Displaying items by tag: world prayer assembly

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.

You are invited to join the Wave of Glory from 28 August to 17 September 2023, 21 days praying for a wave of the knowledge of the Glory of God to engulf the globe. The Lord loves it when we pray, fast and turn to Him. Our mission is to pray for a global awakening - that billions would find Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. Please also pray for a powerful and effective time as the World Prayer Assembly gathers from 3 to 6 October in Perth, and for the Wave of Glory to sweep across Oceania and Australia with salvation and deliverance across the region and across the Earth. Pray for an awakening for your nation, and for millions to find Christ. Pray for the wave of prayer to usher in billions of people, and it to grow daily. Pray for all who become followers of Jesus. See also

Churches and prayer and mission ministries across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands have come together 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). Sixty days ahead of the World Prayer Assembly in Perth, planned and spontaneous prayer is already taking place across the cities. There are reports of the wave already sweeping through, and there is a lively air of expectancy as to what God is doing through this global gathering. Before it, the leaders have called for 21 days of prayer and fasting (from 28 August), contending for a ‘wave of the knowledge of the glory of God’ to engulf the globe, for an awakening across Australia with millions finding Christ; and a global awakening with billions finding Christ.

‘In honor of our elder brother, Ben’

Ben A. Jennings, Th.B., D.D., our elder brother in Christ and a father to many of us in the international prayer movement has graduated from this life and gone into the presence of his Lord on Saturday, August 3rd. Ben was just short of his 96th birthday, having lived a full and fruitful life of varied ministry as a Youth for Christ minister, a pastor of several churches, and finally as a Campus Crusade for Christ staff person. His obituary states that “Ben's focus at Campus Crusade was on prayer and ministering to people around the world through prayer, conferences, published books, and seminars. His passion was that people would understand God's love, and His power to change people's lives through prayer.” That quote describes Ben’s heart for the Lord, for people, and for ministry so well. We in the IPC appreciated him so much and will never forget his loving, kind, wise and prayerful character.

Ben was the primary instigator who brought together a number of international and American prayer leaders to New York City in early December 2001 just weeks after 9/11. He invited us to discuss and pray about the formation of an international network that would coordinate prayer for global issues like terrorism, wars, HIV AIDS as well as the completion of the Great Commission. That meeting’s deliberation as well as our praying together at Ground Zero resulted in the formation of the International Prayer Council that was launched the following year.

Ben continued to serve on our Board of Reference and to take part in IPC events and initiatives. Even at age 90, Ben travelled all the way to Jakarta, Indonesia to join us for the World Prayer Assembly in 2012. There he was a hit with the youth during a Q and A session, who asked him and other admirable elders any questions that they might have about life in Christ, prayer, or any other topic they were interested in. You can hear Ben’s rich baritone voice share some encouraging tidbits about the power of united prayer during this video from the WPA. https://youtu.be/qmDeuokTQ7I

Below is an article that he wrote in 1999 entitled 'God's Wonderful Plan for Prayer'.

John Robb

Chairman, International Prayer Council/Connect

'God's Wonderful Plan for Prayer'

Prayer leaps beyond our finite world. Shaped by God’s very nature, it deals with the Creator, and launches people into the vast arena of God Himself.

Romans 8:26, 27 describes the action: “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray (for) as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which are not spoken. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to (the will of) God. (NKJV, adjusted to reflect original Greek)

Prayer can be pictured as a cosmic circle engaging four major participants. At the zenith is God the Father, to whom prayer is rightly directed. Three intercessors engage in the action.

The first intercessor, at a “three o’clock position,” is God, the Holy Spirit, who does not articulate His passionate longings, but uses human intercessors to do it. (See verse 27.)

The second intercessor, at a lowly “six o’clock position,” is the praying Christian who needs to improve in prayer.

The third intercessor, at “nine o’clock,” is Christ Jesus, identified in Revelation 2:18, 23 as the Person in the Godhead who searches human minds and hearts. He prays for prayers He receives from His people.

A dramatic scenario unfolds here: God the Holy Spirit continually receives the Father’s purposes and craves their fulfillment. He expresses these groanings within praying Christians as cares, burdens, and even anxieties.

God, the heart-searching Son, receives those yearnings through His praying disciples. He perfects and empowers them; presents them back to the Father; gets them answered (John 14:13); and thus completes the circuit of God’s action in the world!

Four conclusions stand out in this panorama:

1. When you pray, you step into the arena of God’s plan for mankind.
2. Your praying connects the passion of the Spirit with the power of Jesus.
3. Praying does not change God’s will; it effects His will. (Matthew 6:10)
4. Praying is God at work through you!

Article is adapted from The Arena of Prayer, Dr. Ben Jennings, © 1999, New Life Publisher, re-published with thanks to Campus Crusade for Christ International

Thankful to God for the Past, Anticipating His Wonders for the Future

Some history

The International Prayer Council (leadership team) and eventually International Prayer Connect (network of prayer leaders, ministries and networks) came into being shortly after 9/11 in 2001 – when a simultaneous terrorist attack took place on the twin towers in New York and on the Pentagon in Washington – an horrific day which we all knew would go down in history. A few weeks later the IPC was formed in New York (close to what became known as Ground Zero), with prayer leaders from around the world pledging to work and pray together on a global level, over global issues.

Before that year many of us had begun to discover each other through fresh global initiatives, like the Lausanne Movement (formed in 1974), the first International Prayer Assembly in South Korea (1984) and through involvement in the AD2000 and Beyond Movement in the 1990’s. The IPC as a prayer entity was to be both the successor to these initiatives and involve many of the key prayer leaders from within those structures.   It was important for us to stay connected, find out more about what was happening in our world, and to pray more strategically about some of the pressing needs facing the world.  

Our focus was to be the transformation of our world, encapsulated in our motto “Globalising Prayer, Transforming our World” and this was adopted at our first international consultation in South Africa in 2002. (Please see this video about its founding and early history IPC Prayer Globalizing Prayer Transforming Our World  https://youtu.be/5ZYVFLML1sU). 

Much of the experience of the church around the world was about praying for its work – its daily activities, including mission and evangelism.   For many of us, however, transformational prayer became our work.  Praying for mission in all its aspects was included, along with issues of international and national importance.  

Networking with prayer leaders and their ministries both internationally and regionally was a priority.  To that end global and regional consultations were held in many nations, including South Africa, Egypt, United States, Canada, England, Germany, Switzerland, UAE, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, Kenya, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cyprus. 

The World Prayer Assembly envisioned and arranged by the IPC in partnership with the powerful Indonesian prayer movement (involving up to three million Indonesians in 380 cities as well as many others worldwide through satellite TV and internet) was in a sense the culmination of such networking and resulted in a further explosion of prayer ministry around the world that continues to grow, thanks be to God!

“God by His Spirit was working so many agendas in the lives of those who took part that it is impossible to recount all that happened or was reported. So many said their lives and ministries would never be the same. We have received encouraging reports from a number of nations as participants have begun to implement strategies of prayer mobilization and other actions that they were inspired to undertake during the WPA. Praise God for all He did and continues to do through this gathering!”

Here is an inspiring video report about this great gathering that God used and continues to use so wonderfully to ignite so many other things: World Prayer Assembly https://youtu.be/qmDeuokTQ7I

Prayer initiatives, with teams of intercessors, have been undertaken over strategic issues in many nations, especially those caught up in awful wars and ethnic conflicts.  By the grace and goodness of the Lord, several hopeless wars have so far been ended, soon after national prayer initiatives (sometimes within a day or few days) that IPC teams were able to facilitate with local Christian leaders. In addition, three international initiatives were held within and for the United Nations with ambassadors, hundreds of prayer leaders and praying children from around the world as well as another arranged for Hollywood (the home of the film industry).  

Children in Prayer has been an important part of IPC initiatives, with leadership being given from the United States, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia, and more recently India, but including CiP coordinators from 70-80 nations.  Consultations and leadership gatherings have been held in many nations along with three global CiP events that brought adults and children from scores of nations to pray, learn, and plan for the future of this movement. 

The recent Youth-focused prayer movement called the UPRising (United Prayer Rising) developed out of the World Prayer Assembly in Indonesia in 2012 and has seen further prayer and worship events in many nations since 2016.  Both of these key initiatives (Children and Youth) have produced another tier of leadership. The Global UPR called “World Generation” being held in Jakarta (January 23-26, 2019) is challenging the participants to find and engage in the unique missions the Lord has for each one, especially reaching the unreached with His Gospel in order to fulfil the Great Commission. 

The Global Issachar Group developed out of an initial consultation in Cyprus, with its focus on the dark places and powers, and it too has held gatherings in several nations in N. America, Europe & Asia.  

Each of these various above initiatives has developed out of or come under the umbrella of the IPC. But separately, and also strategic, have been a number of initiatives that others have spear-headed, and which have been incorporated into or led by those with close association with the IPC. Among these would be the emphasis on the 4/14 Window (led by Luis Bush) on mission to the generation included in that age range. This has focussed the minds of missiologists the world over.

The Global Day of Prayer ran annually out of a vision stemming from South Africa, and was led by Graham Power and Dawie and Isebel Spangenberg for great blessing to the international prayer movement and the many nations touched by it.

Praying through the 10/40 Window (led by Beverly Pegues) which originally emerged in the 1990’s has continued to be featured in our communications.

The IPC has sought to reflect the importance of praying for the Persecuted Church, for Muslim nations, for Governments, for war zones, and on issues concerning historic sins and brokenness with the need for identificational repentance and reconciliation.

In short, the IPC started off as a networking structure, but it has developed into taking many initiatives as well.  National Prayer initiatives have been undertaken in over 50 countries over the last 20 years, many in the really difficult nations on the planet. Generally, these initiatives have consisted of three days of prayer by local ministry leaders of all denominations in the spirit of 2 Chron. 7:14 led by John Robb with IPC colleagues on the ministry teams. It was discovered over and over again that as His people focused on repentance for corporate sins and reconciliation, God would bring about stunning breakthroughs, such as unexpected peace agreements ending wars, governments of national unity being formed, and spiritual revival happening among participating church and political leaders. Glory to the Lord!

The IPC has always sought to connect with and support other global initiatives - like Ethne - who are focused on Unreached People Groups and now we are focusing on the Go 2020 initiative to see a billion unreached people reached with the Gospel by May 2020 and the raising up of hundreds of millions of additional intercessors to engage for the fulfillment of Christ’s Great Commission, even as early as 2025- http://go2020.world. We are interested to maintain a close connection between prayer and mission in the spirit of the Moravians as we describe in this video: “The Spirit of the Moravians” (9-min & 3-min).

Links have also been maintained with the International Reconciliation Coalition, Global Church Planting Network, and prayer for the Persecuted church etc.

Our emphasis has always been on prayer for socio-political transformation and mission. We continue to be open to Spiritual Warfare, Spiritual Mapping, understanding the Spiritual Powers, Identificational Repentance and Reconciliation, on-site prayer, and governmental connections. We continue to have a deep desire for the unity of the Body of Christ and Word-based prayer.

Remaining challenges - unfinished business for the IPC and the international prayer movement

• Identifying and developing prayer in and for the “global gates” (major international institutions like the U.N., World Economic Forum, etc.) and international cities.
• Seeking God’s strategy and deliverance for the ‘dark places’ on planet earth.
• Developing technology and language translation in support of global prayer.
• Finance - raising more substantial support through the Transformation Prayer Foundation to meet ongoing costs of all we do and hope to do for the future.
• More effectively connecting prayer leaders, their ministries and networks in an ongoing way so that we can flow together, coordinating and supporting one another.
• Integrating more fully with the rising youth and children’s prayer movements and co-working with the Lord to raise up the next generation of mighty men and women of God to lead His people and reach our world with the Gospel

Important questions to consider for the future

1. Are we to be just a “network” of prayer movements, or are we called to do things together? Or both?
2. What else are we being called to be and do? What priorities should we focus on for the next 5-10 years?
3. How can we best steward the “New Wave” of transformational prayer and mission engagement coming out of the World Prayer Assembly and all that the Lord has done through the last couple of decades of various prayer initiatives seeking to unite Christ’s global prayer movement and see His breakthroughs?
4. Finding a new wineskin for the global prayer movement. How can we best reflect the inter-generational nature of what God is doing in global prayer at the current time?

If you have any suggestions in this great task of transforming our world through united prayer, we welcome your getting in touch with us. Please write to us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Please also pray with us as our leadership meets to consider future directions and new leadership for the IPC just before the Global UPR youth prayer and mission event in Jakarta, January 23-26.

Brian Mills and John Robb

The World Prayer Centre National Prayer Conference is as much a call as it is a conference. It is a call to people who want to stand in God’s presence, worship Him with all their hearts and let Him gently minister to them and encourage them. It is a call to dedicate time to pray for God’s Kingdom to come, and listen to His call for themselves and for the nation. All are invited, whether new to prayer, young or old, and from any background. If you have a passion for the purposes of Jesus and hunger to see change in our nations, you are invited. This year’s theme, Time to Turn, is a call that starts with us: people who love prayer. Teacher, prophet, author and Church leader Malcolm Duncan will be the guest speaker. Other details can be found at

Bolivia UPRISING youth prayer assembly, Nov. 29th-December 2nd in Cochabamba- about 1000 are expected to take part from within Bolivia and from other nations of South America.

Please pray for His strong anointing on all who take part and especially for the organizers and speakers that this event will be powerfully used of the Lord to touch and transform many lives and the nations from which they come.

For more information, see this website http://uprisingbol.pdlanzas.org/index.php/english

Global UPRISING planning process for a World Youth Prayer Assembly in October 2018- Please pray with us in the IPC and our colleagues in this youth prayer movement that arrangements will come together well for this epic event to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Pray that local leaders will fully get on board and that the planning meetings in January will be effective. We will need His funding breakthrough as well.

More: www.unitedprayerrising.com