Displaying items by tag: prayer

A group of pastors and faith leaders had an exclusive meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on 29 October. During that meeting, Trump asked the pastors to lay hands on him and pray. The meeting, according to several pastors, involved discussions of the president's accomplishments on behalf of evangelical Christians, including defending religious freedom, battling opioid addiction, reducing abortion, and nominating conservative and pro-life supreme court judges. Soon afterwards, several leaders posted photos of the meeting and prayer. Some praised the president's pro-family and pro-biblical values, while others offered prayer against what they see as unjust impeachment hearings.

Passion for the Nation reminds us that ‘the favour that brings promotion and power does not come from anywhere on earth, for no one exalts a person but God’ (Psalm 75:7). Pray that every political party will be filled by gifted people on whom God’s favour rests; men and women of righteousness and integrity, who will know, experience and be guided by heaven’s wisdom and truth, aligning this nation with Kingdom purposes and plans. We can declare that God’s light will shine into every dark place, and we speak God’s plans for good over every other agenda, in the name of Jesus. The Evangelical Alliance has launched a prayer series entitled ‘Praying ahead of the general election’. CARE has recently gone live on a bespoke election website, EngaGE19. The World Prayer Centre team have invited Christians to join them at PrayerShift on 9 November, Watch and Pray on 25 November, and intercession on 12 December. See

The media influence people, shape worldviews, and can ultimately bring about change in society. While the world gets constantly bombarded by images and messages that distort God’s truth and shift people further from Him, Christians in the media desire to see them used to bring about positive changes. Alan Rusbridger, for twenty years editor-in-chief of the Guardian, recently warned, ‘We are, for the first time in modern history, facing the prospect of how societies would exist without reliable news’. Christians can pray for restraints to be put on technology owned by individuals with particular agendas. Pray for an end to false revelations and closely guarded secrets being spread at the click of a button. May dangerous misinformation be blocked by up-to-date infiltration technology. Pray for authors, anchor men and women, researchers and recorders to be true to the facts and avoid fake news stories. May quality news reporting and higher ethics be established across all media outlets.

Each year the Hope for the Countryside partnership hosts a day to gather those with a heart to see a fresh move of the Holy Spirit across all of rural England. The next one is on Saturday 16 November in Sutton Lanes End Macclesfield, from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm. This is very much open to all who live in our cities and towns as well as in the countryside! Come and join us to worship, learn and pray together - or give some time to pray wherever you will be. Download a flyer for more details: With Brexit postponed, and its implications for farming still unclear and uncertain, farmers are even more anxious about what might be ahead. They are also divided as to what they believe is best for farming’s future, The NFU said a no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic, but a September poll showed over 40% of farmers favor this outcome.

DR ALISTAIR PETRIE IS AN INTERNATIONAL MINISTER AND TEACHER ON THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF TRANSFORMING REVIVAL. ALISTAIR PETRIE SHARES SOME INSIGHTS FOR THOSE WHO ARE PRAYING FOR REVIVAL IN THEIR NATIONS.

 He suggests that though there is a place for persevering prayer and heartfelt repentance, Scripture suggests seven different heart characteristics that God is looking for when determining where and when to pour out His Spirit. As we pray individually and corporately for our nations, these attributes of righteousness are keys to unlocking our breakthrough.

Petrie challenges us to consider these seven qualifiers if we want to “attract” God’s heart and prepare a holy place for Him to dwell. It always starts with us individually assessing our own heart condition. Then, as each individual gets aligned with God’s heart and purpose, the corporate testimony will be impacted and our joint intercession will have power and authority.

Here are the seven characteristics in order of progression, starting personally, then overflowing to the corporate:

1.HUMILITY – Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. (James 4:10)

This is the starting place for all prayer. We must surrender our own agenda to His and submit to His methods and timing, taking a posture of serving and not striving.

2.HOLINESS – Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)

We must walk in the fear of the Lord and esteem holiness and righteousness as the foundation of His throne, not allowing any compromise or double-standard to weaken our authority.

3.RELATIONAL UNITY – I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. (1 Corinthians 1:10)

Our unity is based on the work of the cross and our corporate commission to declare the Kingdom of God in our midst.

4.INTEGRITY – The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. (Proverbs 11:3)

We must become trustworthy stewards who are shown to be people of His Word, able to guard, keep, and occupy what He wants to give us.

5.TRANSPARENCY – For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man. (2 Corinthians 8:21)

We must admit when we are wrong and be authentic in our journey of sanctification.

6.BEING VERTICALLY INFORMED AND HORIZONTALLY ACCOUNTABLE – Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)

We are stronger together than we are apart. Our mutual accountability has great impact as each part does its work.

7.GIVEN TO CORPORATE PRAYER (leading to tangible results) – All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer…When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. (Acts 1:14, 2:1-2)

If we want to see a corporate shift, it requires corporate agreement. Heaven listens for the unified voice of the Church and will respond to our corporate cry for His presence.

Prayerfully consider these seven qualifiers and share them with those you pray with. Assess your heart condition, both personally and corporately. Are you seeing these characteristics displayed in your corporate testimony? If not, address the adjustments needed and ask the Holy Spirit to empower you in preparing a place for Him to come and pour out a greater measure of His Spirit and His glory.

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. (Psalms 133:1-3)

Rev. Dr. Alistair P. Petrie
Executive Director
www.partnershipministries.org

Pray for Syria, Turkey and the Kurds

Turkey views the Kurds as terrorists. A couple of weeks ago, they pushed into Syria to displace the Kurds from the border area, to create a 'safe-zone'.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the United States’ main ally in the fight against ISIS, has been in talks with both Russia and the US to protect the Kurdish people against the Turkish assault. The Turkish incursion has killed scores of people on both sides of the border and nearly 180,000 people inside Syria have been displaced.

The commander of the SDF is now holding discussions with the US government on keeping US forces in the region, as well as regaining control over territory they have lost since the Turkish military invasion began. Pray for the hostile actors in this volatile situation- the Turkish government and military, the Kurdish leaders and their militia, as well as the Syrian, Russian and US governments that a good and peaceful diplomatic solution can be worked out.

Pray for the tens of thousands of civilians whose lives have been uprooted and for effective and well- coordinated humanitarian relief to pour in to meet their critical needs.

Pray that the military operation by Turkey and all fighting would stop immediately.

Pray that God would intervene in a special way to resolve the current conflicts in His peaceful way.

We pray, Your Kingdom come on Turkey, Syria, and all Middle East regions!

Northeast Syria is home to a range of diverse ethnic and religious communities. The principal Kurdish region of Syria, it also hosts sizeable Syriac and Assyrian Christians communities. There are also Christian converts, especially among the Kurdish communities.

The stated objectives of Turkey’s military action in Syria are, firstly, to create a ‘safe-zone’ along the border by combatting Kurdish-led forces, and, secondly, to facilitate the repatriation of Syrian refugees from Turkey. The campaign does not seem to be motivated by a specific religious agenda, and there is little evidence to suggest that Christians are being specifically targeted. But Christians are deeply affected, along with other communities in the region. Shelling has led to multiple casualties, more than twenty villages have so far been seized and tens of thousands have fled the region.

Although not specifically a campaign against Christians, there are concerns Christian communities face particular vulnerabilities. Christian leaders are concerned that elements within Turkey’s forces and their Syrian opposition allies are pursuing Islamist agendas that are hostile not just to Kurds but also to any communities that are not Sunni Muslim. This fear would be compounded if the security of prisons holding extremists is compromised. They also fear that Turkey’s refugee repatriation plans, whereby Syrians who fled from other areas would be resettled in northeast Syria, constitute an intentional programme of ‘demographic engineering’ in the region, intended to boost the Arab Sunni presence to the detriment of Kurds and other communities such as Christians.

Syrian Christians request prayer that:

Political and military leaders, of parties involved and in the wider international community, will act with restraint and hope peace will be restored, human dignity respected and pluralism preserved and strengthened, in northeast Syria and the rest of the country, for the benefit of all ethnic and religious communities. Pray that Christian communities will not be intimidated but will find opportunity to be agents of reconciliation, wisdom and compassion for those bereaved or injured, together with all who have fled. Pray those suffering will find comfort, healing, peace and hope all and that all who are intent on violence will know the Spirit’s conviction of sin and respond to the Father’s offer of new life through the Son.

More at: http://meconcern.org/2019/10/11/syria-christians-request-prayer-for-northeast-syria/

Albania was once the poorest nation in Europe, but poverty has been cut by more than half and the economy continues to show positive signs of growth. Despite having well-known gangsters, it has made notable steps in combating drugs, weapons and human trafficking. Last year the European Commission said that it had shown enough progress towards implementing the required reforms that accession negotiations can begin. Under Communist rule, no religion was allowed. Now, Islam claims twice as many followers as Christianity. Christian believers enjoy worshipping openly in a country that once restricted religious freedom, although most who claim Christianity are reported to be nominal in their faith. Praise God that children’s ministry is drawing whole families into church and multiple generations are coming to faith. Pray for isolated believers to find safe ways to meet with others, and for believers from Muslim backgrounds to be protected from pressure and attack from friends and family.

In February, Prayer Alert highlighted the National Call to Prayer. In this time of both uncertainty and significance for our nation this is a reminder for Christians to join in prayer across the UK for the UK. Christians in Government believe that Christians can play an important role. This is not about politics, but all about seeking God. The Bible says that we may not know what to do, but our eyes can be on God. In this major time of change, we can commit the UK to God with Psalm 23 as our inspiration, for Jesus to be the Good Shepherd to the UK, to bring comfort and to guide us as a nation. Churches across the UK are invited to partner with the national call to prayer, in particular over the whole period leading up to Brexit, especially the final two weeks. For more information click the ‘More’ button.

At the time of writing Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar agree they can ‘see a pathway to a possible deal’. A government website is advising the nation how people and businesses should prepare for 31 October, and the Church is praying. Father, we ask for Your grace and wisdom to come into every phase of decisions. As a Brexit is birthed, and fresh foundations laid, we pray for Heaven’s design and schedules over every vote. We ask You to remove every deadlock so that ‘detailed discussions’ on the Brexit process will connect the United Kingdom to Your perfect plans.

For years Albania was closed to the gospel. Many see concentrated prayer and intercession as major reasons why it is now open for ministry and scripture translation is being undertaken. There are three complete translations of the Bible in Albanian; one literal, one paraphrased, and one Catholic. The NT has been retranslated into modern Albanian, and a new OT translation is under way. Pray for accuracy, timely completion, and widespread use of the Scriptures. Religious literature from many faiths flooded the country after Communism fell. Christian books are now published there, but there are very few Christian bookstores. Pray for the impact of useful Christian books and literature, and outlets for their circulation.