Displaying items by tag: Europe

The Brexit teams meet this week after a delayed negotiation start. Pray for both Davis and Barnier as they compare their respective positions; may they make good progress, identifying differences and recognising similarities that can be reinforced. The Centre for European Policy Studies believes the delay is indicative of UK politicians’ division and infighting. Pray for a healing of rifts  during the summer break between chancellor Philip Hammond and his colleagues, and  for harmony when parliament resumes in September. Also many believe that, whether through arrogance or incompetence, the reputation of the Foreign Office has been undermined under Boris Johnson. His comment that ‘the EU could go whistle for its money in the Brexit negotiations’ opened a potential no-deal scenario which could dismantle the economy. Pray that Mr Johnson, a man of high intelligence, may reveal the more serious and credible side of his personality.

Wildfires are raging in central and southern Europe, with firefighters tackling blazes in five countries. Twelve fires broke out in Croatia's second largest city of Split. 4,500 hectares of land were destroyed, including homes. Fires are active in several municipalities in Montenegro; forest fires forced the evacuation of more than 100 campers on the Lustica peninsula and spread further inland. Two firefighting planes from NATO helped contain the blaze. Fires are also burning 300 acres of forest near Nice, and hundreds of firefighters are battling another fire in the south of France. In Corsica, fire swept through 200 hectares of scrubland near Bonifacio. Flames driven by strong winds raced towards homes which had to be evacuated. Houses were also evacuated due to a fire near Rome, and other fires continue to burn near Naples. 1,400 firefighters supported by water-bombing planes and helicopters have fought three blazes in northern Portugal since 16 July. See also item 4 in the ‘World’ section.

European Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Thursday 20 July that a ‘fundamental divergence’ with Britain remained on how to protect expats’ rights after Brexit, and insisted that the European Court of Justice should be the guarantor of the rights of citizens living abroad. Also, in a joint news conference with British Brexit secretary David Davis, he said Britain needed to provide clarification on the Brexit bill and on the Irish border at the next round of talks in late August. Expats’ rights, the financial settlement, and the Irish border are the three key issues to be solved before the EU is willing to begin talks on a future trade deal with Britain.

Europe will tackle the deep problems that drove Britons to vote Leave. The European Commission’s chief strategists say they now realise that they must change fundamentally to remain relevant to people's lives. Jean-Claude Juncker’s top officials argue that the EU is becoming more open and democratic, and that the future ‘must not be fudged or decided behind closed doors’. They directed their message to the British people, after some member states signalled that the door is still open if the UK wishes to be a part of the new future. Steve Baker, UK’s minister negotiating Brexit, said he wants the EU torn down, adding, ‘They realise that disintegration, illiberal democracy and populism are profoundly dangerous to our democratic traditions - the freedom and tolerance painstakingly built over decades, which has at times been taken for granted.’ The Archbishop of Canterbury called for a cross-party Brexit commission, saying that working together could draw much of the poison from Brexit debates.

The march from Ankara to Istanbul, from 15 June to 9 July, is a response to spreading injustice and judicial system abuse by President Erdogan’s ruling party (AKP) after last year’s coup. The 450km march and rally by the opposition party CHP offered another way of engaging in politics, not filled with divisive and hate-filled rhetoric (the default mode of AKP). Not once did Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the CHP leader, and his supporters respond negatively to pro-government followers targeting them along the route. Instead, they responded with applause. Mr Kilicdaroglu said they had gathered to break down the ‘walls of fear’ erected by the ruling party.

Last summer saw terrorist attacks. Do we still pray during holiday periods? We need recreation, but the enemy doesn’t take holidays - let’s stay alert, continuing to intercede during holidays. Recent events show how quickly alliances between nations can become uncertain. Nations often enter into alliances for economic reasons. Every agreement and negotiation with another nation comes with spiritual consequences. Much wisdom is required for alliances with Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Africa. Israel must be continually ‘watched over’ in prayer. Pray for Germany’s foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel as he settles into his new office.

The EU has taken legal action against the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland for not complying with the order to accept migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The infringement procedure authorises the EU to sue members breaching their obligations with economic sanctions. Across the EU only 20,000 migrants have been relocated to date. Of the 28 EU members, only Malta has accepted its full quota. However, many so-called asylum-seekers have refused to relocate in central and eastern Europe, where economic benefits are less than in France, Germany or Scandinavia. Also hundreds who were relocated to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have fled to richer countries.

Emmanuel Macron will now have to set his mandate: give way to demonstrators, or forcefully implement his manifesto? Which is worse, a massive budget deficit or cuts in social spending? Should he give way to human rights lobbying for accommodation for Calais refugees, or be hard-headed (because housing them might just encourages more)? On these and a host of other questions, no-one knows his thinking. His rule is different from all that went before. His party didn't exist until he dreamed it up last year. Not since Charles de Gaulle, in 1958, has a head of state had such a powerful majority of men and women who depend on him. Half the new parliamentarians will need lessons (literally) in how to do their jobs as they tackle 10% unemployment - nearly 25% among under-25s; bloated public spending (56% of GDP, compared with 44% in Germany and 39% in the UK); and low economic growth.

Hamburg's police have already had to deal with violent protests at the G20 summit. Hi-tech water cannons were used to disperse crowds on 4 July, injuring five people. Protesters are expected to hoard weapons at secret locations ahead of the summit where global trade, terrorism, climate change, North Korean missiles, Brexit, digitalisation and empowering women will be on the agenda. Body language will be scrutinised in the first face-to-face meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin: pray for a working dialogue between these two leaders. US attitude to trade following Trump's 'America First' policy could be a bone of contention, as will climate change after President Trump pulled out of the Paris climate change agreement. Pray that globalisation and climate solutions are negotiated with a win/win attitude. Angela Merkel has based the talks around an 'interconnected' world, and will address differences between countries.

The burden to pray in Europe was born around the year 2011 during one of my prayer journeys in USA. I have been praying in USA since 2009 following a burden placed upon my heart during a visit to the grave of David Brainerd and Jonathan Edwards in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA. But my visit to Europe came about only this year, 2017. Lord miraculously provided a family in Hamburg, Germany – Pavan and Hanna - to host me during my visit. This enabled me to attend the International Prayer and Mission Leaders Consultation in Herrnhut, Germany from 8 – 12 May.

Immediately after the Herrnhut meetings, I left on a six-nation prayer walking tour. I was able to visit 10 cities – Leipzig, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Geneva, Zurich and Copenhagen. I also had the opportunity to visit Wittenberg and of course I spent four days in Herrnhut earlier, the birth place of the Moravian Movement. It was a very solemn experience to be in Herrnhut and to reflect upon the vision, the commitment and the life of Count Ludwig Nicholas von Zinzendorf. 

This was my first visit to continental Europe and I could only visit six countries in Western Europe. I have no idea of how Eastern Europe is and its needs. Therefore it must be stated that this is by no means comprehensive of the situation in Europe. And I wish to add that it is more through the eyes of one from India, called to preach and teach the word of God and of one who has been following the Lord for nearly 44 years and has been involved in preaching and teaching the Word of God for almost the same number of years. 

At the outset I must state that, as in USA so also in Europe the main focus of my prayer was not so much those who do not know God, but my focus was the people of God, the Church – for God’s people to live lives worthy of their calling. If the Church is as she should be, then the world would be reached too. In my opinion the church at large has lost her witness and her authority as well through compromise with the world. 

1. Before leaving for Europe, I asked the Lord what I should be praying for in Europe. Lord answered that I weep for these cities and the people. This is what I did in each city I visited. 
2. My first stop after Herrnhut was Leipzig. I attended a Bible study with a small group of young people, all of them were in their 20s. After the study, I asked the group if there was one thing that I could pray for Germany, what that would be? One of the young men answered, “Pray for the burden of guilt that we carry. The guilt of what our ancestors did in the past.” This threw a totally different perspective for me on what some of the Germans might be going through. Another young man at the same group said that there were many who do not see any need for God in their lives and that there was a total lack of knowledge and belief in God or in Christ, These two statements expressed by two men in their 20s gave me an idea of what to pray and this became my focus in Germany.
3. One scripture passage that was brought to mind constantly as I walked through these cities, was Romans 1: 18 – 31. These classic words of Paul in Romans tell us the spiritual history of man. I began to understand how this probably came about in Europe, especially regarding the ‘suppressing of truth’ and the consequent ‘revealing of God’s wrath’ – God giving them over to: idolatry, irrationality, immorality and impurity of every kind. I then understood, why Lord wanted me to to weep for these cities and their people. 
4. In Amsterdam, as I was looking for the hotel where I was booked to stay for the night close to the Central Station, I strayed into the red light area. (I am not sure if this is the famous red light district of Amsterdam). As I walked through and prayed and observed the people, I began to have a sense of foreboding and a palpable sense of the presence of evil all around. It felt as if some one was driving me away to leave the place. I wept. I had the same feeling of foreboding in Freetown Christiania in Copenhagen, Denmark. I felt totally uncomfortable and out of place walking through. I strayed into the place and did not know what it was until I read about it later.

5. While travelling by bus from Brussels to Paris, I felt the Lord telling me, “Speak judgement upon these cities”. All along the journey from Brussels to Paris, the route was dotted with small farming villages. And practically every village had a structure with a steeple. Obviously those were small cathedrals and that means there are or were Christians there. This gave me no joy. Unless there are dynamic groups of the body of Christ, cathedrals and physical structures of any kind were of no use. I wept.

Practically everywhere one can see tall physical structures, probably chapels and cathedrals. All these structures as well as the institutions they represent have actually obscured the knowledge of God. They neither represent Him nor His Son, Christ Jesus.  The urgent need of the hour is for dynamic groups of followers of Christ, who would truly represent Him in their lifestyles and not in their programmes and projects. I, then understood why I was to speak judgement upon these systems, structures, cities and people – they were not true representations of God. It was as if man erased God’s glory in His creation and built structures which represent his own image – the image of his fallenness. I wept! 

In general that was the burden of my prayer all over Europe – that God would raise not bannered groups but living and dynamic groups who would live as the Body of Christ, the way Christ lived. I believe unless such groups arise the world over, there is no hope for the world and the church as well! 

6. As I walked in Geneva, Zurich, Frankfurt and Copen Hagen and as I looked upon the huge buildings – the financial houses, banks, malls, store-fronts, museums, the art and the architecture, Lord began to say to me, “These are the temples in these nations.”. These have become the source of sustenance, security and identity for hordes of people and thus have supplanted God in their lives. I wept! 

Idolatry in the West is not the same as in the East. In the East, they rejected God’s general revelation in His creation and began to worship the creature rather than the Creator. In the West, people seem to have rejected God’s revelation both in creation, His word and His Son and have begun to worship the creature. The only difference is that the gods were different. These gods were gods of money and matter. Ostensibly they appear neutral and innocuous. Yet these demand no less devotion and allegiance and one is as enslaved to these gods as the gods in the East. All these gods blind the eyes of the people from seeing the glory of God in the face of Christ. 

I began to sense the presence and the power of Mammon all around. And I began to wonder if Mammon has overtaken us all, both in the West and the East by surprise including many Christians and many churches. We seem to revel in our riches and our material affluence. We do not see money or Mammon as the single greatest rival to the worship of God, as Christ taught in the sermon on the Mount.Instead we think that money is needed to serve God and in the bargain we give more time to making money than to worshipping or serving God. Ofcourse we justify it by super-imposing our work upon worship lapsing into the eastern mindset of ‘work is worship’. I wept! 

7. Finally, in the midst of it all I prayed for the remanent faithful people of God, who already there sincerely living and following Christ all over Europe – that they would be a potent witness for His Kingdom. I believe they are already there. AMEN, LORD!