Displaying items by tag: Worldwide

Churches and prayer and mission ministries across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands are planning to come together in Perth from 3 to 6 October, in unprecedented unity that has not been seen for decades, with the vision ‘A New Wave of Glory to cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea’ (Habakkuk 2:14). We are invited to attend, to pray, to watch online, and / or to give. For those who are unable to travel there will be livestreams of the plenary sessions. More information, including how to donate to this vision, from the website.

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted (IDOP) is Sunday, November 6. It is observed every year around All Saints’ Day when the Church traditionally remembers the saints of the Church, many of whom suffered torture and martyrdom for Jesus. IDOP recognizes those who have paid the ultimate price for their faith in Christ and reminds us that many are still paying that price today. This is a special time for us to pray for those who are persevering in the face of hardship, letting them know they are not forgotten and we are praying for them. Prayer Alert intercessors are invited to be a part of this special day by scheduling a few minutes to pray for Afghans, Ukrainians and the many others now arriving into new countries, and those still waiting to re-settle. For most Ukrainian’s this will be seen as a temporary re-settlement. Pray for converts to Christianity in the Muslim world, who have been threatened and abandoned by their families because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

In the frantic race for a Covid-19 vaccine, one issue in clinical trials is the lack of diversity. Experts are saying that the long history of abusive research practices has left many people of colour distrustful of the medical establishment, making it difficult to recruit them for clinical trials. Since black people are dying of Covid-19 at almost 2.5 times the rate of whites, recruiting a balanced cohort is essential. Pray for extra community outreach, childcare and transportation to testing and trial stations.

Currently 3,000 children are uniting to pray for the nations on Whatsapp. Royal Kids Ministries, started in Chennai in 1991 with one orphanage, have expanded into Children House of Prayer (CHOP), with prayer rooms at many orphanages. Their vision is Malachi 4:6: ‘He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers’. ‘The aim is to raise up young intercessors as worshippers and as a prayer army to cry out for revival, and also to call forth spiritual parents to support and cover children with prayers: in essence, to bring revival through orphans.’ This vision has spread; today there are CHOP in eight countries praying every day, and in eight more praying once a week. The aim is to have every orphanage turned into CHOP prayer rooms in every nation of the world.

Global Jesus Fast - Beholding the Lamb

March 1^st - April 9^th 2020

We want to join with Lou Engle’s call to a Global 40 day fast to see a world-wide manifestation of Jesus the Evangelist!  https://louengle.com/thejesusfast/

Before Jesus ever performed a miracle, before He ever preached the gospel, the Spirit of God drove Him into the wilderness to fast. He came out of that fast in the power of the Holy Spirit. Before there was an original Jesus movement there was an original Jesus Fast. For 20yrs Lou Engle has been calling an entire generation to extended prayer and fasting. Now at the threshold of a global harvest we are calling for a world-wide Jesus Fast. As the late Bill Bright (founder of  Campus Crusade/CRU) shared,

“I believe the power of fasting as it relates to prayer is the spiritual atomic bomb that our Lord has given us to destroy the strongholds of evil and usher in a great revival and spiritual harvest around the world”

Please prayerfully consider how the Spirit would lead you during this time of prayer and fasting. Here are some practical guidelines to help you think how to get started! https://www.ihopkc.org/about/fasting-guidelines-and-information/

I put together a devotional guide called ‘Beholding the Lamb’ to help us meditate on Jesus during this season of fasting.  You can download your copy at our website here.

Fasting is Feasting - 8 Fundamental Truths about Fasting

1. Fasting is not a command but a spiritual discipline. Biblical Fasting refers to abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. The Bible assumes we will fast. Jesus simply takes it for granted ( 6:16-18/ “when you fast.” In Mark 2 we see the same emphasis. When the Pharisees queried why Jesus’ disciples didn’t fast, he explained it in terms of his own physical presence on earth. “The days will come,” he said, “when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.” The point here is that the Messiah has come like a bridegroom to a wedding feast. Such a moment is too joyful and stunning and exciting to mingle with fasting. Groomsmen don’t fast at the bachelor party! The rehearsal dinner is no place to be sad. Jesus is present. The time for celebration is upon us. When the wedding feast is over and the bridegroom has departed, then it is appropriate to fast.
2. Fasting is Feasting motivated by deep desire. That is to say, fasting is not the suppression of desire but the intense pursuit of it. We fast because we want something more than food or more than whatever activity it is from which we abstain. If one suppresses the desire for food it is only because he or she has a greater and more intense desire for something more precious. Something of eternal value.
   
   That is why I say that fasting is feasting! The ironic thing about fasting is that it really isn’t about not eating food. It’s about feeding on the fullness of every divine blessing secured for us in Christ. Fasting tenderizes our hearts to experience the presence of God. It expands the capacity of our souls to hear his voice and be assured of his love and be filled with the fullness of his joy.
   
   Fasting is all about ingesting the Word of God, the beauty of God, the presence of God, the blessings of God. It is not a giving up of food (or some activity) for its own sake. It is about a giving up of food for Christ’s sake.
3. Fasting is not something you do for God. It is instead your appeal that God in grace and power do everything for you. Thus fasting is not an act of willpower but a declaration of weakness. It is not a work of our hearts and bodies but a confession of our utter dependency on God and his grace.
4. Fasting is not a statement that food or other things are bad, but that God is better! In other words, fasting is not a rejection of the many blessings God has given to us, but an affirmation that in the ultimate sense we prefer the Giver to his gifts. Fasting is a declaration that God is enough.
5. Perhaps the most instructive insight about fasting is what we learn when we compare it to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a feasting that looks backward in time, whereas fasting is a feasting that looks forward in time. The breaking of bread and drinking the cup is done “in remembrance” of our Lord’s historic, and therefore past, act of sacrifice. Thus by eating and drinking we celebrate the finality and sufficiency of that atoning death and that glorious resurrection. But when we fast we look forward “in expectation” to the consummation of Christ’s saving work and his personal presence forever. When we sit at Christ’s table with other believers we gratefully, fearfully, joyfully feast upon that food and drink that remind us of what has happened. And when we turn away from the table where otherwise daily meals are served we declare our deep yearning for what has not yet happened.
6. It is crucial that we understand the difference between being seen fasting, on the one hand, and fasting to be seen, on the other. Or again, to be seen fasting is not a sin. Fasting to be seen is (see Matt. 6:16). True, godly fasting is motivated by a heart for God, not human admiration. Being seen fasting is merely an external, and often unavoidable, reality. But fasting to be seen is a self-exalting motive of the heart.
7. Fasting opens our spiritual eyes to see him more clearly in Scripture and sensitizes our hearts to enjoy God’s presence. Look closely at Acts 13:1-3. Their fasting became the occasion for the Spirit's guidance to be communicated to them. Don't miss the obvious causal link that Luke draws. It was while/when or even because they were ministering to the Lord and fasting that the Holy Spirit spoke. I’m not suggesting that fasting puts God in our debt, as if it compels him to respond to us. But God does promise to be found by those who diligently seek him with their whole heart (Jer. 29:12-13). And what God said to them in the course of their fasting changed history. The results, both immediate and long-term, are stunning, for prior to this incident the church had progressed little, if at all, beyond the eastern seacoast of the Mediterranean. Paul had as yet taken no missionary journeys westward to Asia Minor, Greece, Rome, or Spain. Neither had he written any of his epistles. All his letters were the result of the missionary journeys he was to take and the churches he was to plant. This occasion of prayer and fasting birthed Paul’s missionary journeys and led to the writing of 13 of our NT books! (I’m indebted to John Piper for these insights on Acts 13)
8. Fasting is a powerful weapon in spiritual warfare and a preparation for anointed ministry! See Mt. 4:1-11 (Jesus fasted in preparation for resisting the temptations of Satan) and Mark 9:29 (Mt. 17:14-21). Fasting heightens our complete dependence upon God and forces us to draw on him and his power, and to believe fully in his strength. This explains why Jesus fasted in preparation for facing the temptations of Satan in the wilderness (Mt. 4:1-11; see Mark 9:29; Mt. 17:14-21). When Jesus returns from the wilderness, he does so in the ‘power of the Spirit’ to Galilee! See Luke 4:14

Dr Jason Hubbard - Executive Co-ordinator
IPC Connect

The government wanted to install facial recognition cameras in Pastor Xiang En’s church sanctuary. When he refused they did it anyway and gathered the private data of church members so that they could target them. They will intimidate them with their jobs, their housing, and their children’s education to prevent them from going to church. Pastor Xiang said, ‘Hundreds of policemen raided our church, smashed our building, put the pastors on surveillance, and shut down the church.’ After his church was shut down the first sermon he preached was from Revelation 3:7-8: ‘I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.’ Pastor Xiang remains hopeful, despite the opposition his congregation faces. Many prominent mainstream churches and house churches in China continue to be shut down.

A recent Lausanne Movement asked, ‘What can we do to accelerate the impact of Christianity in our cities?’ For the first time in history, there are more people in cities than in the countryside. 1.5 million people move into cities weekly. The church is not moving into cities as fast as the world. For the gospel to transform and flourish in cities, we need global alliances not just of Church leaders, but Christian leaders in the marketplace. Recently a UK news article reported the CofE planting churches in urban areas in a bid to renew itself. The article went on to tell the story of a young man who used drugs and alcohol. His chaotic lifestyle led to prison. Today he is sober, well dressed, studying business management and attending church on Tuesday evenings after he gave his life to the Lord. See also

Open Doors CEO Henrietta Blyth has written, ‘Around the world, life is getting harder, not easier, for Christians. In India we see rising levels of violence against believers – especially pastors’ wives and daughters. The Chinese government has been clamping down hard too. In North Korea there is still a total lack of freedom for Christians, and yet the world and the church remain largely ignorant of the scale and severity of persecution. Galatians 5:1 says that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. The God we worship gives us the freedom to choose and we should defend this freedom vigorously, wherever and whenever we can. The World Watch List is vital because it shows where those freedoms are being denied and the ferocity of the battle we are in. For millions of men and women, each year, the choice to follow Him is a matter of life and death.’

Over 42 million abortions took place globally in 2019, according to the tracking service Worldometers. Once again abortion was the single largest cause of death across the planet, causing significantly more than half the total of all deaths worldwide. More than 190,000 worldwide abortions were recorded in the first two days of 2020. The true totals may be either lower or higher, however, as they rely on health and mortality statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which in turn uses estimates from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute. Worldometers found similar numbers last year, leading left-wing outlets such as Snopes to attempt to minimise the news, not by disputing the numbers but by arguing that abortion should not be considered a ‘cause of death.’ Scientifically speaking, however, it is a settled biological fact that the embryos and foetuses destroyed by abortion are living human beings.

‘Calling the whole Body of Christ to prayer and action for a lost world ‘

Christians around the world soon will celebrate once again the awesome light of Christ that has penetrated and continues to shine in the darkness of human history. At the same time, hundreds of millions of people still have yet to see that light and receive the abundant and eternal life it makes possible. They are without hope and without God, living lives of desperation and meaninglessness.

After being arrested by His light and filled with His Spirit, the early church turned the world upside down. Following Jesus’ command, as a first step they stayed in Jerusalem and “joined constantly together in prayer”.

That culture of united prayer brought the empowering of the Holy Spirit and ignited remarkable spiritual breakthroughs as the Gospel began to spread throughout the then known world. This same pattern of prayer preceding evangelism has been a consistent pattern in all the great revivals and mission advances from then on through church history.

Now, tens of thousands of churches with hundreds of mission organizations and prayer movements are joining forces for an epic prayer and mission initiative unlike anything the world has known. It is called Go 2020. The goal is to reach one billion who are still unreached by Christ’s Good News. Together, by May 2020, we aim to mobilize 100 million Christians to pray for those in their communities that do not know the Lord as well as those across the seas that are part of unreached people groups.

No one organization or movement can accomplish such a staggering feat, but if we flow together like tributaries in one unstoppable river, this can be achieved! Getting God’s heart of love for the lost through prayer will lead to our sharing Jesus with them in the power and sensitivity of the Holy Spirit just as the early church experienced.

Would you and your church or ministry organization consider joining with millions of other Christ followers in such an awesome undertaking for His glory and so that everyone may encounter His great light?

Together, as we pray, mobilize, and trust the One who has all power, we can see the following happen by the end of May next year:

One billion people being reached with the Gospel and millions upon millions getting saved all over the world through May 2020.

Unreached people groups hearing the Gospel for the first time and planting new churches among them.

100 million Christians inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit to pray and share the Gospel with as many as possible in their own communities and to the ends of the earth.

50 million new believers integrated into existing and new churches.

Personal Prayer: Lord here I am, use me! I will pray for and share the Gospel with others who need to hear it. https://www.go2020.world/get-involved

A suggested five-fold strategy to mobilize believers for prayer and outreach is described in this four-minute video.  

GO2020 video: https://vimeo.com/342384375 

This brochure can also be used to give others the vision of Go 2020 (some translations are also available).

Further information and helpful resources can be found at www.go2020.world/prayer. Please have a look at these resources and share them with others in your unique network of relationships.

Imagine how God could use you, your friends, and colleagues to ignite a movement for Jesus in your city and beyond!

All through 2020, a series of 40-day prayer guides will help us pray daily for those still unreached and for the harvest to be brought in. Here is the link to that guide which we hope you will share with those in your network or organization.

Please let us know if you are willing to help with this mobilization process.

The fulfillment of Christ’s Great Commission is closer than we realize if we can join our prayers and efforts together to make Him known through Go 2020.

Click on this link to get helpful resources and information updates.

Yours in Christ,

Jason Hubbard - Executive Coordinator
John D Robb – Chairma
International Prayer Council and International Prayer Connect