Update: As I work with a number of different teams here at World Prayer Centre, at More than Gold, at Hope, Prayer For Today, Global Day of Prayer, Prayer Forum, etc., it is exciting to see how the prayer strategy is developing in the lead up to 2012; how HOPE is resourcing its constituency in prayer; and how God has created wonderful trust between different churches, organisations and ministries all planning for years of prayer in 2012 + all that is emerging in 2013 and 2014 - I get a real sense in my spirit that our Father is up to something. That 'something' is very profound as He knocks on the door of our planning with the aim of getting our attention off the programme and focussed afresh on Jesus.
More than Gold - the organisation working to co-ordinate the churches response to the Olympic and Paralympic Games through hospitality, service and mission (undergirded by prayer) has seen some wonderful answers to prayer.
A time to shine - a call to pray for communities and nations (Isaiah 60:1-5). There will be 4 seasons of prayer during 2012 in which all will be invited - whether linked with More than Gold or not - to pray locally and link nationally in this unique season:
1. Shine for the New Year 31.12.11-8.1.12
2. Shine as the flame travels* - prayer and blessing travelling around 210 locations at each place the Olympic torch stops for 70 days**
3. Shine during the Games (both Olympic and Paralympics).
4. Shine forever - continuing the momentum of prayer and mission
*I will be in touch with leaders in For England - Together shortly to share more fully the prophetic background and invitation to join in Shine as the flame travels
** We are praying over what needs to take place prayerwise during the Paralympic torch relay.
http://www.morethangold.org.uk/your-church/prayer/
• Over 1750 church reps (Gold Champions) are in place and it is exciting to see how many churches are engaging in how to use the Games as a mission opportunity.
• All of the 23 programme teams are now in place and making plans to deliver resources to help churches run holiday clubs, sports academies, community festivals, deliver hospitality, welcome mission teams, accommodate athlete's families, recruit Games Pastors (who will be used in transport hubs in SE England)
Update: As I work with a number of different teams here at World Prayer Centre, at More than Gold, at Hope, Prayer For Today, Global Day of Prayer, Prayer Forum, etc., it is exciting to see how the prayer strategy is developing in the lead up to 2012; how HOPE is resourcing its constituency in prayer; and how God has created wonderful trust between different churches, organisations and ministries all planning for years of prayer in 2012 + all that is emerging in 2013 and 2014 - I get a real sense in my spirit that our Father is up to something. That 'something' is very profound as He knocks on the door of our planning with the aim of getting our attention off the programme and focussed afresh on Jesus.
More than Gold - the organisation working to co-ordinate the churches response to the Olympic and Paralympic Games through hospitality, service and mission (undergirded by prayer) has seen some wonderful answers to prayer.
A time to shine - a call to pray for communities and nations (Isaiah 60:1-5). There will be 4 seasons of prayer during 2012 in which all will be invited - whether linked with More than Gold or not - to pray locally and link nationally in this unique season:
1. Shine for the New Year 31.12.11-8.1.12
2. Shine as the flame travels* - prayer and blessing travelling around 210 locations at each place the Olympic torch stops for 70 days**
3. Shine during the Games (both Olympic and Paralympics).
4. Shine forever - continuing the momentum of prayer and mission
*I will be in touch with leaders in For England - Together shortly to share more fully the prophetic background and invitation to join in Shine as the flame travels
** We are praying over what needs to take place prayerwise during the Paralympic torch relay.
http://www.morethangold.org.uk/your-church/prayer/
• Over 1750 church reps (Gold Champions) are in place and it is exciting to see how many churches are engaging in how to use the Games as a mission opportunity.
• All of the 23 programme teams are now in place and making plans to deliver resources to help churches run holiday clubs, sports academies, community festivals, deliver hospitality, welcome mission teams, accommodate athlete's families, recruit Games Pastors (who will be used in transport hubs in SE England)
“Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.” Isaiah 26:8
Ten years ago, it was the horrendously tragic 9/11 terrorist attack that helped catalyze the formation of the International Prayer Council in the weeks that followed. Thirty-five international prayer leaders answered Ben Jenning’s call to meet in New York City at the beginning of December 2001. We struggled to pray at Ground Zero, expressing our deep grief but also extending forgiveness to the extremist monsters and their backers who, because of their bondage to an ideology so full of deception and death, had just wantonly murdered 3000 Americans.
As we prayed and deliberated about the way forward in the global prayer movement, it seemed obvious that it was a time for a “network of prayer networks.” It would connect prayer leaders and intercessors across the world to pray concertedly for the effective resolution of global and regional issues such as terrorism, humanitarian disasters, and especially for the fulfillment of the Great Commission and implementation of the Great Commandment.
The key word is “connect”. The IPC has been used by the Lord to join brothers and sisters in Christ together across the globe to pray with an informed and united focus in many different situations and venues since 2001. Here is a partial list of what has been accomplished thus far so we can rejoice, thank God, and look ahead:
1) International Prayer Leaders Consultation, Cape Town, South Africa, November, 2002 – almost 300 prayer networks gathered to launch the IPC and regional prayer networks cross the world.
2) Regional prayer summits through these networks have brought together prayer and ministry leaders in virtually every region of the world. Some regions have met several times and continue to pray and work together for God’s transformation.
3) National prayer initiatives, many of them with IPC-related facilitation teams, have been arranged and led in at least 30 nations. In many cases, the Lord has brought about major transformations by ending wars, removing evil leaders and enabling the formation of national unity governments. He has also ignited spiritual revival among participating pastors, denominational and even political leaders as His people have repented, become reconciled and prayed.
4) International Prayer Consultations have been held in conjunction with other major events such as the Lausanne Forum in Thailand, 2004, Malaysia, 2006, and the Global Day of Prayer conference, 2010.
5) Global Day of Prayer – since September 2004, the IPC has gone to bat for the GDOP, helping to mobilize participation around the world through its links with other prayer networks and ministries. Up to 300 million have taken part in these annual days of united prayer for our communities and world.
6) Two global Children in Prayer Consultations, bringing together children’s workers from more than 60 nations, were held in Malaysia (2006), and India (2008). These times of cross-fertilization, along with video and written resources and a new website, helped inspire and broaden the rapidly growing Children in Prayer movement now in possibly 100 nations.
7) International Prayer Initiatives for the United Nations connected over 400 prayer leaders from 70 plus countries to pray with ambassadors inside the chambers of the U.N. (2007 and 2009).
8) Rich relationships of love and trust have been developed through such connections, enabling a wonderful Kingdom synergy that has released human, financial and other resources to flow where
they are needed.
9) Now, the IPC (by this time also known as International Prayer Connect) is taking on its biggest challenge yet – the World Prayer Assembly. For the last ten years, we have thought and prayed about this possibility. In connection with the Indonesian and Korean prayer movements who will be co-hosting and with the support of many other prayer networks worldwide, the WPA will take place next year (May 14-18) in Jakarta, Indonesia. See www.wpa2012.org.
Many colleagues in the IPC and thousands upon thousands of other brothers and sisters in Christ have prayed and worked together to make all these things happen. Thank you for the crucial, vital roles you have played, sometimes involving considerable personal sacrifice. As that old saying goes, “It is not what you know but who you know that really matters!”
However, in the final analysis, it is the Spirit of God who has stirred our hearts to join Him in united intercession for our world and the outworking of His loving purposes for it. As Isaiah goes on to say in that same passage, “All that we have accomplished you have done for us.” Let us, therefore, reflect, rejoice and give thanks to the Lord who has done “immeasurably more” than all we have asked or imagined!
John Robb
IPC Chairman
In the context of world events, I believe this assembly comes at a God ordained moment. An assembly, which is “the coming together of people for a specific purpose” or the “forming of something from different parts” is different from a conference “receiving and sharing information”, or a meeting, “a group of people led by one or two people”. To assemble before God is to bring all the parts of the body together in unity of purpose so that the Master builder can shape and energise us for His purposes.
The sacred assembly that God called for in Joel 2 was for all the people, everyone to gather, the elders, the children, the young, the newly weds, the priests. Assemblies were called by God so that the people were in a position to cry to God and to hear from God. From that position of humility and awe, God was able to say to His people “I am sending you grain, new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully”. WPA is a once in a generation moment for the parts of the body of Christ to come together from around the world, to stand together in humility, to worship Him, to seek His face and to hear His voice and to receive the grain, the wine and the oil to take to the ends of the earth.
The more I pray and ponder regarding the assembly, the more I see this as a unique moment in church history. This is not about promotion of ministries, it is not about well known speakers, it is not about networking, there are many other events that take place at which these things can rightly take place. This is a moment in history when representatives of the Body of Christ from around the world stand in unity, listening, ready to hear the word of the Lord.
I am excited when I think of those united sessions where we are led into the presence of God in worship of the King of Kings by brothers and sisters from different continents, where we stand shoulder to shoulder with brothers and sisters from many nations and pray out the things that God puts on our hearts to pray and where together in our unity and humility God is able to command blessing even life for evermore.
It has been prophesied that WPA is heralding a new wave of the Spirit that will sweep across the world so that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. We now know that tsunami waves start with the movement of huge tectonic plates under the earth’s surface. Let us gather in Indonesia in faith believing that the WPA will see such a shift that as the plates of our denominations, ministries and movements come together a wave of the presence of God will sweep out of Indonesia growing and gathering pace as it sweeps through His church across the continents.
Ian Cole, Director of the World Prayer Centre
It was a joy to be back in Indonesia a couple weeks ago with a team of five Christian brothers and to see all the progress being made in preparations for the World Prayer Assembly. Here is a brief update with some high points from what the Indonesians shared with my colleagues and me:
The Indonesians have already mobilized the believers in 217 cities to take part in prayer for the nation and the WPA. They expect that people in 300-400 cities in this diverse island nation will end up participating and that 5 million or more will join in an evening of united prayer and celebration during the nationally televised broadcast from the Jakarta stadium on May 17.
As part of the WPA process, they are launching the “My Home” initiative in which an estimated 15 million Christians will adopt their own streets for prayer followed by loving service to their neighbors such as planting trees, cleaning up garbage, etc. This will go on for the next two years. They were inspired by word of a similar prayer effort for Newark, New Jersey in the USA, one of the most dangerous cities in the nation in the nation until united prayer contributed to a large drop in the crime rate between 2006 and 2008.
Indonesian youth have their own initiative beginning February 3 to bless the five cities of greater Jakarta with free medical treatments and building public toilets in combination with prayer. Then on February 18, 5000 youth, children and adults- tri-generational just like the WPA and connected with it- will surround the national stadium, holding hands in prayer for the launch of “My Home” with government officials and the media taking part.
Our Indonesian colleagues recognize the need to be humble and prayerful before the Lord in the run-up to the WPA so they have already been engaging in a lot of intercession, prayer walking and fasting for many months and they will ramp this up considerably during the 100 days before, beginning February 4. Their vibrant, always increasing prayer movement includes fifty-two 24/7 “prayer towers” that never shut down, continually manned by intercessors. There are almost 1100 “prayer bases” where believers and leaders gather at least once per week to pray together. In addition, 2000 will continue to gather once per week in Jakarta to pray for the WPA until it happens May 14-18.
Here are some key concerns they are focusing on and that we hope you will also join us in prayer for:
1) That the people the Lord is calling from every nation will be able to come to the WPA. (See Isaiah 5:26 where the Lord whistles for the distant nations to come.)
2) For many hundreds of children and youth from all 12 world regions to be able to take part.
3) Financial provision for the WPA to be abundantly supplied and for each participant needing to raise funds to travel to Indonesia.
4) Humility, joy, unity and the anointing of the Holy Spirit during the planning process for the Indonesian committee, the Korean co-hosts and all of us working on the program and logistics. March 27-29, the Indonesian leaders will gather to seek the Lord and “throw down their agendas” before Him in special preparation.
5) Continued favor of the political authorities and the people of Indonesia as well as protection for the WPA venues and His special grace for the authorities to come up with creative, effective solutions for Jakarta’s legendary traffic problem.
6) The great wave of the Spirit, a true tsunami of revival and transformation, to be released upon us during the WPA in a “new Pentecost” that will flow to all of Indonesia and the nations
Thanks so much for praying with us! Come and join us in the wonderful prayer revival that is sweeping Indonesia! You can register and get more information about the World Prayer Assembly at www.wpa2012.org.
Dr. Leslie Keegel, John Robb, Pastor Niko, Tom Victor and Dr. Bambang Widjaya outside the Sentul City International Convention Center, site of the World Prayer Assembly
Report from Leslie Keegel on Indonesia and the WPA
I was privileged to visit Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur during 14 - 21 January with John Robb and Tom Victor. The brothers and sisters in Jakarta are filled with great enthusiasm about what God is doing and saying to them. I was greatly blessed with the prayer emphasis of the Indonesian Church. The Pastors and other Christian leaders are setting aside everything else to concentrate on united prayer. I was very blessed to observe the prayer towers they were conducting. A number of Churches in a given city unite to start prayer towers and they make sure that these towers have intercessors 24/7 praying for a Holy Ghost move in their cities. We were so blessed to witness children weeping before the Lord as they prayed. Children gathered around us John Robb, Tom Victor, me and a few other visitors to intercede for us, they wept as they prayed for us, it was such a special moment for me. The Church is very excited about the great move of God like a new wave about to sweep across Indonesia and the whole world. They believe that it is going to start during the World Prayer Assembly.
John, Tom and I were able to visit a few people of wealth and influence in the city to share about the World Prayer Assembly. We believe that God spoke to them and He will make them instruments of blessing to help with the needs of the World Prayer Assembly and the Global Prayer movement.
While in Malaysia, we were able to meet with a politician who is a born again believer. As we shared about the World Prayer Assembly with him he was very positive about it. We are believing that he would be able to be a part of the event in May 14 - 18. We were also able to meet with a group of Pastors and Christian leaders on the same evening to talk to them about the World Prayer Assembly. Everyone was very positive about it, most of them are hoping to participate.
Prophetic words given to Leslie Keegel concerning WPA 2012
Shared during Indonesia ministry visit in mid-January by Dr. Leslie Keegel, vice-chairman of the Foursquare International church movement and member of the IPC leadership team:
The theme for WPA 2012 is the “New Wave”. Years and years of prayer are bringing about a new birth in the womb of the church. There is a birthing of a new global movement spiritually out of Indonesia. The birthing mechanism is the World Prayer Assembly. There is a huge tsunami, through which demonic institutions and principalities will be challenged. The new wave will overtake them by surprise. All the heavy, concrete, deeply grounded, demonic- influenced institutions will crash and the move will be more powerful than ever before. All the debris of darkness will be washed away. National demonic deities that have corrupted the nations and oppressed the people – these powers are going to be challenged and the power of God will emerge.
A mountain of prophesy from God will emerge. His people will be in the right places. Unreached people groups will come to the Lord. I had dreams at 2:00 or 3:00 am in the morning and this is what I saw:
I saw crescendos of praise over the nations and bursting things apart.
Angels come in between the people and their praises. Angels lifted up their prayers to a new level.
I saw God touching people. Creative miracles never seen before will be released. The joy is ecstatic. There is dancing and rejoicing. There is liquid love. So pure.
I saw chains breaking. Blindness and numbness in peoples’ minds and ears will be broken. I saw the Lord dealing with oppression and poverty. The Lord confronts the Spirit of Poverty and Oppression. These are spirits.
We will be wiser in the things of Spirit. We will have new discernment over the power of the oppressors. There will be a new move of compassion. These are being conceived in the womb of the churches of Indonesia.
A new Pentecost, a new unleashing of the power of the Spirit, another level of empowerment. And from the tsunami in this land, entrenched power of darkness over the nations will be swept away.
The prayer strategy that has been evolving over recent years is now beginning to come into focus as different ministries, organisations and networks run with how the Lord has been leading them.
Click http://www.prayerforum.org/towards-2012/ for the link to an "Outline for 2012" - some of the main things already in place are listed.
Jane Holloway - Prayer Forum
World Prayer Centre, Cornerstone House, 5 Ethel Street, Birmingham, B2 4BG
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In the traditional calendar, “All Saints Day” and “All Souls Day” stand out in the month of November, set apart to remember the saints of the church and the souls of those who departed this world. It is fitting, then, that the modern church has set apart the month of November to remember and pray for the persecuted church, through the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP).
There are many countries in the world today where Christians are martyred for their faith. Believers in Afghanistan are facing death threats; Christians in Uzbekistan, Nigeria and many other countries all around the world face violence, imprisonment and even death. There are other places in the world such as North Korea where acts of persecution take place, but we don’t see or hear of it. Brother Andrew of Open Doors once said, “Our heroes are not with us simply because they are in prison.”
IDOP is a time set apart for us to remember thousands of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who suffer persecution, simply because they confess Jesus Christ as Lord.
We invite you to explore this website (www.idop.org) and hope you will join Christians worldwide in praying for persecuted Christians in November. Please note that while Sunday, November 13 (Sunday, November 6 in the UK and Ireland) is the designated date for IDOP, you are free to choose another date if you wish. See their resources that can be downloaded from this website to help your prayer group or congregation pray in an informed manner: www.idop.org
(back to top)
Join a Worldwide Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Christians
More than 25 pastors are killed in Colombia every year, simply because they lead churches. Right now, there are over 2,000 Christians in prison in Eritrea, just because they are Christians. In Iran, Pastor Nadarkhani is facing execution for apostasy (abandoning Islam).
And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
On 6 November 2011, there will be an International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP). It is a special opportunity for the global Church to unite in prayer, raising up situations just like the ones above.
http://www.csw.org.uk/pray
The Global Day of Worship (GDW) is a call for a unified, global worship movement to see the name of Jesus Christ lifted up throughout the earth. It will be a day that will unify many denominations within the body of Christ while embracing and celebrating the differences in our expressions of love for Jesus Christ. Through a unified celebration and adoration of the name of Jesus, the world will see that we are His disciples.
Join us on November 11, 2011 – from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in each time zone – for a wave of worship and adoration that will span the globe and unite all believers as one body. Utilizing 24 time zones, we will agree with and join the 24 elders, spoken of in Revelation 4, who are already worshiping Jesus around the throne. It is when the worship of heaven meets the worship of earth that spiritual climates of nations will shift as we serve faithfully here and now in preparation for His return.