Be praying in your region and set aside April 14 in each of the remaining four years of the 4/14 Global Initiative as the 4/14 Window Day to Change the World. The goal is to mobilize focused, fervent, united intercessory prayer of God’s people in every region for the Raising up of a New Generation from the 4/14 Window to transform the world. The call to the body of Christ and each local church in the nation is for a congregational fast beginning on the 14th April and going through the 16th.
Following the good example of Dr. Julio and Ruth Ruibal in Colombia, Latin America, before Julio was martyred, encourage the local churches to prepare and implement by means of all or some of the following steps:
- Explain through preaching/teaching the needs of the church, the city, and the nation as it relates to the 4/14ers.
- Set the objective of the fast. There would be a two-fold purpose related to the 4/14ers in the church, city, nation, region and world:
- First, as with The Esther Fast, we are fasting for protection of the 4/14ers and deliverance from the Evil One (Esther 4:16).
2. Second, we are praying for the Raising up of a New Generation from the 4/14 Window in the local church, city and nation to transform their nations, regions and the world
- Have meetings every night for intercession and testimonies.
- Open up the church for early morning prayer times and other times during the day.
- Encourage groups from the church to meet over lunch hour at their work place and involve other Christians in the work place.
- Give them clear instruction in a sheet of how to fast. Provide the option of a water only fast or organic juice fast.
- Have a temporary hotline where people can call in with their questions.
Our key text is Esther 4:14. “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do (Esther 4:14-16).
We are following the example of Esther to the challenge by her Uncle Mordecai to call a three-day fast as an essential part of the 4/14 Window Day to Change the World. The historical background affirms that the world was transformed as a result in Esther’s day and sets the stage for a 4/14 Global Initiative that could change the world in our day. In Esther’s Day, God’s people were mobilized to fast, and God’s people were preserved. Their children were protected from the schemes of the one who planned for their destruction which provided the lineage of Jesus Christ—deliverance in the fullness of time. In God’s providence, it was the children in Jesus’s Day who recognized this and praised Jesus (Mt. 21:20) even as the adults were silent. For the children being called to “silence the foe and the avenger” through their praise of Jesus was in fulfillment of God’s decree from the beginning of time (Ps. 8:2) according to Jesus (Mt. 21:20). Jesus came to destroy the work of the enemy (1 John 3:8), and the world was transformed. Indeed recorded history is His story as highlighted by the historically grounded events.
We encourage you to pass this call to prayer to as many churches and other members of the body of Christ as possible and let them to join in these days of prayer for a new generation of 4/14ers to be raised up.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! May the grace and peace of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!
On March 9, 2003, the decision was made about creating of the “Prayer about Russia” Russian National Prayer Movement. This was done in the Second Baptist Church of Moscow during the Moscow United Interdenominational Prayer Service dedicated to the Day of Repentance and Reconciliation with God. This convention held about 500 leaders and representatives of different Christian denominations from Russia. The purposes of creating an activity of this “Prayer about Russia” National Prayer Movement were the spiritual awakening and transformation of the state and creation of the Russian prayer watch.
Seven years of our cooperative labor on the God’s field were marked by the following:
1. The people of God responded to His calling to stand in the gap in prayer for our homeland Russia. With God’s help 31 interdenominational prayer conferences were held with the theme from 2 Chronicles 7:14 “Consolidation through Prayer that can Transform a Nation” along with nine Schools of prayer interceders.
2. The participants of all the conferences and schools from these seven years, the total amount of whom was about 7,000 leaders from 1,500 churches from different denominations, took this challenge and knelt down full of tears upon their eyes and proclaimed the end of the bondage of sin in Russia; they declared that Russia belongs to the Lord. Through these conferences, God has raised His people for the prayer of salvation for the Russian peoples, for the opening of the door for the Good News from God, and for wide evangelization.
3. The leadership of the Association of the Churches of Christians of Evangelical Faith and the Russian Undivided Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith have called upon their churches to support the activity of the Russian Prayer Movement as a ministry of repentance, reconciliation, and consolidation. The Russian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith (RCCEF) had announced the year 2007 as the year of prayer partnership (within the scope of the denomination). One of the priorities of the prayer of the RCCEF churches became the prayer for salvation of the peoples of Russia.
4. It took God 9 months to build the foundation of the national prayer watch in Russia in 2006-2007. Today we have about thirty cities where God’s people agreed to pray about the awakening and transformation of our country. For example, the people of God from different churches from Naberezhnye Chelny, Samara, Rostov-on-Don gather every month for the joint prayer sessions where people pray for awakening in the country. Some of the people come to these sessions from as far as 300-500 km. Three pastors from Rostov gather together three times per week for the joint prayer of awakening. Two big churches began the permanent 24/7 prayer. Sixty cities and towns of Russia participated in the Global Day of Prayer. We could only dream about it in the past. The coordinator of this ministry in Russia from 2006 to 2010 has been the church in Nabarezhnye Chelny.
5. In the opinion of many of the believers, Russia sees, thanks to these prayers, the real changes and progress in developing democracy and freedom of conscience. The attitude of the government is changing concerning corruption, casinos, and the drug mafia. The attitude started to change toward orphans and youths. In 2010, for the first time in the last 10 years, the birth rate was higher than the death rate. Today we live in a different Russia.
The invaluable contribution in the drive for the spiritual awakening of Russia was made by the National Prayer Watch of Romania. Since the fall 2005, the Prayer Watches of Romania have raised their voices in the prayer of awakening on Russia. Ioan Peia, the leader of the National Prayer Watch of Romania, pastor of a Baptist church from Bucharest, has participated directly in organizing, arrangement, and establishment of the “Prayer about Russia” National Prayer Movement. Since spring 2006 till now, brother Ioan has traveled across the whole Russia from its west to east participating in more than a dozen prayer conferences of awakening as one of the speakers, including those in the cities of Moscow (3 conferences), Saint-Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnoyarsk, Naberezhnye Chelny (2 conferences), Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Magadan, and Orsk. We express our deep and sincere gratitude to the National Prayer Watch of Romania for the help they granted us in the cause of awakening and transformation of our country
God is changing Russia answering the prayers of Christians!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Your prayer support will be all-important to the planning of this event which is intended to be a “new paradigm” for an international congress—carried out Acts 13-style—incorporating listening to God, united prayer, and strategic implementation of world-impacting action that proceeds out of that encounter with the Lord and one another.
Prayer Concerns:
1. Please pray for the seven planning task forces (Program, Logistics, Mobilization, Finance, Registration and Website, Youth and Children), the Media Strategy Group well as for the Prayer Support Team. We need to be led of the Lord, given His creative, anointed ideas and to all do our work diligently, joyfully and unitedly.
2. This will not be just another prayer conference. The word “world” adds a great deal of complexity and challenge to the planning process since we hope to have about 5000 ministry leaders from all 220 nations. Please pray for excellent organization on the part of the Indonesians and Koreans who are co-hosting the event, for the International Coordination Team, and for the right people from every nation to hear about the WPA and be able to come to Jakarta for it.
3. The WPA Planning and Prayer Retreat will happen in Jakarta, January 23-27. It will be a crucial time for about 50 of us on the wider WPA planning team team to meet together for a time of bonding relationally, praying together to get His mind on the way forward and to update each other on progress made and what needs to be done during the coming year.
4. Some leaders that are key to the WPA process are: the Indonesian and Korean national committees who will co-host the event and the WPA International Coordination Team (14) that provides overall oversight. Please pray for His guidance, protection and provision for each of us. The spiritual battle, as you can imagine, is and will be intense.
Here are the two Scripture passages that have particularly inspired us in arranging the WPA:
• The Church Becoming United- that all followers of Christ may be one so that the world may believe. (John 17:20-26)
• Our World Being Transformed-that “the earth may be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea”. (Hab.2:14)
Thanks so much for your gracious help through prayer that will mean so much, not just to those of us doing the planning and organizing, but also to our world that will be affected by the WPA.
To live a lifestyle of 24/7 prayer does not mean praying literally 24 hours a day. A 24/7 lifestyle of prayer is a ministry of availability:
1. being available to listen to the Holy Spirit and
2. praying according to the prayer burdens that He lays on your heart.
24/7 Prayer is to live as a priest appointed by God: being in constant fellowship with God through praise and worship and also to intercede for the world.
To grow in your own prayer life, we are giving two different ways on how to pray.
1. Guidelines (2 models) on how to pray for one hour.
2. Guidelines on how the use the Bible/Scripture for prayer.
Practical guides on how to pray for One Hour
Many people struggle to spend more than 5-10 minutes in prayer. By following the link below you will find two models that will help you to pray step by step for one hour. We have divided an hour into 12 x 5 minute blocks and this easy way of praying will help you to spend your prayer time more effectively.
One of the models is a prayer pamphlet, available in 20 languages, called Seek My Face. These models are completely adaptable to your needs, e.g. should you have only 20 to 30 minutes available, then you simply take 4 to 6 of these 5 minute blocks to pray. You can also change any of the blocks of information to make it more suitable for your own situation. It is important to understand that you can use this as a guideline, and it certainly does not mean you have to pray for one hour every day.
www.jwipn.com/articles.asp (Look for the articles Hour that Changes the World and Seek My Face under 24/7 Prayer in the English section.)
Guidelines for praying the Word
One of the most neglected but most fruitful ways to pray is by simply using your Bible. It is time to make our Bibles our prayer book. There are many ways to do it by simply reading the Word, reading and praying the Psalms, praying God's promises, praying God's will, purposes and commands, or contemplatively praying through one Bible book at a time. Follow this link for more info:
http://www.jwipn.com/articles.asp (Under the section: God and His Word, you will find several helpful articles.)
24/7 Prayer for churches and communities
Guidelines on how to mobilise 24/7 prayer for churches and communities, you will find at www.globaldayofprayer.com/res_247.html
When the protests began in Egypt and other Middle Eastern nations, World Evangelical Alliance (WEA, http://www.worldevangelicals.org/) and Evangelical Fellowship of Egypt called on believers around the world to pray. We still need to be in prayer because the protests in Egypt, now almost three weeks old, may have reached their most critical and dangerous stage. President Mubarak has appointed a vice president—the first time to do so in 30 years of power—and his government is offering reforms that are not acceptable to the protesters, so the movement continues to grow and demands his ouster. The latest, as of February 10, is that Mubarak refuses to step down as president though he has handed over some powers to his new vice-president.
Two Egyptian prayer leaders that have been affiliated with the IPC walked around Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests, earlier today and sensed strongly the presence of spirits of rebellion and oppression. Please pray that violence may be averted on Friday, February 11th, the Muslim prayer day, that is being called the “Day of Martyrs” and in the days to come. May there be an orderly and peaceful transition of power to those democratic reforms and government that the people are calling for. Pray that radical elements such as the Muslim Brotherhood will be stopped from subverting this process and taking power as they did in Iran.
On February 2, 2011, WEA issued a news release calling urgently for global prayer for Egypt that is still relevant:
“The WEA communicated to the Evangelical Fellowship of Egypt (EFE) its concern over the current unrest in the country and asked how the WEA community can effectively pray. The EFE confirmed that the church all over Egypt is united in prayer for the country and called on the church globally to pray with them. Since WEA’s contact with EFE, the situation has become more violent and unstable. Nobody knows what the changes in Egypt will be, but evangelicals in Egypt know that God is in control. Though they are a small minority, they are deeply committed to being good citizens and contributing positively to the future health and development of their nation.
They are asking prayer for:
• wisdom for all leaders in Egypt – both for the present government and for the future leadership of the country
• safety of the young people in Tahrir Square – some of them are Christian; some of them are Muslim. The Christians believe strongly that most Muslims and Christians are united in their common concern for the welfare of the nation.
• peaceful change
• positive outcomes that will benefit the country as a whole and will bring glory to God
• positive impact on the region and the wider world as a result of the change in Egypt”
The World Evangelical Alliance is made up of 128 national evangelical alliances located in 7 regions and 104 associate member organizations and global networks. The WEA is the world’s largest association of evangelical Christians serving a constituency of 600 million people. The WEA is a voice to governments, media, and other faith communities and holds consultative status at the United Nations.
Also, pray for the overthrow of evil that is secretive, deceptive, and subtle that will try to take advantage of the vulnerability of the government and those who are protesting their lack of justice and freedom.
In 2009, seven conferences for children in prayer were held in different parts of Egypt.
In 2010, the focus to teach the children was how “to love, know, and wait for Him through His Word”. Children showed appetite to read the Bible, and God did speak to them through dreams and visions. In March of 2010, the National Conference of Prayer saw children sharing at the assembly with many being filled with the Holy Spirit. More dreams and visions ensued with some children receiving signs regarding their churches. Also in 2010, two conferences were held to train leaders of children; 200 leaders from all around the country were present.
For 2011, God gave Isaiah 44:3-5—that there will be many children who will separate themselves for God from this generation after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. A Praise and Prayer conference will be held in February with the theme “I am Yours”.
Please pray:
1. That 1,500 children from ages 8 to 18 will be able to attend the Praise and Prayer event in February, that they will find safe travel, and that they be protected in every way from evil harm.
2. That this recorded event will be broadcast and seen by many as a great blessing to children in Arab countries especially.
3. That God gift those who administer the Praise and Prayer event with wisdom, knowledge, organization, insight, protection, and financial support.
4. For the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to raise up many spiritual leaders from a young age who will be used to impact Egypt for advancement of the Kingdom of God.
More than 80 significant leaders within Indonesia and the international prayer movement met together in the hilltop town of Puncak on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, to pray together and make plans for the upcoming World Prayer Assembly that will occur in this nation, May 14-18, 2012. (Please see www.worldprayerassembly.com for more information.)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Your prayer support will be all-important to the planning of this event which is intended to be a “new paradigm” for an international congress—carried out Acts 13-style—incorporating listening to God, united prayer, and strategic implementation of world-impacting action that proceeds out of that encounter with the Lord and one another.
Prayer Concerns:
1. Please pray for the eight planning task forces: Program, Logistics, Mobilization (including the Media Strategy Group), Finance, Registration/Website, Youth, Children, and Prayer Support. We need to be led of the Lord, given His creative, anointed ideas, and to all do our work diligently, joyfully, and unitedly.
2. This will not be just another prayer conference. The word “world” adds a great deal of complexity and challenge to the planning process since we hope to have 5000-7000 ministry leaders from all 220 nations. Please pray for excellent organization on the part of the Indonesians and Koreans who are co-hosting the event, for the International Coordination Team, and for the right people from every nation to hear about the WPA and be able to come to Jakarta for it.
3. The WPA Concert of Prayer in Indonesia this year on May 17, 2011. This will also serve as preparation for the WPA that is one year to follow. Please pray for further guidance, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and unity.
4. Some organizers that are key to the WPA process are: the Indonesian and Korean national committees who will co-host the event and the WPA International Coordination Team (14) that provides overall oversight. Please pray for His guidance, protection, and provision for each of us. The spiritual battle, as you can imagine, is intense.
Here are the two Scripture passages that have particularly inspired us in arranging the WPA:
• The Church Becoming United—that all followers of Christ may be one so that the world may believe. (John 17:20-26)
• Our World Being Transformed—that “the earth may be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea”. (Hab.2:14)
Thanks so much for your gracious help through prayer that will mean so much, not just to those of us doing the planning and organizing, but also to our world that will be affected by the World Prayer Assembly.
Please also help us get word of the WPA out to “ministry leaders of influence” who will represent the “seven mountains” of society (Arts/Media, Business/Marketplace, Church, Development of the Poor, Education, Family, and Government) who should be part of the WPA. Again, for more information, please have them see www.worldprayerassembly.com where they can also register their interest in participating.