of a group may go to the CGN website mentioned above or email me at info@grandparentingwithapurpose.com.

 A new book for grandparents, NOT ON OUR WATCH! A Call To Radical Grandparenting For Turbulent Times, written by Cavin Harper, Founder, and Executive Director of CGN, is available at www.christiangrandparenting.net.

 CGN recently started a weekly radio program Not on My Watch hosted by Cavin Harper, Executive on radio station KRDO (Colorado Springs) 105.5 FM & 1240 AM at 7:30 A.M. MST. If you would like to listen to my recent interview on the radio program on June 17, or the other weekly programs go to www.christiangrandparenting.net podcast link.

 CGN also provides many other resources for grandparents such as weekly blogs on their website by Cavin Harper, and me, GrandCamps in Colorado, mission trips for grandparents and grandchildren, seminars, and conferences for grandparents.

 I enjoy my grandchildren very much and God has given me a passion to intentionally pray for my grandchildren, especially in the moral and spiritually deprived world we live in today. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be a part in a grandparenting ministry to influence our future generations for Jesus Christ.

 If you have any questions or would like to contact me please email me at info@grandparentingwithapurpose.com

By Lillian Penner

I've traveled to Russia fourteen times and will add a fifteenth in October. It's been a privilege to teach, train and inspire pastors and other leaders there over the years. They've also taught me much and my last trip almost a year ago was no exception.

After the worship conference we helped lead finished, I and some of my team went out to a town called Istra where I've known the people and staff in a church there for over fifteen years. We helped them finance a building and have been able to share ministry ideas every time we're together.

However, this Sunday morning I got to hear one of their leaders preach in the pastor's absence and he said a line I've never forgotten. "Too many Christians are more in love with the kingdom than the King!" Wow. That phrase hit me big time both as I thought about its implications for me and then as I considered other humbling comparisons.

I realized that yes I'm often more drawn in by my work, the logistics of ministry and even the habits of spiritual growth  than the One who I serve and am supposed to love. So that day I began to think of other tensions that have challenged me to look differently at my life and what I sometimes erroneously call spirituality and commitment. Maybe they will stir something in you as well and cause you to think of other tensions that will resonate with you.

I know that I also pray differently these days as I more often think in fresh ways about the greatness of our God and Savior who meets with me each time. I ponder the presence of the One who is described in small but significant way below. Maybe your prayers will change, too.

Am I more in love with . . .

Being saved or the Savior?  I Timothy 4:10

Creation or the Creator?  Colossians 16

Prayer or the presence of the Father?  Jude 24

Worship or the One who deserves our praise? Matthew 2:2

Serving or the Suffering Servant?  Philippians 2:7

My rules or the Ruler of all?  I Timothy 6:15

My Bible study or the Word who was with God and was God? John 1:1

My way or The Way?  John 14:6

Holiness or the Holy One?  I John 2:20

Life or He who gives us life?  John 15:21

My image or the image of the invisible God?  Colossians 1:15

My stardom or the Bright and Morning Star?  Revelation 22:16

My strength or the Rock of our Salvation? I Corinthians 10:4

What I've built or the Chief Cornerstone?  I Peter 2:6

My insights or the Only Wise God?  Romans 16:27

My leadership or the Captain of our Salvation? Hebrews 2:10

My children or the Son of God?  I John 5:11

I was privileged to have dinner here in Austin a few weeks ago with prayer leader and teacher Dan Henderson and another friend. I told him that there is a quote I've used many times which I had thought he had said and he confirmed it again for me. "If you want to have a crowd, don't call a prayer meeting."

And while there are exceptions, settings for group prayer don't typically require overflow seating. Yes, many Christians haven't yet embraced the power and impact of praying or don't feel comfortable praying with others so they avoid corporate prayer settings. We ought to continue to teach on prayer's importance and how to meaningfully pray with others to help change their thinking and posture on prayer.

However, others don't come for a variety of other reasons that are just part of life. Prayer times aren't always practical for many people, especially those with young children. Meetings are regularly in the evenings or early morning and childcare isn't usually provided.

Often we ask everyone to come to one location, the church, and yet many live thirty minutes to an hour away. Some are serving God in meaningful ways that require significant time so adding one more Christian activity simply isn't practical. It's unfair to blame them or call them unspiritual because they didn't make our prayer time.

And many people pray passionately and extensively at home, in their small group, with family members or other friends. They would argue that their prayer life is growing and thriving.  They just can't add one more church activity to their full schedule.

So let me suggest an idea that can at least enhance a church's prayer ministry and impact while understanding the limitations and uniquenesses of today's culture. We tried this on the National Day of Prayer this year and have seen a couple of other Austin churches use it for special prayer emphases.

First we asked people to give us their texting number or best email if they were willing to join others in prayer for the church, city and country the first Thursday in May. Then that day we put out two postings every hour that they would get via email or text to pray for. We asked them to pray right then for that request if possible. The postings also included video and musical options for meditation and praise. We added the same postings to our church Facebook and Twitter pages as well.

Many people told us how much they appreciated being included in the prayer day even though they couldn't come to our campus (we had a 12-1 group time at the church as well). And while our data is limited as to the total response we are confident that hundreds were involved in some way this year compared to only dozens when we had a longer prayer day exclusively at our church.

What if more groups around the world used a similar system to encourage prayer with them about a particular issue, conference or initiative?  Who knows the potential impact!

So perhaps we need to accept that gathering together these days to pray may take on new looks and methodology so that when we ask people to pray we more often than not actually get a crowd. I'm pretty convinced God would like that.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 165 | Wed 27 Jun 2012

By Elizabeth Kendal

WELCOME to the intercessors who have joined the list this month.


'My hand will sustain them; surely my arm will strengthen them.' Psalm 89:21 (NIV)


JUNE 2012 UPDATE - During June we prayed concerning . . .

SUDAN (RLPB 162); EGYPT (RLPB 163); BURMA & SUDAN (RLPB 164)
and NIGERIA (in all those RLPBs).

UPDATES -

* BURMA: EYEING US-MYANMAR MILITARY TIES On 2 June US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta intimated that political reforms underway in Burma (Myanmar) could pave the way for 'US-Myanmar' military ties. This fits in perfectly with the new US strategy of developing stronger ties with Asia Pacific militaries. Timothy Heinemann, a retired US Special Forces Colonel who works with war-affected ethnic minority communities in Burma, argues that US-Myanmar military ties would be 'wrong', both 'morally and practically', particularly while the Burmese Army 'is attacking Kachin villagers'. He argues that Kachin civilians would face increased aggression if the US were to empower the Burmese Army. 'Siege of Kachin State: 2012' (16mins) is an excellent short film by Scott Johnson (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srg50Uo6p88 ). Pray for the Christian Kachin.

[NOTE - What Heinemann describes above is exactly what US-Indonesian military ties have done to the Papuans: military violence escalates but is covered up for economic and geo-strategic gain. (See RLPB 119, and Religious Liberty Monitoring: label Papua.)]

* EGYPT: ISLAMIST MORSI ELECTED PRESIDENT On Sunday 24 June Egypt's electoral council declared Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood the President of Egypt, elected with 51.7 percent of the vote (in a turnout of only about 50 percent). Egypt is now profoundly divided. Most Christians fear that an Islamist president will further Islamise Egypt, causing persecution to escalate. According to Isobel Coleman of the Council on Foreign Relations, Morsi 'represents the older, more conservative wing of the Brotherhood and openly endorses a strict Islamic vision'. According to Eric Trager of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Morsi has been 'an icon of the extremists in the Muslim Brotherhood', pushing for an 'extreme agenda'. Morsi's power to implement his Islamist vision will, however, be severely curtailed due to the military's 'soft coup'. (See Religious Liberty Monitoring for details.) How the Islamists cope with that remains to be seen. Pray for the Church in Egypt.

* NIGERIA: CHURCH BOMBINGS AVERTED After three consecutive weeks of Boko Haram terror, Sunday 24 June passed without a church bombing. Police uncovered a plot to bomb churches in Jos, the capital of the Middle Belt state of Plateau. While police intensified security, most churches in Plateau urged their members not to attend their worship services. In Kaduna State, an alleged attempt to bomb a church in the Sabon Gari area of Zaria, was foiled. Boko Haram did, however, successfully attack Yobe prison on Sunday, shooting police and freeing 40 inmates.

* NIGERIA, JOS: CHRISTIAN FAMILY MURDERED On Saturday 23 June some 30 ethnic Fulani Muslim herdsmen stormed into Tidiu Village in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State around 3.30am, armed with guns and machetes. They slaughtered six members of the Dakibang family in their sleep, while two other family members were wounded as they fled and four villagers were wounded as the killers made their get-away. The victims, aged between six months and 70 years, had reportedly been living peaceably amongst their Fulani neighbours. One local resident commented that 'the killing was professionally carried out with military precision'. Pray for the Church in Nigeria.

* SUDAN: PROTESTS ROCK KHARTOUM Since South Sudan seceded in July 2011 Sudan has been blighted with soaring food inflation and a weakening currency. Now students from the University of Khartoum are hoping to trigger an 'Arab Spring'. Protests commenced on 16 June and escalated after President Bashir's 18 June announcement of tough austerity measures. The protests have spread beyond the capital, causing considerable disruption but not as yet close to overthrowing the regime. However, as Sudan expert Eric Reeves notes, with a disillusioned and angry civilian population reeling from price hikes, and a dispirited military reeling from heavy losses being inflicted by rebel forces in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, the threat to the regime is very real. But this is a brutal regime and the crackdown has begun. The situation increases the risk for Southerners who will doubtless be blamed for the economic crisis when, in reality, the responsibility lies with the corrupt, incompetent, belligerent, racist, Islamist regime in Khartoum. Aljazeera reports: 'There have been calls on social networks for a mass nationwide protest on [Friday] June 29'. Pray for the Church in Sudan (using Psalm 10).


JUNE 2012 ROUND-UP - also this month . . .

* INDIA: LIVING 'IN A CLIMATE OF TERROR'

Christians account for only 3 percent of the population of India's north-eastern state of Assam; about one third of them are indigenous tribals. According to the president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), Sajan George, the situation for tribal Christians in Assam is 'intolerable', for they are living 'in a climate of terror'. On Friday 8 June a group of Hindus met Bhageswar Rabha, a Christian from the village of Deuphaniin, Assam, and forced him to convert to Hinduism. Then around midnight a mob of about 40 militant Hindu nationalists burst into the home of another Christian, Manesor Rabha, and dragged him outside with his wife Mala and two other believers, Michael and Prashanto Rabha. Though they were threatened, intimidated, beaten and ordered to convert to Hinduism, the believers stood firm and refused to renounce their Lord. On the Sunday morning Mala, Michael and Prashanto were taken to Satribari Christian Hospital to receive treatment for their injuries. Two other Christian families subsequently fled the village. Such violent persecution is commonplace across India. It is a very serious situation, inspired by unchallenged Hindu nationalism and fuelled by impunity. Pray for the Church in India.


* IRAN: AUTHORITIES CLOSE TEHRAN CHURCH

In line with its policy of eliminating the Farsi-speaking church of ethnic Persian converts, the regime has closed down another Farsi-speaking congregation. On 5 June the Intelligence branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, a military force tasked with defending the Islamic Revolution, issued orders to close down the 70-strong Assemblies of God (AOG) Church in Tehran's north-western district of Janat-Abad. According to Compass Direct News, only three churches in Tehran continue to offer Farsi-language services: the AOG Central Church of Tehran, Emmanuel Protestant Church and St Peter's Evangelical Church. More than 20 believers are in prison for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, including death-row prisoner Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani whose health is reportedly deteriorating. Please pray.


* LAOS: STILL WORKING AT ELIMINATING CHRISTIANITY

On 6 June Laotian police arrested Asa, a 57-year-old Lao pastor, at his home in Peeyeur village, Luang Namtha Province, on charges of leading people to Christ. He was immediately transferred to the provincial prison, some 50km away from his family. On 16 June Lao officials arrested two Lao and two Thai Christians in Luang Namtha, charging them similarly with 'spreading the Christian faith without official approval'. (The communist regime is unashamedly committed to eliminating Christianity and therefore never gives approval for Christian witness!) A local resident had called the police when he saw the two Thai Christians - brothers Jonasa and Phanthakorn Wiwatdamrong - explaining Bible passages to enquirers in a private home. The two Lao and two Thai Christians arrested were taken directly to the Luang Namtha provincial prison. Torture, including the use of stocks, is routine in Lao prisons which are amongst the worst in the world. Pray for these prisoners, and for the Church in Laos.


To view this RLPB with hyperlinks, go to Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com

We usually provide a summary to use in news-sheets unable to run the whole of an RLPB. As a summary is not practicable with this monthly update posting we suggest one or more of the above items be used instead.

For more information, updates and helpful links see Elizabeth Kendal's blog 'Religious Liberty Monitoring'

http://elizabethkendal.blogspot.com

Previous RLPBs may be viewed at http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com/

This RLPB was written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (AEA RLC) by Elizabeth Kendal, an international religious liberty analyst and advocate, and a member of the AEA RLC team.

If this bulletin was forwarded to you, you may receive future weekly issues direct by sending a blank email to

join-rlpb@hub.xc.org .

“I listen more than I talk.”

That’s how a well-known pastor described his prayer life in a sermon I heard recently. It was the reason he gave that arrested my attention.

“After all, it seems like God is going to do whatever he wants to do anyway.”

There are various ways to respond to that statement, including simply nodding your head in agreement. If we don’t dispute the sovereignty of God (and we don’t), then where and how does prayer fit into God’s plan? Or why should we bother praying if God has already determined the answers before we start to pray?

I suppose that most Christians have wondered about that question at one time or another. Certainly skeptics have thrown it in our faces to discourage us from seeking the Lord in times of crisis. I confess that I have wrestled with this issue on more than one occasion.

If God is sovereign, why should we pray at all? Many years ago I listened to a tape by R. C. Sproul on this topic that helped me greatly. Here are seven statements that will help us think wisely about this question:

1. God invites us to ask for what we need.

We are told to ask, to seek, to knock (Matthew 7:7-8). Why? Ask and it shall be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. In Psalm 81:10 the Lord promises, “Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” This is where prayer becomes intensely personal. Our Heavenly Father-who already knows our needs-invites us to make our needs known through prayer.

2. We don’t know what we really need.

We think we do, but we don’t. Or to be more accurate, we know part of our needs, but not all of them. Our perspective is inevitably limited by our own experience, desires and personal knowledge. Romans 8:26 says that “we do not know what we ought to pray for.” Have you ever felt you’ve “run out of words” when you pray? That has happened to me on more than one occasion. I remember one couple that seemed to be in a perpetual crisis situation. I had prayed so much for them without a positive result that finally I ran out of prayers. I didn’t know what to say anymore. I didn’t know how to pray for them effectively. All I could say was, “Lord, have mercy,” because I couldn’t think of any other words. Sometimes we face the same issue when we seek God’s guidance. Often we are so confused that we’re not sure what we should be asking for. And sometimes we are so weary that words will not come to us.
We don’t pray to give God information he wouldn’t otherwise know.

Rarely can we be absolutely sure what God wants to do in a particular situation. After we have made our requests to God, especially regarding the crisis issues of life, we must cry out, “But Father, I don’t know what you want. And I want your will to be done even if it means my will is not done in this situation. I truly believe that you know best."

That’s why the most basic prayer is always “Thy will be done.” But God knew that we would often be baffled in prayer so he sent the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us (Romans 8:26-27). He prays for us when we don’t know how to pray for ourselves or for anyone else.

3. God knows what we need before we ask him.

Matthew 6:8 says this very plainly: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” That means we don’t have to impress God or use big words or pray long prayers, We don’t have to repeat ourselves when we pray, and we don’t have to worry about getting all the details correct or throw in flowery language when we pray. Since God knows us through and through, he knows our needs better than we do. When you pray, you aren’t informing God of anything. He knew your need before you bowed you head.

4. We do not pray to inform God of anything.

This may seem obvious but it needs to be stated anyway. When you pray, you aren’t informing God of things he wouldn’t otherwise know. The Bible tells us that he numbers the stars in the sky, the sand on the seashore, and the hairs on your head. He even calls the stars by name (Psalm 147:4). Ponder that for a moment. Billions and billions of stars and he knows the name of each one. Think how easily you get flustered on Sunday morning trying to remember that person you met last week. If your church has multiple services on Sunday morning, you probably don’t know everyone in your own church.

But God does.

He not only knows all the people in your church, he knows everyone attending every church everywhere in the world. More than that, he knows the names of all 6.8 billion people on planet earth.  But even beyond that, he knows the names of everyone who has ever lived here and everyone yet to be born.

If God knows all that, do you think he is going to be surprised that your gall bladder is acting up again?  Do you think he doesn’t know about your crabby boss or how you gained 10 pounds in the last month?

In case you doubt this, listen to the words of Psalm 139:1-3.

    O LORD, you have searched me
    and you know me.
    You know when I sit and when I rise;

    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
    You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.

    Before a word is on my tongue
    you know it completely, O LORD.  

That would appear to be total knowledge of every aspect of your life. Nothing you do or say surprises God. He knows your secret thoughts, your hidden motives, your unspoken dreams, and he knows what you are going to say before you ever open your mouth.

I find this a liberating truth for the prayer life. It means I don’t have to yell or shout to try to make him understand. And I don’t have to go into some long explanation either. I don’t even have to repeat myself unless I want to. He got the message the first time. Actually, he got the message before I ever sent it.

5. We pray to express our total dependence upon our Heavenly Father.

When R.C. Sproul discussed this issue, he quoted John Calvin, the great theologian of the Protestant Reformation, who said that prayer is not for God’s good, but for ours. That’s an amazing thought. Because God is God, he doesn’t “need” our prayers. But we need to pray. Calvin means that God’s perfections are perfect in their completeness. While God desires our prayers, they do not “add” anything to who God is. Let me say that another way. God doesn’t need the information we give him, but he encourages us to give him the information anyway.
God doesn’t “need” our prayers.

Perhaps an illustration would help. Picture a father watching his four-year-old daughter trying to put together a puzzle. She tries and tries but she just can’t get the pieces in the right place. Her father watches with great interest but he doesn’t interfere. Finally, she crawls in his lap and says, “Daddy, would you help me put my puzzle together?” He smiles and bends down and together they begin to pick up each piece. One piece at a time they put the puzzle together.

Now why didn’t the father help his daughter earlier? For one thing, she didn’t ask for his help. For another, he wanted her to try on her own. And most of all, he wanted her to ask for his help. When she did, he was honored and gladly helped her finish the puzzle.

Is this not a picture of how our Heavenly Father deals with his children? Although he longs to come to our aid, often he waits until we ask him specifically. Sometimes he wants us to come to the end of our own pitiful resources before he intervenes. When we cry out in despair, he is honored as we express our complete dependence upon him.

Every prayer is the cry of a child saying, “Help, Father, I can’t do this by myself.”

6. We pray because God is honored by our persistent faith.

I’ve already said that since God knows what we need before we ask him, we don’t have to repeat ourselves to get his attention. But that’s not the whole story. We all know from personal experience that not all our prayers are answered the first time we pray them. Sometimes we receive immediate answers, but often we must wait days, week, months, or even years.

How long should you pray for your loved ones to be saved? My answer is simple. You should pray until God answers your prayers. Do you remember the story of the widow and the unjust judge in Luke 18:1-8? The woman kept coming back to the judge to plead her case. Because the judge was dishonest, he didn’t have time for her, but her persistence wore him down so finally he said, “I’m going to see that this woman gets justice before she drives me crazy.” Listen to the words of Jesus as he applies this story to our Heavenly Father:

And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly (Luke 18:7-8).

Jesus isn’t saying that God is like the unjust judge. But if an unjust judge can be swayed by the persistence of a widow, won’t God’s heart be moved by the persistent prayers of his people? The answer is yes. Persistent prayer moves the heart of God because it expresses desperate dependence on him.

Sometimes it takes desperate circumstances to bring forth this kind of faith. Perhaps you’ve heard about the doctor who said to his patient, “There’s nothing I can do. It’s in the hands of God now.” “Oh no,” the patient replied. “Has it come to that?” It always comes to that sooner or later. Prayer reminds us that in the end everything depends on God and not on us.

James 5 gives us another wonderful example of the power of prayer. Elijah prayed that it would not rain and for 3 ½ years there was no rain in Israel. He prayed again and the rains fell from heaven. Here’s the moral of the story in James 5:16, “The prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective.” In the original language James used a word that means “to boil over.” Fervent prayers get God’s attention because they come from a heart that believes God’s power is unlimited.

This doesn’t mean that you need to shout when you pray or that you have to weep or moan or stand or sit. Fervent prayer is simply prayer offered in earnest petition to God. It’s not the words that matter . . . or the length of the prayer . . . or the tone of your voice . . . or whether you stand or kneel or sit. What matters is that you really mean it when you pray.

Many years ago I heard a pastor speak at a youth worker’s rally in Long Beach, California. During his message he told how his wife had been involved in a terrible accident. As the ambulance rushed her to the hospital, he tried to pray but the only words that would come out were “Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.” Looking back on that experience, he commented that it seemed like one of the few times in life he had ever really prayed.  
Fervent prayers get God’s attention.

Many Christians have had the same experience. It sometimes takes a crisis to teach us that God is not impressed by long words, many words, fancy words, or loud words. What matters is that our hearts be focused on him. Fervent prayers move God to action because they come from persistent faith in the face of desperate circumstances.

7. We pray because he’s God and we’re not.

This of course is the first rule of the spiritual life. All prayer is based on this simple truth. He runs the universe, we don’t. We pray because he’s in charge and we’re not.

And here’s a crucial insight. When we don’t pray, it’s because we’ve forgotten who’s God and who’s not. A lack of prayer means we’re still trying to run the show. It’s a sign that we’ve decided we can handle things on our own.

And that brings us back to the original question. If God is sovereign, why pray? While chatting with a friend, I mentioned this question to him. He looked at me and said, “There’s an easy answer to that question.” I asked what it was, mainly because I wanted to be sure I knew it myself. “Because he commanded us to,” he replied.  When you think about it, that is the ultimate answer. We pray because God has commanded us to pray, which means that prayer must be good for us.

Sometimes you see little signs that say, “Prayer changes things.” I believe that’s true. And the first thing prayer changes is us. It teaches us to depend completely on our Heavenly Father, and it reminds us that he’s God and we’re not.

Why pray if God knows everything in advance? Because God has ordained that our prayers are part of his plan for the universe. Our prayers really do matter to God. In a sense God limits what he can do in the world so that he can work through our prayers. It’s not that God “needs” our prayers. He doesn’t. But in his kindness, he has invited us to join him in the great adventure of bringing his kingdom to this sin-cursed planet. Through our prayers, we partner with God in changing the world.

Our greatest problem is not with God’s sovereignty but with our sinful unbelief. The Bible says, “You have not because you ask not" (James 4:2 KJV). But Jesus himself invited us to ask God for anything that we need. So why don’t we pray more than we do?

Let’s wrap up this message with a very simple theology of prayer. Our part is to pray fervently, sincerely, and honestly, bringing our deepest concerns to the Lord. God’s part is to listen to our prayers and to graciously answer them in his own time, in his own way, according to his own will. If we do our part, God cannot fail to do his.

“Give Him No Rest”

Perhaps you are still not convinced. Let me share a passage I came across while reading the book of Isaiah.

“You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“Give him no rest.”

Give who no rest?
God.

The Lord invites his people to pray, asks them to pray, commands them to pray, begs them to pray. And then he says, “When you pray, give me no rest."
Bang on the door of heaven.

This may be the most startling invitation to prayer in the Bible.

Give the Lord no rest when you pray. Bang on the door of heaven. Pray, pray, and keep on praying. Pray that God will hear and answer and move from heaven.

Don’t put any time limits on God.
Don’t think he will be bothered by your repeated requests.
Don’t say, “This is too small to bother God about.”
Don’t say, “I’ve prayed about this long enough.”

Wear him out!

He loves it when his children beg him to help.

Are you praying for a loved one to be saved? Wear him out!
Do you need God’s wisdom for a major decision? Wear him out!
Are you facing temptation and need God’s help? Wear him out!
Are your children struggling spiritually? Wear him out!
Do you seek a godly spouse for your granddaughter? Wear him out!
Are you praying for revival in your church? Wear him out!
Do you long to become stronger in your faith? Wear him out!

Don’t take “no” for an answer.

It almost sounds unbiblical or dangerous or possibly blasphemous. But if the request itself is godly and noble and pure and good, you have every reason to stand your ground when you pray.

Give him no rest.
Wear him out.

God calls us to pray. He invites us to pray. He commands us pray. He begs us to pray. He exhorts us to seek his face every day. We have been given unlimited access to the throne room of the universe. The King of Kings wants to hear from you. Don’t keep him waiting any longer.

“In every revival in history we read a similar testimony. When God responded to His people by sending His presence, He didn’t just work Himself into their routine religion - He overtook them by His power and glory! He left a trail of glorious chaos in His wake - weeping, repenting, rejoicing, reconciling, changing of habits, healing of families! Nobody wondered if Jesus was involved in these meetings. There was no doubt in their minds and no lack in their hearts.” Rhonda Hughey 

Dear Intercessors,
 
God wants to invade our cities with His glorious and powerful presence. He wants to overtake our lives and change our plans and routines so that they are fully in line with His purposes. As we think about the Kingdom of God and preparing the way for God’s presence, the Sermon on the Mount is the greatest test to measure our personal success. How well do we live out the 8 beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12, and how well do we obey all of Matthew 5-7? Do we seek to obey God in every area of our life? Do we declare war on all compromise? This is the test.
 
We are made for personal holiness and to intimately know God.        
 
This is what is so fantastic about the increase in prayer worldwide and how is raising up Houses of Prayer. God begins to change you, and you begin to prioritize prayer in a way you have never done before or even imagined possible. Prayer begins to take center stage in your life. God begins to deal with our lives - our speech, our time, our money, our relationships, and everything. There is an internal calling in God to love and follow Him with all our heart. God wants our hearts and a life of complete obedience so that we would be perfect and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:4). In working with IHOP Kansas City and living in a prayer environment, I am personally challenged to make quality decisions for holiness and to let God challenge my motives. I still have a long way to go, but at least I am on the road. It definitely is a life-long journey.  
 
When we get a vision for a House of Prayer, we are challenged in our prayer lives as the Holy Spirit begin to reinforce the importance of personal prayer and the absolute necessity of corporate prayer for the nations. There is a lying down of secondary priorities for many. We become very hungry for Jesus and His presence (Matthew 5:6). Through prayer and praise, we welcome God into our region. Many of us begin to treasure the presence of God above all else, as we realize deep in our hearts the truth of John 15:5, “Without Me you can do nothing.”
 
You may be thinking, “Well, how do I even begin to think about a House of Prayer in my city?
 
The first step is to PRAY! You start by praying about a House of Prayer in your city. Even if you are not the one to start it, you can pray for others who will. Pray that God raises up the right ones to begin, and you be the one who supports them in prayer. You may want to start with a one-day, weekend, one-week, or one-month House of Prayer. In starting to plan towards a House of Prayer and beyond, there are several initial steps to pray and work towards. Every city needs a House of Prayer but there always needs to be a few who start it.

Now this may seem overwhelming at first, but you will be surprised at how God helps you. After all, it’s His idea and desire in the first place. You want to provide times and places for many to come together for prayer, asking the Lord to visit your city with His presence. Ultimately, you want to role out a red carpet for the King of Kings, inviting Him to come and do His work. In Biblical and church history, united prayer has been proven to be the single lifesaver of a nation during times of danger and uncertainty. The Lord commands His people to seek His face (2 Chronicles 7:14). God warned Noah concerning the flood even when there was no visible sign of it, not even a raindrop! He took heed and diligently and reverently constructed and prepared an ark for the deliverance of His family (Hebrews 11:7).  

It is difficult to predict exact results in a House of Prayer. The key is to be faithful in doing what God shows you to do in prayer. We have to be willing to pay the price for God’s continual presence in our city. It’s up to the Church to decide long-term how much of God they really want. It is important that churches and intercessors continue to pray and anticipate the ongoing development of God’s plan for the city while the discipline and blessing of united prayer is still fresh. I believe the following results will follow when Christians do accept the challenge of united prayer in their city:

• A united praying church develops that is pleasing to the Lord.

• There is a breaking of the spiritual darkness that is invading the nation.

• The church demonstrates an example of corporate prayer that challenges others in cities around the country to do the same.

• A movement of the Spirit occurs, bringing salvation to thousands of people.

• A continued growing movement of prayer arises, sweeping tired Christian into a fresh new vitality in Christ.

Imagine the future of your city when a House of Prayer is operating day and night. God will pour out His spirit. There will be the manifest presence of the Lord scattering His enemies and ours. Signs, wonders, healing, and deliverance from demonic oppression will become the norm. There will be the revival of the church, and the church will grow. Sinners will come under conviction and will open their hearts to the message of the Gospel. 
 
A House of Prayer welcomes God into your city. As I traveled from nation to nation as a young missionary on a ship, upon arrival in a new country we would often have a great welcome from the people of that city. In New Zealand we experienced a special dance form the Mori Indians. It was quite impressive, and one I will never forget! At the end of that unique tribal dance, the staff and crew of our ship received a beautiful lay of flowers around their neck and the Mori greeting of rubbing noses. It was quite a cultural experience for many of us, I can assure you. In other countries we had special greetings unique to each culture - everything from other cultural dances, to gifts, to songs and banners - that was a beautiful welcome to the ship into their unique city. It made all of us on board feel very welcome in that country and city. It made us deeply desire to stay there and interact with the people. 
 
Perhaps God feels the same way. 
 
When He sees His people eagerly praying for His presence - welcoming Him into their city day and night in prayer - He is delighted and wants to invade that city with His presence. When He sees your desperate cry for His presence, He feels like a welcomed and longed-for guest and wants to make your city His home.  
 
Begin now to prepare the way for God’s presence. Start with increasing your prayer life and find a few others who have a vision for transformation in your city. Get together regularly, and God will lead you and add others to your prayer meetings. Transformation will occur in your lives, and you will become consumed with a hunger for God’s presence. The Lord will hear your cry for your city, and God will begin to move in your midst. Early in our month of 24/7 prayer that we had in Spain a few years ago, God made his presence known to us in a very special way. There was no rain outside and as I was having my prayer time early in the morning, I suddenly looked out the window and there in the sky surrounding the House of Prayer was a big, bright colorful rainbow. It was as if God was speaking to us and saying, “See, my desire is for citywide, united prayer, and I love your House of Prayer - Keep it up for I shall surely come with my presence - I have heard your cry.”  
 
During this last month we were in Spain and Gibraltar encouraging Houses of Prayer. We went to Madrid, Seville, Malaga, Cordoba, Gibraltar, and Algeciras, Spain. Everywhere we went we saw a hunger for prayer and for Houses of Prayer. After our team prayed on the top of the rock of Gibraltar, the following morning a rainbow appeared in the sky. God is doing something big everywhere. Hunger for God is increasing. A House of Prayer in Madrid was started and another House of Prayer in Cordoba will be started soon. Others are in the planning stage.
 
It is time that we change our life styles and become desperate for God and His ways. It is time that we welcome God into our cities!
 
“To be desperate means to be without hope in your current condition and to know that in your own power you don’t have the necessary resources required to change it. People who are desperate become determined to find help, often taking great risks to meet their desperate need. In the communities where transforming revival has occurred the people of God were desperate enough to change their lifestyle and their priorities and to commit their time and resources, making everything secondary to the desperate pursuit of God in their midst. They cried out in desperation, and the Lord heard their cry.” Rhonda Hughey

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Together in the Harvest,

Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise
deb@intercessorsarise.org
http://www.intercessorsarise.org
 

Prayer is hard work. Not because you get paid for it, but because of the effort required to set aside all other priorities and focus on the Kingdom Agenda at hand. It may seem more boring than a board meeting, but that would only because your board (you, any angels or friends you may invite) have lost sight of the vision or have displaced the Chairman of the Board of prayer: Jesus. Wiithout Jesus chairing the meeting and the Holy Spirit leading the discussion, you are bound to accomplish nothing. The Father is waiting to hear your requests.

So ask!

And keep asking and focus!  Focus means that when something distracts you from asking, you set the distraction aside and ask again for the same thing, though perhaps with different words. You address the same issue until it is resolved.

You are on a long journey in prayer: You want God to accomplish something. You cannot do it on your own, so do not pretend that you can! You MUST seek. Look intensely for what God is doing. Don’t lose heart if at first it doesn’t seem to be revealed where God is at work. Keep looking. Keep searching.  If you don’t find food in the fridge, you go to the cupboards. If it is not in the cupboards, you go to the store. If the store is too expensive, you go to the food bank. If the food bank is closed, you ask your neighbor. You may fast for a while, but you will die without food. God doesn't want you to die, so He will feed you ... with Manna if necessary! Likewise, you must seek God for His answer to your present situation.

Maybe your dreams have been deferred. Maybe you seem to have conquered nothing. Maybe your speeches are the summaries of silence. Go knocking on doors. Pound the pavement! Hit the road! DON”T GIVE UP! God will answer when you knock on His door. The gates of hell themselves shall be opened before you and you will be able to see captives go free, but you must ask and ask and ask and ask and ask … and keep on asking until God shows Himself mighty on your behalf!

So what about those Gates of Hell? What if you are knocking in Jesus Name and you happen to be knocking on the gates of hell? Guess what, the Good News is that God will not loose snakes and scorpions on you.  No, He will tame them and enable you to trample on them. Beasts will submit to you. You will marvel at the Lord’s doing.

You say, ah, I have a few neighbors whose doors are surely the gates of hell. I should go trample on them. I’ll pray that my neighbors will submit to me & my ways.

Watch out! In the same way you judge others you will be judged. The moment you go trying to trample on them you will find yourself being trampled upon. and that would be no fun.

No, we must bless others in our prayers and actions … and then we ourselves will be blessed. Give and it will be given unto you. We are called to live in a mutual benefit society.

Love.

How sweet life smells when offered up in prayer!

     POWAY, CA -- On January 2, 2012, Moms In Touch International changed the ministry name to Moms in Prayer International.

     The new name clearly reflects the vision of the ministry, gathering mothers around the world to pray for children and schools. While groups meet to pray in more than 130 countries, the name “Moms In Touch” has been hard to translate, resulting in countries using a variety of other names, including Moms in Prayer. The 27-year-old ministry expects the new name to foster more unity and clarity of purpose.

     The ministry remains the same. Only the name has changed.

     “We believe God will use the name Moms in Prayer to advance the ministry in even greater ways, heightening the awareness of prayer for children and schools to the next generation of moms,” says Founder/President Fern Nichols in a Moms in Prayer Blog about the name change.

     In 1984, as Nichols fearfully sent her two eldest children off to public junior high, she asked God to bring her one other mom to pray with her for their children and school. From the cry of one mom’s heart, God grew the prayer ministry to include groups in every state in the USA and in countries throughout the world, such as Pakistan, Russia, Chile and Mongolia.

     The prayer ministry has one goal – to gather women together to pray scripturally and specifically for children and schools. Women around the world meet regularly (usually weekly), spending an hour praying through the Four Steps of Prayer: praising God for who He is, silently confessing any sins, thanking God for what He has done, and interceding on behalf of children, teachers and school staff.

     The key ministry Booklet, available in 49 languages/versions, explains the biblical principle of the Four Steps of Prayer, praying in one accord, agreement prayer and how to facilitate a powerful hour of prayer that not only impacts the lives of the children and school staff being prayed for, but also changes the lives of the moms, as they develop an intimate prayer relationship with our Heavenly Father.

     For more information about Moms in Prayer International, visit www.MomsInPrayer.org. For questions about the name change, please visit Name Change FAQs.

     Our About Us section includes a Bio about Fern Nichols and our ministry Fact Sheet. A demonstration video of a Moms in Prayer group is also available online.