Kenya: Odinga inaugurates himself
02 Feb 2018
Last November Mr Kenyatta was officially inaugurated as president, but his victory was not recognised by Raila Odinga, who argues that Mr Kenyatta was elected by a small section of the country. On 31 January he declared himself the people's president, at a controversial swearing-in ceremony that the government warned is treason. Authorities shut down TV stations to prevent live coverage of the event. Holding a Bible in his right hand at a Nairobi park, he declared he was answering a ‘higher calling to assume the office of the people's president of the Republic of Kenya’. He said that people had had enough of election rigging, and the event is hoped to be a step towards establishing a proper democracy in the East African state. Mr Odinga turned up for twenty minutes, signed a statement, swore an oath, and left the low-key affair. His deputy, Kalonzo Musyoka, was not at the event.
I Love Prayer
01 Feb 2018
I LOVE PRAYER BY RACHEL HICKSON
CONNECTED TO GOD, CHANGING THE WORLD.
Prayer is powerful – It writes the capital letter at the beginning of each sentence of history.
I believe that, as we intentionally connect to God and pray in agreement with His heart, we shift and alter the destiny of nations. What a privilege we have to pray. In days of uncertainty and uproar, it is easy to pray “worry prayers”, those conversations that just speak of our anxiety rather than prayers of hope and declaration. In this book we look at our devotional life of prayer, study the place of intercession, and explore the journey of prayer walking and staking our nations for Jesus. We will learn to become friends of God who understand the days in which we live and know how to pray.
Connected to God, now changing the world.
As we get connected to God’s heart, I believe that God wants the Church to become His house of prayer and write history – His story – in these turbulent days. Prayer is this special place where we connect to the heart of God and then change the world. I do not know why you pray, but I love to hear the stories of lives changed, people envisioned and hope awakened; but more than the answers to prayer, I love prayer. I love the incredible privilege we have to talk to God and become His friend.
Faith in the Making
01 Feb 2018
Faith in the Making by Lyndall Bywater
Price: £7.99
If 'faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see' what does that look like in practice today? In a world that is largely unsure and uncertain, how do we gain our confidence?
Faith in the Making recognises the problem and seeks the answer in the list of faithful heroes found in Hebrews 11. This accessible, devotional resource will inspire individuals and groups to live more confidently for God in today's world. Heroic faith is far more attainable than we often think!
A trumpet call to turn back to God
01 Feb 2018
The Children of Israel heard the trumpet call many times on their journey through the deserts to the Promised Land. In the seventh month, there was a blast of trumpets to proclaim a holy gathering and day of rest (Lev 23:24). Similarly, the tribes were called with a trumpet blast to stand before Mount Sinai - wrapped in smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire (Ex 19:18). They are told they must send a loud trumpet throughout the land to proclaim the Day of Atonement (Lev 25:9). In Numbers 10, they are told that trumpets will sound to summon the congregation and to break camp. When the walls of Jericho fell the trumpets blew. 120 trumpeters made a huge noise of praise and worship when Solomon dedicated the temple. Psalm 98 tells us to make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord with trumpets and the sound of the horn.
On Saturday 9th June 2018 at the International Convention Centre Birmingham, we shall be sounding the trumpet.
- It will be a trumpet call to mobilise God's people to come and pray for our nation to turn.
- It is a trumpet of declaration - it is time for an unprecedented turning in our nation.
- It is the trumpet of victory - walls, barriers and obstacles come down.
- It is a trumpet of consecration - it draws God's people into His presence.
Joel 2 shows the link between turning and trumpet blowing - "Even now" declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." At this late time, we can still turn. "For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing." (Joel 2: 12 - 14). Here is this wonderful picture of our God and a marvellous insight into turning - as we turn, God turns. Turning shifts things in heaven.
Joel then takes this time to turn further "Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly, gather the people, and consecrate the assembly." Joel 2 :15, 16. It is time to gather. This is the great call for our times - it is time for God's people and our nations to turn away from our wicked ways and to turn to the love, mercy, forgiveness and power of Jesus.
Jean Darnall brought a substantial prophetic word to our nation fifty years ago. God was going to renew His church and awaken this nation. We would see fire and lightening and a powerful move of the spirit of God. We believe that time is now. So, we call you and your friends, and your church to a solemn assembly on 9th June.
Let us stand together to pray for renewal in the church and an awakening in the nation. It is time to turn.
It's time to turn and seek God for Brexit
01 Feb 2018
Our UK decision in June 2016 to leave the European Union has been, and still is, a huge learning curve to all people with a heart to pray and work to see God's Kingdom be more fully seen and experienced. In the past, we may have approached 'big' issues from the same perspective and been able to come to a place of unity together but not so with 'Brexit'. Differing views have brought tensions in every area of our society and that includes our churches! One of the results of this that we can sidestep the urgent need to pray.
It is time to turn and seek the face of our Father in order to discern His plans and His purposes through all that is taking place regarding Brexit and its impact over our UK nations, the European Union, Europe and the rest of the world.
Over recent months in our World Prayer Centre days of prayer we have been asking the Lord to teach us how to pray and He has been clearly responding with 'it's time to turn'. The call to turn involves us laying down our own agendas, taking our eyes off our preferences, stances, political leanings and whether we voted Remain or Leave and to turn to Him afresh. We must put our trust in Him as Lord in and through all the shaking and uncertainty that we experience at every level of society - not only in the UK but all over the world.
We, as His church, need to be united and focussed on praying for His Kingdom to come in and through all of this so that heaven's purposes can be released on earth.
Praying for
His purposes to be revealed (Psalm 33.11)
His ways to be made known (Psalm 25.10; Ps 77.13)
His truth to emerge (John 14.17)
His justice to be outworked (Leviticus 19:15)
His mercy to be poured out (Habbakuk 3:2)
His compassion to be seen (Colossians 3:12)
His peace to be evident (Galatians 5:22)
His wisdom to be given (James 3:17)
For our leaders: for those negotiating with the European Union; for those working on the redrafting of our UK laws; that our Westminster and UK government leaders will not get distracted by the enormity of Brexit and be able to govern wisely; for political stability in our Westminster government and for a clear roadmap to emerge in these next few months before March 2019.
Let's make this a season where we adopt in prayer leaders including: Theresa May; Dominic Raab Secretary for Exiting the European Union and his team (Lord Callanan Minister of State; Robin Walker MP; Chris Heaton-Harris MP; Suella Braverman MP); Michel Barnier, as Chief Negotiator for the 27 EU countries and his deputy Sabine Weyand; Didier Seeuws (European Parliament); Donald Tusk (European Council); Jean-Claude Junker (European Commission): and other national leaders in Europe during this season - remembering leaders in Scotland and Wales and the situation in Northern Ireland without a functioning Assembly (1 Tim 2:2).
For reconciliation and trust: whatever agreements are finally agreed, humanly speaking it will all depend on those people meeting and discussing face to face. For those meetings to deliver what the Lord wants there will need to be trust, understanding and the ability by each party to listen to what is being proposed. As we write, there is talk of a vote of no confidence in Theresa May, disagreements between cabinet ministers - and in recent weeks we have seen how media leaks of supposed conversations in closed meetings in the 'Brexit talks' were not found to be true.
When we know of key dates of meetings; hear reports of disagreements, let's stand in the gap wherever we are and use arrow prayers for God's mercy, God's wisdom and God's healing 'Your kingdom Come' (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
For the media: for those working in the media to resist sensationalism and to uncover the truth in each situation… and for us to discern from the newsfeeds what are the real issues we need to be praying for and into (John3:21).
It's time to turn in humility and repentance (2 Chronicles 7:14) - in order for His purposes and plans to come for our UK nations, for the EU nations and the other nations within our continent. We are a continent that has turned our backs on our Father. The consequences are being worked through in every nation.
crying out for His mercy (Psalm 2.8)
knowing our position in Him and the authority we as His children and as His church have been given (Ephesians 1:3-7, 2:6-10, 3:16-19)
worshipping and declaring that he is Lord over all His earth, the people, the nations, the leaders, the land and put our trust in Him (Colossians 1.15ff; Psalm 24)
praying for peace, truth, mercy and justice to meet together (Psalm 85:9-13)
for courage for His church across our continent (Acts 4:27)
for Gods blessings to be released (Deuteronomy 28:1-14)
For spiritual awakening in every people group and nation (Isaiah 64)
For millions to come to know Jesus as Lord (Psalm 67.6).
Brexit is an opportunity for us to learn afresh how to partner with our Father in these times of shaking and harvest as we learn afresh to trust in Him alone and see His glory revealed (John 11:40). We believe God has a very immediate plan and purpose for our nation - and our relationship with Europe - let us continue to pray for his sovereignty (Psalm 2:10-11)
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Timeline:
Phase I: Jan-March 2018: this phase has been set aside to firm up the conditions for the post-Brexit transition period requested by Britain. Key dates: March 22-23, 2018: EU summit in Brussels where the transition phase will be decided, the divorce bill legally drawn up and Michel Barnier given a mandate to negotiate the EU's future relationship with Britain.
Phase II: April 2018 to late October 2018. EU: The goal for October 2018 is to finalize a withdrawal treaty governing the UK's departure from the EU as well as a political framework agreement covering the future relationship between the two entities.
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Some Resources:
Passion for the Nation declarations: http://passionforthenation.uk/brexit-10/
Operation World http://www.operationworld.org/country-lists
Canopy of Prayer http://www.canopyofprayer.eu/
Europe shall be saved http://esbs.org/esbs/
European Union of Prayer http://euofprayer.eu
European Evangelical Alliance http://www.europeanea.org
Pray for France https://prayforfrance.org/
https://epthinktank.eu/2018/01/17/europes-challenges-in-2018-ten-issues-to-watch/
The Lord's Prayer outline for praying for Brexit.
A Day of Prayer for Britain: Praying over Brexit, Unity and Reformation in the Church, Friday 23 March 2018, at Emmanuel Centre, London called by David Hathaway. More details from: http://propheticvision.org.uk/
The WPC Team
We extend greetings and blessings from the Christian church in Bolivia. We are very grateful for your prayers in favor of our continent. Those who could participate in the UPRISING organized in Bolivia in November 2017, now understood in greater depth the role of prayer to transform a nation and now we can see many results of those days of UPRISING, since the prayer in Bolivia has risen a lot.
On January 10, 2018, the Extraordinary Assembly of the National Association of Evangelicals of Bolivia (ANDEB) was held, with the participation of different denominations, missions, evangelical organizations, and some Evangelical United Departmental and Regional Churches to analyze the situation of the country and draw conclusions and determinations regarding the enactment by the President in exercise of Law 1005 of the Code of Procedure of the Bolivian Criminal System, as according to this Code, our country faces the possibility that as of 2019, evangelism activities are punishable by law.
In this sense, we request you to pray for our country, with the following prayer requests:
1. Pray for the ABROGATION of the aforementioned Law 1005 of the New Bolivian Penal Code.
2. Pray for the unity of ALL the Evangelical Church in Bolivia through its National, Departmental and Regional representation bodies in such a way that we are one voice, according to the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ "So that all may be one ... so that the world believes that you sent me.”
Cochabamba, January 18th, 2018
Asamblea General Extraordinaria
Asociación Nacional de Evangélicos de Bolivia (ANDEB)
Iglesias Evangélicas Unidas Departamentales (IEUD
Members of the IPC Leadership Team joined Pastor Jerome and Mrs Abel Ocampo and the organisers of regional United Prayer Rising events in Jakarta on 23rd and 24th January 2018 for a summit.
The purpose of the meeting was to report back on the recent events and plans for forthcoming gatherings. In particular, the group prayerfully explored the possibility of organizing a Global Uprising event in Jakarta during October 2018. The vision is to see 2,000 Indonesian young people meet up with a further 2,000 youth from the other nations of the world.
Pictured below are all the attendees with Pastor Niko from the Sentul ICC.
A recurring theme during the times of prayer and worship was Isaiah 43: 9-10 - “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” During a visit to the Sentul International Convention Centre Prayer Tower, the leaders had a sense that something extraordinarily new and exciting was about to happen that would blow our minds!
The group of young leaders agreed to form part of an Indonesia Dream Team that would input to the program planning processes for the Global Uprising. The provisional date of October 24-26 and the venue will be confirmed shortly.
Please pray:
> For protection, wisdom, and for the right doors to continue to open for these young people who have dedicated time, energy and skills to the United Prayer Rising Events.
> For Pastor Andy Tjokro (Jakarta) as he co-ordinates the various planning teams for the Global Uprising.
> For substantial funds to be released to undergird the regional and global events planned for the next few years. (Mal 3:10)
> For the Manilla based team who support and direct the events under the leadership and guidance of Pastor Jerome Ocampo.
An Urgent Request to keep those in South Sudan in our daily prayers with those on the ground there has been requested.
You may remember recently a new ceasefire was put into place. PRAY it holds. Join with them, in prayer. “We are persuaded that it is the prayer of God’s children that is keeping this nation”. “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, and all who live in it.” Psalm 24:1.
• PRAY for the Intercessors worldwide to catch the urgency to pray for the stability of South Sudan.
• PRAY that the Almighty God will divinely and quickly intervene in the situation of the nation.
• PRAY and ASK the Father to send His angels to defend the nation against internal conflicts and instability.
• ASKING all Intercessors to pray prophetically over South Sudan.
We are persuaded that it is the prayer of God’s children that is keeping this nation. “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, and all who live in it.” Psalm 24:1.
South Sudan is on a serious spiritual battle field, please cover us daily with your prayers. Jesus reigns over the earth including South Sudan.
Please circulate this to urgently mobilize prayers for this nation.